Flyers-Red Wings: Game 53 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers return from the All-Star break started with a successful weekend, earning three out of a possible four points against the Penguins and Avalanche.

For several weeks, the Flyers have been playing the league's best teams on a consistent basis. The next two games present an opportunity to earn some points against some of the league's worst teams.

It starts on Monday night with a game in Detroit against the last-place Red Wings.

Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Detroit Red Wings GP G A P
Sean Couturier 52 13 33 46 Dylan Larkin 53 13 24 37
Travis Konecny 49 17 27 44 Tyler Bertuzzi 53 17 19 36
Jake Voracek 52 11 29 40 Robby Fabbri 45 12 14 26
Claude Giroux 52 13 22 35 Filip Hronek 51 9 17 26
Kevin Hayes  52 16 15 31 Anthony Mantha 29 12 12 24
 
Player to Watch
49 Joel Farabee 59 Tyler Bertuzzi
Last 5 Games: 4 G, 2 A, 6 P, +4 Last 5 Games: 1 G, 1 A, 2 P, -3
 
Joel Farabee has been one of the best on the Flyers of late with six points in his last five games. He kept his hot streak going in Saturday with the first multi-goal and multi-point game of his career.
 
Tyler Bertuzzi leads the Red Wings with 17 goals this season and was their only All-Star. He's due to break out of a slump soon with no points in six of his last seven games.
 
Projected Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott 45 Jonathan Bernier
25 GP, 12-5-4, 2.94 GAA, .901 SV% 29 GP, 10-13-2, 2.92 GAA, .907 SV%

Brian Elliott will be back in goal for Monday night's game. Elliott took the loss in overtime in Friday's game in Pittsburgh, making 16 saves on 20 shots. The OT loss snapped a personal three-game winning streak for Elliott.

Jonathan Bernier gets the start for the Red Wings. Bernier made 30 saves on 31 shots in a 1-0 loss to the Rangers on Saturday. Bernier had won his previous two starts before that.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Carter Hart (lower right abdominal, out at least seven days), Shayne Gostisbehere (knee, day-to-day), 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 18 Tyler Pitlick
12 Michael Raffl 82 Connor Bunnaman 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
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

No changes to the Flyers lineup from Saturday. Shayne Gostisbehere is expected to return for Thursday night's game against New Jersey. Carter Hart was also on the ice for the morning skate with the rest of the team, but still has a little more recovery time.

Red Wings Projected Lineup

Injuries: Anthony Mantha, Filip Zadina, Frans Nielsen, Mike Green, Danny Dekeyser

Scratches: Jonathan Ericsson

Left Wing Center Right Wing
59 Tyler Bertuzzi 71 Dylan Larkin 72 Andreas Athanasiou
14 Robby Fabbri 51 Valtteri Filppula 29 Brendan Perlini
43 Darren Helm 41 Luke Glendening 73 Adam Erne
8 Justin Abdelkader 70 Christoffer Ehn 48 Givani Smith
Defense    
17 Filip Hronek 21 Dennis Cholowski  
22 Patrik Nemeth 3 Alex Biega  
83 Trevor Daley 74 Madison Bowey  
Goalie    
45 Jonathan Bernier 35 Jimmy Howard  

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (15th), Red Wings (T-29th)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-14th), Red Wings (31st)
  • Recent History vs. Red Wings
    • Dec. 18, 2018 – Flyers 3, Red Wings 2 (at PHI)
    • Feb. 16, 2019 – Flyers 6, Red Wings 5 (F/OT) (at PHI) 
    • Feb. 17, 2019 – Flyers 3, RedWings 1 (at DET)
    • Nov. 29, 2019 – Flyers 6, Red Wings 1 (at PHI)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Red Wings
    • Claude Giroux – 24 GP, 7 G, 19 A, 26 P
    • Sean Couturier – 20 GP, 7 G, 11 A, 18 P
    • Jake Voracek – 37 GP, 7 G, 21 A, 28 P
    • Brian Elliott – 7-6-2, 2.36 GAA, .918 SV%
  • Milestone Watch
    • Claude Giroux needs three points to reach 800 for his career.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia+
Radio: 93.3 WMMR

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