The Flyers continue their brief season-opening sting in the Sunshine State tonight, taking on the Florida Panthers on the heels their heart-racing start to the season in Tampa.
Two maligned Flyers from 2014-15 will look to follow up on strong performances from the season opener — including Matt Read (who scored the team's first goal of the season) and R.J. Umberger, who assisted on both Flyers goals in the 3-2 loss to the Lightning.
Tonight's game will be the Panthers' season opener, following a 3-3-0 preseason. Up front, the Panthers will be led by a dynamic line in Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and ageless wonder Jaromir Jagr, and a balanced defensive corps that includes cagey vets Brian Campbell and Willie Mitchell in addition to defending Calder Trophy winner Aaron Ekblad. Huberdeau led the Cats with 54 points last season (15 goals, 39 points), while Nick Bjugstad's 24 goals led the team in that category.
Steve Mason is expected to start in goal for the Flyers, following a 29-save performance on Thursday. Roberto Luongo is expected to start between the Panthers' pipes, and will look to improve upon his 7-8-2 record against the Orange and Black.
The Flyers and Panthers met three times in 2014-15, yielding a 1-1-1 record. The Flyers last beat the Panthers on Nov. 6 — a 4-1 win which saw Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier record multi-point games and Michael Del Zotto score his first goal as a Flyer. Jakub Voracek scored the lone Flyers goal in the Orange and Black's most recent meeting with the Panthers on Dec. 18, which ended in an all-too-familiar shootout loss.
All-time, the Flyers are 47-28-7-4 against the Panthers, and 28-13-1-0 in road meetings. Their last win at BB&T Center came on April 8, 2014 — a 5-2 win that saw Claude Giroux score two goals and the Orange and Black clinch a playoff berth.
The Orange and Black next face the Panthers in their home opener on Monday, and won't meet them again until March 12.
Tonight's game will also see a familiar off-ice face, as the Flyers will play for the first time against Peter Luukko, who was appointed as the Panthers' Executive Chairman last February. Luukko oversaw the Flyers as president and served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Comcast-Spectacor until Dec. 2013.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (3rd, 12th on road in 2014-15), Panthers (24th, 21st at home in 2014-15)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (27th, 29th on road in 2014-15), Panthers (24th, 18th at home in 2014-15)
- Last season, the Flyers lost 2-1 to the Panthers on Nov. 1, won 4-1 on Nov. 6 and lost 2-1 in a shootout on Dec. 18.
- Connor Brickley will make his NHL debut for the Panthers, who drafted him in the second round in 2010.
- 11 players in the Panthers' lineup will be 25 years of age or younger.
- Milestone Watch: R.J. Umberger is three away from 100 PIM as a Flyer, Mark Streit needs four points to reach 100 as a Flyer.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Line 1: Michael Raffl-Claude Giroux-Jake Voracek
Line 2: Matt Read-Sean Couturier-Wayne Simmonds
Line 3: Brayden Schenn-Scott Laughton-R.J. Umberger
Line 4: Chris VandeVelde-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Ryan White
D-Pair 1: Nick Schultz-Mark Streit
D-Pair 2: Michael Del Zotto-Brandon Manning
D-Pair 3: Luke Schenn-Evgeny Medvedev
Goalie: Steve Mason
Scratches: Radko Gudas, Vincent Lecavalier, Sam Gagner
Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
