Flyers-Red Wings: Game 59 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers managed to blow a four-goal lead in the third period to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday before pulling out a 6-5 overtime win over Detroit.

Now, the home-and-home series shifts to Detroit, where the Flyers will look to sweep the season series and keep their recent run going.

Game time is at 6 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Detroit Red Wings GP G A P
Claude Giroux 58 17 44 61 Dylan Larkin 58 24 31 55
Sean Couturier 56 24 28 52 Gustav Nyquist 59 15 33 48
Jake Voracek 58 15 35 50 Andreas Athanasiou 53 20 17 37
Travis Konecny 58 17 18 35 Frans Nielsen 54 9 21 30
James van Riemsdyk 42 15 13 28 Tyler Bertuzzi 50 14 16 30
 
Player to Watch
93 Jake Voracek 39 Anthony Mantha
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 2 A, 5 P, -1 Last 5 Games: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P, E
 
Jake Voracek is currently on a nine-game points streak, extended on Saturday with a goal in the third period. Voracek has 12 points on the nine-game points streak.
 
Saturday's game was an eventful one for Anthony Mantha. He scored the final two goals of the third-period comeback to tie the game, including the equalizer with seven seconds left. Mantha also delivered a dangerous hit on Claude Giroux in the third between his two goals. A hit like that will remain fresh in the minds of the Flyers, who did not like the non-call on the play.
 
Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart 45 Jonathan Bernier
19 GP, 12-6-1, 2.62 GAA, .921 SV% 23 GP, 6-13-3, 3.37 GAA, .897 SV%

Carter Hart allowed five goals on 38 shots on Saturday. He will get his first shot in back-to-back games, going again on Sunday evening. Hart is making his third career start against the Red Wings.

Jonathan Bernier made seven saves in relief of Jimmy Howard in the third period of Saturday's game, but still took the loss, giving up the overtime game-winner to Travis Konecny. Bernier will likely get the start this time on Sunday. He made 30 saves on 33 shots in the loss to the Flyers on Dec. 18.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michal Neuvirth, Brian Elliott

Scratches: Justin Bailey, Mikhail Vorobyev, Cam Talbot

Left Wing Center Right Wing
25 James van Riemsdyk 28 Claude Giroux 11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom 14 Sean Couturier 93 Jake Voracek
21 Scott Laughton 19 Nolan Patrick 17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl 44 Phil Varone  
Defense    
9 Ivan Provorov 6 Travis Sanheim  
53 Shayne Gostisbehere 47 Andrew MacDonald  
8 Robert Hagg 3 Radko Gudas 61 Phil Myers
Goalie    
79 Carter Hart    

Lineup Notes

Phil Myers makes his NHL debut. Justin Bailey comes out of the lineup. The Flyers will go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen on Sunday.

Red Wings Projected Lineup

Injuries: Evgeny Svechnikov

Scratches: Martin Frk, Luke Witkowski, Denis Cholowski, Jacob De La Rose

Left Wing Center Right Wing
59 Tyler Bertuzzi 71 Dylan Larkin 14 Gustav Nyquist
26 Thomas Vanek  51 Frans Nielsen 39 Anthony Mantha
 43 Darren Helm 41 Luke Glendening  72 Andreas Athanasiou
8 Justin Abdelkader 70 Christoffer Ehn  27 Michael Rasmussen
Defense    
55 Niklas Kronwall 25 Mike Green  
65 Dan Dekeyser 3 Nick Jensen  
52 Jonathan Ericsson 83 Trevor Daley  
Goalie    
35 Jimmy Howard    

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (21st, 30th on road), Red Wings (24th, T-27th at home)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (28th, 28th on road), Red Wings (24th, T-28th at home) 
  • Recent History vs. Red Wings
    • Dec. 20, 2017 – Flyers 4, Red Wings 3 (at PHI)
    • Jan. 23, 2018 – Flyers 3, Red Wings 2 (F/OT) (at DET)
    • March 20, 2018 – Red Wings 5, Flyers 4 (F/SO) (at DET)
    • Dec. 18, 2018 – Flyers 3, Red Wings 2 (at PHI)
    • Feb. 16, 2019 – Flyers 6, Red Wings 5 (F/OT) (at PHI)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Red Wings
    • Claude Giroux – 22 GP, 7 G, 19 A, 26 P
    • Sean Couturier – 18 GP, 6 G, 8 A, 14 P
    • Jake Voracek – 35 GP, 7 G, 18 A, 25 P
    • Carter Hart – 2 GP, 2-0-0, 3.47 GAA, .883 SV%
  • Milestone Watch
    • Radko Gudas needs two points to reach 100 for his career.
    • Jake Voracek needs three goals to reach 200 for his career.
    • Sean Couturier needs five points to reach 200 for his career.

Where to Watch
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

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