Flyers-Maple Leafs: Game 50 Preview

Flyers Leaders	GP	G	A	P	Maple Leafs Leaders	GP	G	A	P
Jake Voracek	49	14	30	44	Auston Matthews	46	23	16	39
Claude Giroux	49	11	29	40	James van Riemsdyk	46	17	22	39
Wayne Simmonds	49	20	17	37	Mitch Marner	46	11	28	39
Brayden Schenn	46	15	18	33	Nazem Kadri	46	20	14	34
Ivan Provorov	49	4	18	22	Tyler Bozak	43	12	18	30

 

Player to Watch
93 Jake Voracek	34 Auston Matthews
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 3 A, 4 P, -1	Last 5 Games: 2 G, 0 A, 2 P, -1

 

Jake Voracek has points in two straight games and snapped an eight-game scoring drought with his goal on Wednesday. Even without a goal in eight straight games, Voracek has been setting up teammates with five assists in the eight-game drought and another assist on Wednesday as well. 

 

Auston Matthews, the Maple Leafs rookie sensation, has been taking the league by storm this season with 23 goals, ranked fourth in the league. His scoring touch is tremendous and he's a threat from anywhere on the ice. Keep in mind that the Leafs struck for six goals against the Flyers in November and Matthews only factored into one of the goals with an assist.

 

Goalie Matchup
35 Steve Mason	35 Curtis McElhinney
16-15-6, 2.84 GAA, .902 SV%	3-1-2, 2.34 GAA, .928 SV%

Fresh off his shutout win on Wednesday night, Steve Mason is expected back between the pipes on Thursday against Toronto as well. Mason has been excellent in back-to-back starts, both wins for the Flyers.

Curtis McElhinney, a newcomer to the Leafs, makes his second start with Toronto and just his ninth appearance of the season on Thursday. McElhinney does have a strong record against the Flyers, going 5-2-0 with a 2.71 GAA in seven starts.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Dale Weise, Nick Schultz, Michael Del Zotto

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
12 Michael Raffl	28 Claude Giroux	93 Jake Voracek
11 Travis Konecny	10 Brayden Schenn	17 Wayne Simmonds
25 Nick Cousins	14 Sean Couturier	24 Matt Read
76 Chris VandeVelde	78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	13 Roman Lyubimov
Defense
23 Brandon Manning	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
9 Ivan Provorov	47 Andrew MacDonald
32 Mark Streit	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
35 Steve Mason

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (9th, 7th at home), Maple Leafs (2nd, 1st on road)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-17th, T-11th at home), Maple Leafs (4th, 1st on road) 
• Recent History vs. Maple Leafs
  • Nov. 11, 2016 - The Flyers fell to the Maple Leafs, 6-3, in Toronto. Nazem Kadri scored early in the first to give Toronto the lead, but goals by Wayne Simmonds and Travis Konecny put the Flyers ahead until late in the first when Morgan Rielly tied the game with a goal during a 5-on-3 power play for the Leafs. Simmonds scored again shorthanded in the second to give the Flyers a lead going to the third. But the Flyers surrendered four goals in the third, including one shorthanded and one power-play goal to give the Leafs the three-goal win.
• Flyers leaders vs. Maple Leafs
• Claude Giroux – 26 games, 9 goals, 17 assists, 26 points
• Shayne Gostisbehere - 4 games, 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points
• Jake Voracek - 18 games, 4 goals, 10 assists, 14 points
• Steve Mason - 13 games, 4-6-2, 3.43 GAA, .876 Sv%
• Milestone Watch
  • Brayden Schenn needs one goal for 100 in his career.

Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic