Flyers

Flyers-Penguins: Game 50 Preview

By
Kevin Durso
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Kevin Durso Sports Editor

I have been writing for Sports Talk Philly since 2011. Currently editor and lead writer of Philadelphia Flyers coverage. Co-host of the YWT Podcast. I also am Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN-FM in South Jersey. I graduated from Cabrini University in 2014.

All posts by Kevin Durso
Sports Editor

Published21 Jan 2020

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By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor Flyers-Penguins: Game 50 Preview

It has been nearly 11 months since the last time the Flyers played host to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was one of the more memorable games in recent Flyers history, a dramatic comeback win in front of 70,000 fans at Lincoln Financial Field in the 2019 Stadium Series.

The Penguins handled the Flyers with ease in their only meeting of the 2019-20 season so far, a 7-1 drubbing on Oct. 29. A lot has changed for both teams since then. The Flyers have maintained positioning as a team in contention in the playoff picture — despite entering the game outside of the playoffs — and the Penguins have surged despite injuries to star players Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel.

The next chapter in the Battle of Pennsylvania has a lot at stake for both sides. The Penguins are challenging for the division lead, just four points behind the Capitals, while the Flyers look to go into the All-Star break and bye week on a high note.

Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Pittsburgh Penguins GP G A P
Sean Couturier 49 13 29 42 Evgeni Malkin 36 15 35 50
Travis Konecny 46 17 25 42 Jake Guentzel 39 20 23 43
Jake Voracek 49 9 28 37 Bryan Rust 35 21 22 43
Claude Giroux 49 13 21 34 Kris Letang 41 10 21 31
James van Riemsdyk  49 13 15 28 Jared McCann 47 14 14 28
 
Player to Watch
11 Travis Konecny 87 Sidney Crosby
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 1 A, 4 P, -2 Last 5 Games: 3 G, 5 A, 8 P, +1
 
Travis Konecny will be the lone Flyer at the All-Star Game this weekend and his recent performance has shown why. Konecny opened the scoring with the first two goals of Saturday's win against the Kings, increasing his team lead in goals to 17 and bringing him to 42 points on the season. He is seven goals and seven points away from matching his career highs in goals and points, numbers he should easily eclipse at this rate following the All-Star break.
 
Sidney Crosby recently returned to the Penguins lineup and picked up where he left off. After posting a three-point game against the Flyers on Oct. 29, Crosby was held without a point for four straight games and suffered an injury that kept him out of action for over two months. In the four games since his return, Crosby has three goals and five assists for eight points.
 
Projected Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott 35 Tristan Jarry
23 GP, 11-5-3, 3.03 GAA, .901 SV% 24 GP, 16-7-1, 2.16 GAA, .929 SV%

Brian Elliott turned in another strong performance on Saturday, making 34 saves on 35 shots in the win over the Kings. In his two games since Carter Hart went down with an injury, Elliott has stopped 64 of 68 shots.

Tristan Jarry was on a three-game winning streak before taking the loss to Boston last Thursday. Jarry has certainly been consistent. In his last six starts, he's allowed three goals in each. 

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michael Raffl (upper-body, day-to-day), Carter Hart (lower right abdominal, 2-to-3 weeks), Shayne Gostisbehere (knee, 3 weeks), Nolan Patrick (migrane disorder, out indefinitely), Oskar Lindblom (Ewing's sarcoma, out for season)

Left Wing Center Right Wing
25 James van Riemsdyk 28 Claude Giroux 11 Travis Konecny
49 Joel Farabee 14 Sean Couturier 93 Jake Voracek
21 Scott Laughton 13 Kevin Hayes 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
50 German Rubtsov 82 Connor Bunnaman 18 Tyler Pitlick
Defense    
9 Ivan Provorov 15 Matt Niskanen  
6 Travis Sanheim 5 Phil Myers  
8 Robert Hagg 61 Justin Braun  
Goalie    
37 Brian Elliott 34 Alex Lyon  

Lineup Notes

Michael Raffl practiced on Monday as a regular, but will not be able to play due to an upper-body injury. German Rubtsov, called up on Monday, will play on the fourth line and Joel Farabee will move up to take Raffl's place in the lineup.

Penguins Projected Lineup

Injuries: Jake Guentzel, Dominik Kahun, Nick Bjugstad, Justin Schultz, Brian Dumoulin

Scratches: Sean Lafferty, Kevin Czuczman

Left Wing Center Right Wing
12 Domonik Simon 87 Sidney Crosby 72 Patric Hornqvist
19 Jared McCann 71 Evgeni Malkin 17 Bryan Rust
46 Zach Aston-Reese 53 Teddy Blueger 13 Brandon Tanev
18 Alex Galchenyuk 26 Andrew Agozzino 36 Joseph Blandisi
Defense    
3 Jack Johnson 58 Kris Letang  
28 Marcus Pettersson 6 John Marino  
50 Juuso Riikola 2 Chad Ruhwedel  
Goalie    
35 Tristan Jarry 30 Matt Murray  

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (17th), Penguins (16th)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (11th), Penguins (T-13th)
  • Recent History vs. Penguins
    • Dec. 1, 2018 – Flyers 4, Penguins 2 (at PIT)
    • Feb. 11, 2019 – Penguins 4, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
    • Feb. 23, 2019 – Flyers 4, Penguins 3 (F/OT) (at PHI)
    • March 17, 2019 – Flyers 2, Penguins 1 (F/OT) (at PIT)
    • Oct. 29, 2019 – Penguins 7, Flyers 1 (at PIT)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Penguins
    • Claude Giroux – 49 GP, 16 G, 34 A, 50 P
    • Jake Voracek – 41 GP, 21 G, 20 A, 41 P
    • Sean Couturier – 35 GP, 6 G, 16 A, 22 P
    • Brian Elliott – 15 GP, 8-4-2, 3.18 GAA, .911 SV%
  • Milestone Watch
    • Claude Giroux needs four points to reach 800 for his career.

Where to Watch
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic/97.3 ESPN