Flyers-Golden Knights: Game 56 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Once again, it wasn't pretty for the Flyers, but they came away with two points to pick up their third straight win on Saturday night in Arizona.

The Flyers quick weekend trip out West concludes on Sunday night with their first ever meeting with the Vegas Golden Knights, easily the NHL's surprise story of the season.

Game time is set for 8 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Vegas Golden Knights GP G A P
Jake Voracek 55 11 53 64 Jonathan Marchessault 51 20 34 54
Claude Giroux 55 17 45 62 David Perron 48 13 36 49
Sean Couturier 55 27 27 54 William Karlsson 54 29 18 47
Shayne Gostisbehere 51 10 32 42 Reilly Smith 54 16 29 45
Wayne Simmonds 55 19 16 35 Erik Haula 50 21 19 40
 
Player to Watch
28 Claude Giroux 19 Reilly Smith
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 2 A, 5 P, +2 Last 5 Games: 3 G, 4 A, 7 P, +3
 
Claude Giroux is getting his scoring touch back. The Flyers captain has goals in three of his last five games and four points in the last two games.
 
Reilly Smith has been one of the Golden Knights' hottest scorers of late. Smith has six points in his last three games, including a two-goal game against Washington last Sunday.
 
Goalie Matchup
30 Michal Neuvirth 29 Marc-Andre Fleury
6-7-2, 2.61 GAA, .911 SV% 16-5-2, 2.03 GAA, .934 SV%

It's safe to say that Saturday's appearance for Michal Neuvirth was as unexpected as it gets. Neuvirth picked up the win without playing any actual minutes in the game, coming in relief in the shootout to help secure the victory. 

Marc-Andre Fleury has been the comeback story of the season. Fleury has been on a roll lately, winning four of his last five starts, including his last start on Thursday against San Jose.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Brian Elliott

Scratches: Taylor Leier, Mark Alt

Left Wing Center Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux 14 Sean Couturier 11 Travis Konecny
93 Jake Voracek 19 Nolan Patrick 17 Wayne Simmonds
40 Jordan Weal 21 Scott Laughton 12 Michael Raffl
15 Jori Lehtera 51 Valtteri Filppula 22 Dale Weise
Defense    
9 Ivan Provorov 53 Shayne Gostisbehere  
8 Robert Hagg 47 Andrew MacDonald  
23 Brandon Manning 3 Radko Gudas  
Goalie    
30 Michal Neuvirth    

Lineup Notes

The Flyers will use the same lines as in Saturday's win in Arizona.

Golden Knights Projected Lineup

Injuries: Will Carrier, Tomas Nosek, Jon Merrill, Luca Sbisa, Clayton Stoner, Malcolm Subban

Scratches: Paul Thompson, Tobias Rieder, Luke Schenn

Left Wing Center Right Wing
19 Reilly Smith 71 William Karlsson 81 Jonathan Marchessault
57 David Perron 56 Erik Haula 18 James Neal
40 Ryan Carpenter 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare 89 Alex Tuch
13 Brendan Leipsic 21 Cody Eakin 24 Oscar Lindberg
Defense    
3 Brayden McNabb 88 Nate Schmidt  
5 Derek Engelland 27 Shea Theodore  
6 Colin Miller 77 Brad Hunt  
Goalie    
29 Marc-Andre Fleury    

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (7th, 2nd on road), Golden Knights (12th, 10th at home)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (29th, 25th on road), Golden Knights (11th, 5th at home) 

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

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