Claude Giroux and the Flyers face Patrice Bergeron and the East-leading Boston Bruins on Sunday. (Photo by Amy Irvin/38Photography)
It has oftened been discussed when the Flyers turned their season around. One such date was a 6-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Jan. 25.
The Flyers are 14-5-1 since that game.
The team that may have started it all returns for a Sunday afternoon match. The Flyers are Bruins face off at 12:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Center.
Until their recent two-game skid, snapped on Friday with a 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Flyers and Bruins may have been the two hottest teams in the NHL. The Bruins lead all NHL teams with 108 points. On Saturday, they clinched the Atlantic Division with a 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals.
The Bruins are also 19-2-3 since the Jan. 25 win against the Flyers. Two of their final eight games are against the Flyers.
The Bruins are stacked with talent as seven players have topped the 40-point mark for the season. Leading the way is David Krejci with 62 points and a team-leading 46 assists. Jarome Iginla leads the team with 30 goals and is second with 60 points.
Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic have both passed the 50-point plateau. Bergeron has 55 points and Lucic has 54.
Rounding out the group of seven are Reilly Smith, Carl Soderberg and Brad Marchand. Smith has 47 points, Soderberg has 45 and Marchand has 44.
All seven players are forwards. Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug are tops in points while Dougie Hamilton and Johnny Boychuk round out a strong defensive group.
In goal, the Bruins will go with Tuukka Rask. Rask is 33-14-5 with a 2.01 GAA and .931 save percentage.
The Flyers are led by Claude Giroux. Giroux has 78 points, third in the NHL. Scott Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds have been on a tear of late as well.
The Flyers line shuffling also worked on Friday. With Vincent Lecavalier on the fourth line and Tye McGinn on the second line, the Flyers played with the aggression that won five straight games just a week earlier.
Defensively, Kimmo Timonen played well on Friday and looks to carry that into Sunday's game. Braydon Coburn, Andrew MacDonald and Mark Streit will also look to get involved in the scoring again as part of the power play units.
Steve Mason will get the start in goal again. Mason is 31-17-6 with a 2.53 GAA and .916 save percentage.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (T-9th, 23rd at home), Bruins (4th, 7th on road)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (5th, 9th at home), Bruins (8th, 6th on road)
- The Flyers have faced the Bruins once this season. They lost, 6-1, on Jan. 25 at Wells Fargo Center. Claude Giroux scored the only goal.
- Milestone Watch: Vincent Lecavalier needs one goal for 400 in his career. Luke Schenn needs three points for 100 in his career.
Flyers scratches: Erik Gustafsson, Hal Gill, Jay Rosehill, Steve Downie
Flyers Projected Lineup
Line 1: Scott Hartnell-Claude Giroux-Jake Voracek
Line 2: Tye McGinn-Brayden Schenn-Wayne Simmonds
Line 3: Michael Raffl-Sean Couturier-Matt Read
Line 4: Zac Rinaldo-Vincent Lecavalier-Adam Hall
D-Pair 1: Kimmo Timonen-Braydon Coburn
D-Pair 2: Nick Grossmann-Mark Streit
D-Pair 3: Andrew MacDonald-Luke Schenn
Goalie: Steve Mason
Where to Watch
TV: NBC
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
