The Philadelphia Flyers (8-12-3) head out to the west coast for a three game swing. They look to put an end to their four game losing skid as the take on the San Jose Sharks (11-10-4) at the SAP Center. Game time is 10:00.
Philadelphia is coming off a 5-2 loss to the Rangers on Saturday. The Flyers hung with New York for two periods, primarily because of the play of Ray Emery, but fell apart down the stretch. The Rangers would score three third period goals to put the Flyers away.
Coach Craig Berube continued to switch the lineup around on Saturday. Andrew MacDonald and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare were healthy scratches as Luke Schenn and Chris VandeVelde returned to the lineup.
The lineup figures to once again be different tonight as Vincent Lecavalier and Michael Del Zotto appear to be a healthy scratches for the game..
One player who doesn't have to worry about sitting is Jakub Voracek. Voracek continues to lead the Flyers in all offensive categories. The right winger has 9 goals, 23 assists, and 32 points through 23 games.
He trails only Sidney Crosby for the league scoring lead.
The Flyers have become a one line, one power play unit team. They desperately need other lines to start producing and fast if they hope to salvage their season. Outside of the top line and first power play unit, the team has no other player in double digits in scoring.
Steve Mason figures to get the start tonight. Mason has been very solid of late. The Philadelphia goaltender has played well enough to win each of his last four starts but only has one win in those games.
Mason has kept the team in games they have no business being in. That was never more evident than last Monday on Long Island as he posted a 46 save shutout loss to the Islanders.
The Sharks have been a very good regular season team in recent years but have failed to perform in the post season. Last year the Sharks blew a 3-0 series lead to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings in the first round.
The loss prompted another change of captaincy for the team. They began camp with no defined leadership group. Joe Thornton, who replaced longtime captain Patrick Marleau, ultimately retained his captaincy
The Sharks have had a very up and down start to their season.They recently snapped a four game losing streak of their own, beating Anaheim 6-4 on Saturday
Thornton and Logan Couture pace the San Jose offense. Both players have 21 points on the year. Couture is also tied for the team lead with 10 goals.
Antti Niemi figures to get the start between the pipes for the Sharks. Niemi is 8-7-3 on the season with a 2.57 goals against average and a .914 save percentage.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (7th, 20th on road), Sharks (4th, 15th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (30th, 30th on road), Sharks (13th, 17th at home)
- This is the first of two meetings this season between the clubs. The two teams split last year's series.
- Milestone Watch: R.J. Umberger needs one assist for 200 in his career.
Flyers scratches: Vincent Lecavalier, Carlo Colaiacovo, Michael Del Zotto
Flyers Projected Lineup
Line 1: Michael Raffl-Claude Giroux-Jake Voracek
Line 2: Brayden Schenn-Scott Laughton-Wayne Simmonds
Line 3: Zac Rinaldo-Sean Couturier-Matt Read
Line 4:R.J. Umbereger–Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Chris VandeVelde
D-Pair 1: Nick Grossmann-Mark Streit
D-Pair 2: Braydon Coburn-Nick Schultz
D-Pair 3:Andrew MacDonald-Luke Schenn
Goalie: Steve Mason
Where to Watch:
TV: CSN Philly
Listen : 97.5 The Fanatic
Bill Minchin is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow Bill on twitter @wtfd103074
