Flyers-Bruins: Game 68 Preview

The Philadelphia Flyers' stock is falling as they've lost four straight. They'll try to stop their bear market freefall tonight in Boston against the Bruins.

By Dan Heaning, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

As the games' significance grow larger, the Philadelphia Flyers have hit a slump at a very inopportune time and are in desperate need of a victory after losing four straight games. They'll try to get back on the winning track as they face the Boston Bruins at the TD Bank Garden tonight at 7.

Despite the recent string of losses, the Flyers are still in the sitting in a playoff spot as they are third in the division. However, the New Jersey Devils have crept to within three points of Philadelphia. A Devils win over the Winnipeg Jets tonight coupled with a Flyers loss would put Philadelphia dangerously close to falling into a wild card spot.

Boston, on the other hand, is sitting comfortably in second place in the Atlantic division. With 90 points, the Bruins are six points behind Tampa Bay for the top spot with three games in hand. Meanwhile, they are five points ahead of the third-place Toronto Maple Leafs. Needless to say, the Bruins aren't going to be falling out of the top three in their division.

However, a recent string of injuries to Patrice Bergeron and Charlie McAvoy has left Boston without their top center and, arguably, their best defenseman. Philadelphia will need to take advantage of those two key players' absences but after playing the previous night against Pittsburgh and traveling to Boston, the Flyers may not have the legs to do so.

Team Leaders

Head coach Dave Hakstol said that Alex Lyon would get some game action in this back-to-back situation so expect the Yale alum to get the start near his old stomping grounds. Lyon will need to be on top of his game with the likes of Marchand and Pastrnak staring him down. Fortunately, Lyon has looked good in his last 100 minutes or so of hockey. He stopped 50 of 53 shots in five periods and a three-on-three overtime against the Rangers and Canadiens. However, it's been two weeks since Lyon played in a game and so rust may affect the young goaltender which could be problematic for the slumping Flyers.

The last time the Flyers saw Tuukka Rask, they didn't see the back of the net. Rask stopped all 28 shots in a 3-0 Bruins victory. As a whole, Rask is having a solid season maybe not a Vezina Trophy-winning type of season, but a pretty good campaign nonetheless. Among goalies with 1,700 minutes played, Rask is in the top ten in five-on-five save percentage and high-danger save percentage. The Bruins haven't asked Rask to steal them many games this season with the season players like Marchand, Pastrnak and Bergeron are having, but the Flyers know too well that Rask is fully capable of doing so if the need be.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Brian Elliott is recovering from core muscle surgery and will be out for five-to-six weeks. Michal Neuvirth is out four-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury.

Scratches: Dale Weise, Taylor Leier, Johnny Oduya