By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor
The Flyers have been continuing to climb into the playoff picture by consistently getting points in the standings. While they didn't manage to get two points in regulation on Friday night in Columbus, the 2-1 overtime win was the Flyers seventh straight game with points, keeping them in third in the Metropolitan Division.
That brings the Flyers into Sunday afternoon's matchup, their second this season against the New York Rangers. The Rangers have been struggling mightily of late, rapidly falling farther in the playoff picture, and are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday afternoon.
Game time is set for 12 p.m.
Team Leaders
Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | New York Rangers | GP | G | A | P |
Claude Giroux | 58 | 19 | 47 | 66 | Mats Zuccarello | 58 | 9 | 32 | 41 |
Jake Voracek | 58 | 11 | 54 | 65 | J.T. Miller | 59 | 12 | 26 | 38 |
Sean Couturier | 58 | 29 | 29 | 58 | Pavel Buchnevich | 51 | 13 | 20 | 33 |
Shayne Gostisbehere | 54 | 10 | 35 | 45 | Michael Grabner | 58 | 25 | 6 | 31 |
Wayne Simmonds | 58 | 20 | 16 | 36 | Mika Zibanejad | 50 | 17 | 14 | 31 |
Player to Watch | |
14 Sean Couturier | 40 Michael Grabner |
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 5 A, 7 P, +3 | Last 5 Games: 4 G, 1 A, 5 P, +2 |
Goalie Matchup | |
30 Michal Neuvirth | 30 Henrik Lundqvist |
8-7-3, 2.48 GAA, .919 SV% | 23-20-4, 2.80 GAA, .917 SV% |
Since picking up the win in relief for Brian Elliott in a shootout against Arizona on Feb. 10, Michal Neuvirth has won two of his three starts, with the other being a shootout loss. Neuvirth did allow four goals in the game to the Devils on Tuesday before the shootout, but has otherwise been very solid in net, allowing two goals in the two wins and making 73 saves on 75 shots.
This is not the Henrik Lundqvist of the past. Since Jan. 23, Lundqvist has been pulled early four times and has a 2-7-0 record. Lundqvist has also allowed three goals or more in all but three games in that time, and one of those games was a win in relief. Lundqvist does have tremendous career numbers against the Flyers, but this is a very vulnerable team at the moment with a goaltender that is struggling mightily.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Brian Elliott
Scratches: Taylor Leier, Mark Alt
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
28 Claude Giroux | 14 Sean Couturier | 11 Travis Konecny |
93 Jake Voracek | 19 Nolan Patrick | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
40 Jordan Weal | 21 Scott Laughton | 12 Michael Raffl |
15 Jori Lehtera | 51 Valtteri Filppula | 22 Dale Weise |
Defense | ||
9 Ivan Provorov | 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | |
8 Robert Hagg | 47 Andrew MacDonald | |
23 Brandon Manning | 3 Radko Gudas | |
Goalie | ||
30 Michal Neuvirth |
Lineup Notes
The Flyers will use the same lines as in Friday's win in Columbus.
Rangers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Ryan McDonagh, Kevin Shattenkirk, Chris Kreider, Marc Staal, Steve Kampfer, Ondrej Pavelec
Scratches: Cody McLeod
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
61 Rick Nash | 93 Mika Zibanejad | 36 Mats Zuccarello |
40 Michael Grabner | 10 J.T. Miller | 89 Pavel Buchnevich |
26 Jimmy Vesey | 51 David Desharnais | 17 Jesper Fast |
13 Kevin Hayes | 12 Peter Holland | 28 Paul Carey |
Defense | ||
76 Brady Skjei | 44 Neal Pionk | |
55 Nick Holden | 77 Tony DeAngelo | |
58 John Gilmour | 25 Ryan Sproul | |
Goalie | ||
30 Henrik Lundqvist |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (T-7th, 2nd on road), Rangers (14th, T-15th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (28th, 24th on road), Rangers (8th, 6th at home)
- Recent History vs. Rangers
- Jan. 16, 2018 – Rangers 5, Flyers 1 (at NYR)
- Milestone Watch
- Claude Giroux needs one goal to reach 200 for his career. Giroux also needs three points to pass John LeClair for 7th all-time in Flyers history.
- Sean Couturier needs one goal to reach 100 for his career.
- Shayne Gostisbehere needs four assists to reach 100 in his career.
Where to Watch
TV: NBC
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic