Flyers-Penguins: Game 2 Preview

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Pittsburgh Penguins	GP	G	A	P
Joel Farabee	1	1	3	4	Brandon Tanev	1	1	1	2
Kevin Hayes	1	1	1	2	Mark Jankowski	1	1	1	2
Erik Gustafsson	1	0	2	2	Sidney Crosby	1	1	0	1
Michael Raffl	1	1	0	1	Jared McCann	1	0	1	1
Oskar Lindblom	1	1	0	1	Jake Guentzel	1	0	0	0

 

 

Wednesday's game was quite the first impression for Joel Farabee. Through two periods, the second-year forward had helped contribute to all three Flyers goals, scoring one and assisting on the other two. He added another assist as the Flyers put the game away with their sixth goal. Farabee has all the potential to be a goal scorer and to take a pretty significant step in his development this season. That was on full display on Wednesday. Playing on a line that seemed to generate the most, look for Farabee to be right in the middle of the action again.

 

The Penguins didn't get a lot out of their top forwards in the opener. In fact, if not for a turnover in front of the net, Sidney Crosby would have been held off the board too. Crosby still had plenty of jump in the game, as did one of his linemates. Jake Guentzel was stopped by Carter Hart on a good scoring chance not long after the Flyers had taken the lead back in the third. He's a dangerous player with a scorer's touch, especially with Crosby down the middle.

 

The turnover to Crosby aside, Carter Hart was solid in his season debut. He allowed a goal in the first period that he partially stopped before it rose to the top of the net. The other goal he allowed in the third was one that was placed high over the glove and caught iron on the way in. Not much you can do about shots like that. Hart otherwise looked sharp, especially once the Flyers gained the lead back for good. He's back in goal for the second time on the young season.

After allowing six goals in the opener, Tristan Jarry will likely get the call for the Penguins with a chance to bounce back. Jarry has shown the ability to make the key saves and lead the Penguins to victory, but in a lot of cases was left helpless in the opener. The Flyers were very opportunistic and seemingly jumped on every chance. Jarry will be looking for revenge as much as anybody, so expect a sharper performance in goal from Pittsburgh.

Projected Lineups

 

Flyers Scratches: Morgan Frost, Shayne Gostisbehere, Mark Friedman

Penguins Scratches: Cody Ceci, Juuso Riikola

Lineup Notes

• Flyers: No changes are expected to the lineup for the Flyers. After Wednesday night's win, the line combinations remained the same. Mark Friedman and Morgan Frost sit as healthy scratches. Shayne Gostisbehere remains on the NHL's COVID-19 unavailable players list.
• Penguins: The Penguins still don't have the services of Kasperi Kapanen due to his presence on the NHL's COVID-19 unavailable players list. They will make one change to the lineup, bringing in Chad Ruhwedel for Cody Ceci.

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (T-1st), Penguins (T-7th)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-18th), Penguins (T-27th)
• Recent History vs. Penguins
  • Jan. 13, 2021 – Flyers 6, Penguins 3 (at PHI)
• Flyers Leaders vs. Penguins
  • Claude Giroux – 52 GP, 16 G, 36 A, 52 P
  • Jake Voracek – 44 GP, 23 G, 20 A, 43 P
  • Joel Farabee – 4 GP, 1 G, 5 A, 6 P
  • Sean Couturier – 38 GP, 6 G, 18 A, 24 P
  • Carter Hart – 4 GP, 2-1-0, 2.41 GAA, .929 SV%
• Milestone Watch
  • Jake Voracek needs two assists to pass Mark Recchi for fifth all-time in Flyers history.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic/97.3 ESPN

Game Preview Video