By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The rivalry returns as the Flyers prepare to close out a three-game homestand by taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Flyers and Penguins meet in just the ninth game of the season for each club. Last season, the two teams did not face each other until January.
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
| Flyers Leaders | GP | G | A | P | Penguins Leaders | GP | G | A | P |
| Claude Giroux | 8 | 0 | 9 | 9 | Evgeni Malkin | 8 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Jake Voracek | 8 | 3 | 5 | 8 | Phil Kessel | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 8 | 5 | 2 | 7 | Patric Hornqvist | 8 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Travis Konecny | 8 | 1 | 6 | 7 | Matt Cullen | 8 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Mark Streit | 8 | 2 | 4 | 6 | Scott Wilson | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 28 Claude Giroux | 87 Sidney Crosby |
| Last 5 Games: 0 G, 5 A, 5 P, -4 | Last 5 Games: 2 G, 1 A, 3 P, E |
The Flyers captain is not off to the greatest start in his eyes, but his nine assists lead the NHL. He is still in search of his first goal however, but the Penguins tend to bring out the best in several Flyers. This could be the night Claude Giroux snaps his goalless drought.
The Penguins are a different team with Sidney Crosby in the lineup. With the captain back, the Penguins are red hot entering Saturday's game.
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 35 Steve Mason | 29 Marc-Andre Fleury |
| 2-4-1, 3.15 GAA, .886 SV% | 5-2-1, 2.97 GAA, .910 SV% |
Steve Mason gets the start again for the Flyers. Mason struggled on Thursday against the Coyotes, allowing five goals on 25 shots, but Mason carried the Flyers through the early portion of the week with a strong performance in Montreal and picking up the win in relief on Tuesday against Buffalo.
Marc-Andre Fleury has carried the Penguins through the early season in tending the net. With last year's playoff hero Matt Murray still recovering from a hand injury, Fleury has started the season strong and gets another start against the cross-state rivals.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Scratches: Nick Cousins, Andrew MacDonald, Michael Raffl, Scott Laughton, Michael Del Zotto
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 10 Brayden Schenn | 28 Claude Giroux | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 11 Travis Konecny | 14 Sean Couturier | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 24 Matt Read | 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 13 Roman Lyubimov |
| 76 Chris VandeVelde | 27 Boyd Gordon | 22 Dale Weise |
| Defense | ||
| 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 55 Nick Schultz | |
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 32 Mark Streit | |
| 3 Radko Gudas | 23 Brandon Manning | |
| Goalie | ||
| 35 Steve Mason |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (5th, 7th at home), Penguins (7th, T-29th on road)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (22nd, T-19th at home), Penguins (T-16th, T-16th on road)
- Recent History vs. Penguins
- Jan. 21, 2016 – The Penguins defeated the Flyers, 4-3, in Pittsburgh. The Flyers jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals by Brayden Schenn and Jake Voracek. But three Pittsburgh goals in the second by Trevor Daley, Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel put the Penguins in front. Kessel added his second in the third. Claude Giroux scored to cut the lead to one with under four minutes to play, but the Flyers could not complete the comeback.
- March 19, 2016 – The Penguins defeated the Flyers, 4-1, in Philadelphia. The Flyers scored first again, this time in the second period with a goal by Radko Gudas. The Penguins tied it up just over a minute later with a goal by Trevor Daley. The tie score held up until the final three minutes of the second, when the Penguins scored two quick goals by Carl Hagelin and Chris Kunitz to go in front. Kris Letang iced the game with an empty-net goal late in the third.
- April 3, 2016 – The Penguins routed the Flyers, 6-2, in Pittsburgh. The game remained scoreless into the late stages of the first when Sidney Crosby and Beau Bennett struck for goal separated by less than two minutes to give Pittsburgh a two-goal lead. Halfway through the game, Patric Hornqvist scored to make it 3-0. Wayne Simmonds got the Flyers on the board late in the second to cut the lead back to two. The Penguins struck three times in the third, including an empty-net goal to seal the win. Jake Voracek scored the only Flyers goal in the third.
- April 9, 2016 – The Flyers claimed a 3-1 win over the Penguins which helped them clinch a playoff spot. Nick Bonino opened the scoring with eight minutes left in the third, but a late goal by Wayne Simmonds tied the game at the end of the period. Simmonds scored again on a deflection with three minutes left in the second, a lead that held up until Pierre-Edouard Bellemare iced the game with an empty-net goal.
- A Look Back in Flyers History - This memory comes courtesy of the 2000 Playoffs. Trailing 2-0 in the series, the Flyers faced an uphill battle going to Pittsburgh for Games 3 and 4. Both proved to be thrillers. The Flyers opened up a 2-0 lead in Game 3 with goals by Andy Delmore and Keith Jones. The Penguins tied the game in the second with goals by Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka. The two teams exchanged third-period goals — John LeClair for the Flyers at 7:27 and Jagr at 14:28. In overtime, the Flyers claimed victory on Delmore's second goal of the game at 11:01. Two nights later, the Flyers played one of the longest games in NHL history and the longest in the modern era of the NHL (152:01). Alex Kovalev scored 2:22 into the game to put the Penguins in front, a lead that held up until John LeClair scored at 4:47 of the third period on the power play. The game went into overtime. And a second. And a third. And a fourth. And on to a fifth after that. Finally, at 12:01 of the fifth overtime, Keith Primeau scored to give the Flyers the win and even the series.
- Flyers leaders vs. Penguins
- Jake Voracek - 28 games, 13 goals, 17 assists, 30 points
- Claude Giroux - 36 games, 12 goals, 24 assists, 36 points
- Wayne Simmonds - 24 games, 11 goals, 9 assists, 20 points
- Steve Mason - 14 games, 7-5-1, 2.53 GAA, .923 Sv%
- Milestone Watch
- Jake Voracek needs one goal for his 100th as a Flyer and three assists to reach 300 for his career.
- Mark Streit needs two assists for 100 as a Flyer.
- Brayden Schenn needs two points to reach 200 for his career.
Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
