Flyers goalie Steve Mason, formerly of the Columbus Blue Jackets, faces his former team on Thursday. (Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com)
The Philadelphia Flyers are fresh off a split home-and-home against the Washington Capitals. They get another one for the weekend as well.
The team's second straight home-and-home series starts on Thursday as the Flyers host the Columbus Blue Jackets at Wells Fargo Center.
First, this game marks another chance for the Flyers to finally move above the .500 mark. This is their fifth attempt this season to reach the elusive mark.
For Steve Mason, this will be a homecoming of sorts. Mason, a former Blue Jacket, has revitalized his career with the Flyers this season. Mason will be looking for a strong performance against his former team.
There is a chance Ray Emery will start one of the games against Columbus in this weekend stretch. Regardless, the Flyers will be faced with stopping a strong scoring team.
The Flyers last meeting against the Blue Jackets came back in November of 2011. The Flyers rolled to a 9-2 win that night.
Center Ryan Johansen leads the Blue Jackets in points with 27, including 12 goals. Former longtime foe Brandon Dubinsky, formerly of the Rangers, is now one of the Blue Jackets top scorers. Former Flyer R.J. Umberger is third on the team with 18 points.
Several of the Columbus players should be familiar to the Flyers. In addition to Dubinsky, Marian Gaborik and Artem Anisimov were part of a trade between the Rangers and Blue Jackets. Gaborik and Anisimov have combined for 25 points.
Defensively, James Wisniewski leads the team with 16 assists. He provides a strong defensive presence for Columbus with Fedor Tyutin, David Savard and Jack Johnson.
With former Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky out with injury, expect Curtis McElhinney and Mike McKenna to split the home-and-home. McElhinney has nine starts this season with a 4-4-1 record and 2.26 GAA.
Bobrovsky isn't the only Blue Jacket dealing with injury. Gaborik and Wisniewski join a lengthy list of Columbus players out with injury.
Game Notes
- Columbus has eight players currently on injured reserve.
- The Flyers have won their last seven home games.
- Columbus has the league's 11th-ranked power play and 19th ranked penalty kill. Their 75.5 percent penalty kill rate on the road is the third worst in the NHL.
- The Flyers power play is ranked 16th in the NHL, but is the fourth worst in the league on home ice. Their penalty kill ranks 12th in the NHL.
Flyers scratches: Hal Gill, Andrej Meszaros, Jay Rosehill, Vincent Lecavalier
Flyers Projected Lineup
Line 1: Michael Raffl-Claude Giroux-Jake Voracek
Line 2: Scott Hartnell-Brayden Schenn-Wayne Simmonds
Line 3: Matt Read-Sean Couturier-Steve Downie
Line 4: Zac Rinaldo-Chris VandeVelde-Adam Hall
D-Pair 1: Kimmo Timonen-Braydon Coburn
D-Pair 2: Nick Grossmann-Mark Streit
D-Pair 3: Luke Schenn-Erik Gustafsson
Goalie: Steve Mason
Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
