Game 35 Preview: Flyers visit Anaheim’s Duck pond

 

Player to Watch
93 Jakub Voracek	10 Corey Perry
Last 5 Games: 2G, 6A, 8P, +5	Last  Games: 1G, 1A, 2P, E

 

After a frustratingly-slow start to the season, things turned around for Jakub Voracek once he was shifted to the second line and left wing. Voracek has responded with eight points over his last five games, and Dave Hakstol has rewarded him with increased ice time per game. The line of Voracek and Wayne Simmonds centered by Sean Couturier has become one of the Flyers' most productive, and has begun to rebound from the second-line woes that plagued the Orange and Black at points this season.

 

Though he leads a dismal team in scoring, Corey Perry has always been productive against the Orange and Black. In 11 career games against the Flyers, he has two goals and nine assists. Perhaps his most notable moment against the Flyers came in the 2008-09 campaign, when he maliciously elbowed then-rookie Claude Giroux in the head on a late hit — which led to a four-game suspension.

 

Goalie Matchup
35 Steve Mason	34 Frederik Andersen
7-8-5, 2.72 GAA, .913 SV%	5-8-4, 2.59 GAA, .911 SV%

Steve Mason has started each of the last two games for the Flyers after sitting out three straight. Since his return last week against Vancouver, Mason has been spectacular. He posted a 36 save shutout over the Canucks and backed that up with a 35 save performance in the team's shootout loss to Columbus on Saturday. The Flyers goaltender will need to be sharp once again against a tough St. Louis team.

Frederik Andersen figures to return between the pipes for the Ducks. His young career has seen him play the Flyers just thrice, and he has won all three meetings, posting a 3.16 GAA and .907 save percentage.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Mark Streit, Sam Gagner, Vincent Lecavalier, Michael Del Zotto

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
12 Michael Raffl	28 Claude Giroux	10 Brayden Schenn
93 Jake Voracek	14 Sean Couturier	17 Wayne Simmonds
24 Matt Read	21 Scott Laughton	20 R.J. Umberger
76 Chris VandeVelde	78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	25 Ryan White
Defense
23 Brandon Manning	3 Radko Gudas
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	22 Luke Schenn
82 Evgeny Medvedev	55 Nick Schultz
Goalie
35 Steve Mason

The Flyers changed up their defensive pairings in Saturday's practice, but Hakstol expressed that there was not much to read from that. While he practiced on Saturday, Mark Streit will not make his return to the lineup for tonight's game, and will target a Wednesday return instead.

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (26th, 15th on road), Ducks (27th, 22nd at home) 
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (17th, 12th on road), Ducks  (1st, 6th at home)
• The Flyers are 6-2-2 in their last ten games overall, and a win combined with a Pittsburgh loss would tie them with New Jersey for fourth in the Metropolitan Division.
• The Flyers are 10-13-5 all-time against the Ducks (dating back to their glorious time as the Mighty Ducks), and have not won at Honda Center since Dec. 2, 2011.
• The next meeting in the Flyers-Ducks season series is set for Feb. 9 at Wells Fargo Center.

Where to Watch
TV: The Comcast Network
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61