Game 60 Preview: Flyers return home for matchup with Minnesota Wild

Rob Riches

February 25 2016

As the Flyers return home from a five-game road trip that saw their playoff hopes begin to fade, they take on a Minnesota Wild club that has been one of the Western Conference's most surprising teams for all the wrong reasons.

Since the calendar flipped to 2016, the Wild had found themselves victorious just three times. They were on track to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2012, before deciding to fire coach Mike Yeo.

After Yeo's firing on Feb. 13 — less than two weeks ago — the Wild have been surging, with wins in four of their next five games. They have climbed back into the West's playoff picture, and find themselves just two points out of the final spot.

The Orange and Black amassed two wins in their road trip, and have trailed now to five points out of the spot after a frustrating 3-1 loss against Carolina on Tuesday. Shayne Gostisbehere's 15-game points streak has come to an end, falling just three games short of the franchise record. A win against the rejuvenated Wild is nothing short of crucial, but would surely come at a big-time premium.

The Flyers and Wild face off from Wells Fargo Center at 7 p.m.

Flyers Leaders	GP	G	A	P	Wild Leaders	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	57	16	33	49	Mikko Koivu	60	12	30	42
Jake Voracek	59	10	37	47	Ryan Suter	60	7	31	38
Wayne Simmonds	59	21	19	40	Thomas Vanek	59	17	19	36
Brayden Schenn	57	18	18	36	Zach Parise	51	18	18	36
Shayne Gostisbehere	41	12	22	34	Mikael Granlund	60	6	26	32

Player to Watch
10 Brayden Schenn	22 Nino Niederreiter
Last 5 Games: 3G, 3A, 6Pts, +2	Last 5 Games: 2G, 3A, 4Pts, +7

Brayden Schenn's been given a tough assignment over the past two games in centering the Orange and Black's top line, and has still been able to produce for the most part. Though he was dormant in Tuesday's loss to the Hurricanes, he still has a pair of multi-point games to his credit in wins over Toronto and New Jersey. Schenn's also been an intriguing name to watch as Monday's trade deadline approaches, and strong performances over the past several weeks only bolster his stock.

Nino Niederreiter may not be among the Wild's top scorers, but he's still been a consistent scoring threat since arriving in Minnesota in 2013. The 23-year-old right winger is on pace to set career highs in assists and points, and recorded several multi-point games lately — including a goal and an assist in Sunday's 6-1 Stadium Series win over Chicago.

Goalie Matchup
35 Steve Mason	30 Cam Ward
13-15-7, 2.70 GAA, .915 SV%	21-20-5, 2.38 GAA, .918 SV%

Expect Steve Mason to return between the pipes for the Flyers, after being pulled early in his last start for cramping. Mason carries a 6-6-1 all-time record against the Wild, and made 31 saves in his last meeting against them on Jan. 7.

After a stellar first season in Minnesota, Devan Dubnyk has not been able to duplicate his success — thanks in part to his team's poor play. Much like how the Flyers have been heavily reliant on Mason, the Wild have been quite dependent on Dubnyk

Scratches: Claude Giroux, R.J. Umberger, Evgeny Medvedev, Jordan Weal, Micheal Del Zotto

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
189 Sam Gagner	10 Brayden Schenn	17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
76 Chris VandeVelde	78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	25 Ryan White
221 Scott Laughton	52 Nick Cousins	24 Matt Read
Defense
47 Andrew MacDonald	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
32 Mark Streit	55 Nick Schultz
23 Brandon Manning	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
35 Steve Mason

Expect the Orange and Black to roll the same lineup out, as Claude Giroux is still day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (19th, 26th at home), Wild (17th, 19th on road)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (24th, 23rd at home), Wild (25th, 27th on road)
In their last matchup on Jan. 7, the Flyers topped the Wild, 4-3, in overtime. Michael Del Zotto recorded two goals (including the overtime winner), while Sean Couturier and Ryan White scored as well. Steve Mason made 31 saves on 34 shots
The Flyers are 11-6-1 all-time against the Wild, a nd 7-3-0 at Wells Fargo Center.

Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Rob Riches is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61