Vincent Lecavalier has scored four goals in the last two games for the Flyers. Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com
After losing another game in the waning moments of the third period, the Flyers return to home ice again on Friday to face the Washington Capitals.
This marks the first game for the Flyers since making the move that sent Max Talbot to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Steve Downie, a former first-round pick of the Flyers. Downie will be dressed for Friday's game.
Offensively, the Flyers will look to Vincent Lecavalier and Jake Voracek to remain hot. Lecavalier has four goals in his last two games. Voracek has yet to see a surge in points, but has been more active in the offensive zone. With two points in his last five games, the Flyers leading scorer a season ago is still searching for a breakout game. Forward Matt Read also carries a three-game goal streak into Friday's game.
The Flyers are also looking for help from the top line, which could include Downie, meaning Claude Giroux and Lecavalier could have a new linemate.
The Flyers catch a big break as Capitals captain and leading scorer Alex Ovechkin is out with an upper body injury. The Caps will rely heavily on a top line which includes Nicklas Backstrom and Martin Erat. Marcus Johansson and Eric Fehr could serve as either of Ovechkin's replacements. Fehr practiced on the top line this week and Johansson was recently moved to the second line after playing on the Caps top unit.
Defensively, the Caps are led by John Carlson and Mike Green - who may have fallen from the ranks of NHL defenseman but has always been a thorn in the Flyers side. They will be without John Erskine, another fixture of the Washington blue line.
In goal, expect another start for Steve Mason, who appears to have the starting job for good. Mason still has a 2.15 GAA and .930 save percentage despite a 3-5-0 record. The Capitals will likely go with Michel Neuvirth. Neuvirth is 1-2-0 with a 3.07 GAA and .905 save percentage this season.
Like the Flyers, the Caps allow a high number of goals per game. The Flyers are allowing 2.7 goals per game compared to scoring just 1.8 per game. The Caps are scoring 2.7 goals per game, but allowing 3.2 goals per game as well.
One of the areas the Flyers have to watch is penalty kill. The Caps power play ranks fifth in the NHL, although those numbers are benefitted by the presence of Ovechkin. The Flyers penalty kill ranks sixth in the NHL.
Meanwhile, the Flyers power play is just 25th in the league. The Capitals boast the second-best penalty kill in the NHL.
Flyers Scratches: Hal Gill, Andrej Meszaros, Jay Rosehill
Flyers Projected Lineup
Line 1: Steve Downie-Claude Giroux-Vincent Lecavalier
Line 2: Matt Read-Sean Couturier-Wayne Simmonds
Line 3: Scott Hartnell-Brayden Schenn-Jake Voracek
Line 4: Zac Rinaldo-Adam Hall-Michael Raffl
D-Pair 1: Kimmo Timonen-Erik Gustafsson
D-Pair 2: Braydon Coburn-Nick Grossmann
D-Pair 3: Mark Streit-Luke Schenn
Goalie: Steve Mason
TV: CSN
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
Kevin Durso is the leading beat writer for Flyerdelphia. You can follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
