Flyers-Blue Jackets: Game 9 Preview

Aside from the home opener against the New Jersey Devils, the Flyers schedule has been entirely against Western Conference opponents. That is about to change.

The Flyers next 14 games are against Eastern Conference teams, including eight within the Metropolitan Division, a big chance to show how they stack up within a highly competitive group of teams all vying for playoff spots this season.

The first game comes on Saturday night, when the Flyers return home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets, who enter the game on a six-game points streak. Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Columbus Blue Jackets	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	8	4	7	11	Pierre-Luc Dubois	10	4	2	6
Oskar Lindblom	8	5	2	7	Seth Jones	10	1	5	6
Sean Couturier	8	2	3	5	Cam Atkinson	10	3	2	5
Ivan Provorov	8	2	3	5	Gustav Nyquist	10	2	3	5
Claude Giroux	8	1	4	5	Alexander Wennberg	10	2	3	5

Player to Watch
14 Sean Couturier	13 Cam Atkinson
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 3 A, 4 P, -2	Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, +1

Sean Couturier had a four-game points streak snapped on Thursday, but his linemates continued their hot start to the season. This has been the most effective group among the forwards so far, so look for them to continue their run of success with Couturier trying to find his way back onto the scoresheet.

Cam Atkinson has just three goals in 10 games after scoring 41 last season, but his last goal was a game-winner in overtime in a 4-3 win over the Hurricanes. With points in three of his last four games, Atkinson is starting to heat up.

Projected Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	70 Joonas Korpisalo
4 GP, 2-1-0, 2.09 GAA, .933 SV%	8 GP, 5-2-1, 2.72 GAA, .901 SV%

Brian Elliott has put together back-to-back solid starts against Vegas and Chicago and for that gets another start against Columbus on Saturday night. The Flyers do have a back-to-back this weekend, so Elliott was always slated to get one of the games, but it makes sense to ride the hot hand entering Saturday.

Joonas Korpisalo is no longer the backup in Columbus, making eight starts in the team's first 10 games. He has wins in four of the last five starts, but has allowed three goals in each of the last three starts.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nolan Patrick

Scratches: Sam Morin, Tyler Pitlick

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
25 James van Riemsdyk	28 Claude Giroux	93 Jake Voracek
23 Oskar Lindblom	14 Sean Couturier	11 Travis Konecny
21 Scott Laughton	13 Kevin Hayes	49 Joel Farabee
12 Michael Raffl	24 Mikhail Vorobyev	44 Chris Stewart
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim	61 Justin Braun
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	8 Robert Hagg
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott	79 Carter Hart

Lineup Notes

The Flyers will go with the same lineup as Thursday. It did appear that Michael Raffl, who exited Thursday's game in the final minute after blocking a shot in serious pain, was going to miss some time, but x-rays were negative and he was able to take the morning skate on Saturday morning with no issues.

Blue Jackets Projected Lineup

Injuries: Markus Nutivaara, Brandon Dubinsky

Scratches: Jakob Lilja, Dean Kukan

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
71 Nick Foligno	18 Pierre-Luc Dubois	13 Cam Atkinson
14 Gustav Nyquist	10 Alexander Wennberg	77 Josh Anderson
42 Alexandre Texier	38 Boone Jenner	28 Oliver Bjorkstrand
22 Sonny Milano	20 Riley Nash	52 Emil Bemstrom
Defense
8 Zach Werenski	3 Seth Jones
27 Ryan Murray	4 Scott Harrington
44 Vladislav Gavrikov	58 David Savard
Goalie
70 Joonas Korpisalo	90 Elvis Merzlinkins

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (T-5th), Blue Jackets (24th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (20th), Blue Jackets (21st)
Recent History vs. Blue Jackets
- Oct. 18, 2018 - Blue Jackets 6, Flyers 3 (at CBJ)
- Dec. 6, 2018 - Blue Jackets 4, Flyers 3 (F/OT) (at PHI)
- Dec. 22, 2018 - Blue Jackets 4, Flyers 3 (at PHI)
- Feb. 28, 2019 - Blue Jackets 4, Flyers 3 (F/OT) (at CBJ)
Flyers Leaders vs. Blue Jackets
- Claude Giroux - 29 GP, 9 G, 19 A, 28 P
- Travis Konecny - 11 GP, 3 G, 7 A, 10 P
- Travis Sanheim - 6 GP, 4 G, 1 A, 5 P
- Brian Elliott - 12 GP, 6-3-3, 2.40 GAA, .914 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Jake Voracek needs three goals to reach 200 for his career.