The Flyers are set to take the ice for their annual Black Friday game, as they welcome the Nashville Predators and a familiar face in Peter Laviolette to the Wells Fargo Center for some afternoon hockey.
Today's game will be the first of two meetings between the Flyers and Predators this season. Both times split the season series last year at one game apiece, with the Preds winning 4-1 on Dec. 27 and the Flyers winning 3-2 in a shootout on Feb. 21.
Both teams are coming off of stretches where goal scoring came at a premium. The Flyers (7-10-5) went two whole games without a goal at this point last week, while the Predators failed to score in three-consecutive games (against Columbus on Nov. 20, Minnesota on Nov. 20 and the New York Rangers on Nov. 23). The Flyers, of course, snapped their skid in a 3-2 overtime win against Carolina on Monday, while the Predators snapped theirs in a 3-2 win over Buffalo on Wednesday.
Leading the charge offensively for the Predators (12-6-5) is James Neal, with nine goals and 15 points. Neal, of course, is a name Flyers fans will likely remember from his slew-footing heyday in Pittsburgh. Steady defenseman Roman Josi isn't too far behind, with four goals and 13 points.
The Flyers also made a roster move on Thursday night, sending Taylor Leier to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and calling up Nick Cousins. In six games, Leier was held without a point, and averaged 7:39 of ice time per game. Cousins returns for his second stint with the Flyers — in 11 games last season, he was held without a point as well, with a plus-1 rating.
Evgeny Medvedev may also make his return to the lineup, after missing 11 of the past 12 games with a concussion and partially as a healthy scratch. Coach Dave Hakstol hinted at the possibility of Medvedev returning, due to a desire to increase speed off the rush.
Friday's game will be the penultimate November game for the Flyers, as they prepare to close out a month that saw them struggle mightily. Just about everything that could go wrong actually did go wrong for the Orange and Black, as they have mustered just three wins to this point.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (23rd, 24th at home), Predators (21st, 21st on road)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (17th, 19th at home), Predators (15th, 24th on road)
- The Flyers are 9-8-3 all-time against the Predators, and 6-4-1 at home.
- The Predators have not won in regulation at Wells Fargo Center since Nov. 29, 2006.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Line 1: Michael Raffl-Claude Giroux-Brayden Schenn
Line 2: Matt Read-Sean Couturier-Wayne Simmonds
Line 3: Nick Cousins-Scott Laughton-Jakub Voracek
Line 4: Chris VandeVelde-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Colin McDonald
D-Pair 1: Michael Del Zotto-Radko Gudas
D-Pair 2: Evgeny Medvedev-Luke Schenn
D-Pair 3: Shayne Gostisbehere-Brandon Manning
Goalie: Steve Mason
Scratches: Nick Schultz, Vincent Lecavalier, Ryan White, Mark Streit, R.J. Umberger, Sam Gagner
Where to Watch:
TV: TCN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Rob Riches is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
