Flyers-Bruins Preview: Hitting the Home Stretch

As the weekend begins, the Flyers have officially hit the home stretch in more ways than one. There are 12 games remaining on the regular season schedule, but also just three left in this gauntlet of games against playoff opponents.

The next two games come in short order in a weekend back-to-back on home ice, starting on Saturday afternoon against the Boston Bruins.

Game time is at 1 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Boston Bruins	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	64	28	31	59	David Pastrnak	71	44	55	99
Joel Farabee	70	21	28	49	Brad Marchand	71	27	35	62
Owen Tippett	66	25	21	46	Charlie Coyle	71	23	31	54
Travis Sanheim	69	9	31	40	Pavel Zacha	67	17	30	47
Morgan Frost	59	12	26	38	Charlie McAvoy	63	9	33	42

Owen Tippett kept up his hot streak on Thursday by extending his points streak to five games. He has three goals and five assists in that time, including a three-assist night against Boston last Saturday.

It's not often the Flyers limit David Pastrnak, especially in a game that featured 11 goals, but Pastrnak was held to one assist last Saturday. He followed it up with a hat trick against Ottawa on Tuesday. He had a six-game points streak snapped on Thursday against the Rangers.

Felix Sandstrom is expected to get the start. Sandstrom last played a week ago in Boston, making 24 saves on 30 shots in the loss. This would be his third start and fifth appearance of the season.

Linus Ullmark gets the start for the Bruins. Ullmark made 29 saves on 31 shots in a win over Ottawa on Tuesday in his last start. On Jan. 27, Ullmark made 35 saves on 37 shots in a win over the Flyers.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Jamie Drysdale (injury), Rasmus Ristolainen (injury), Nick Seeler (injury), Denis Gurianov (healthy), Sean Couturier (healthy), Cam Atkinson (healthy), Marc Staal (healthy)

Bruins Scratches: Parker Wotherspoon (healthy), Kevin Shattenkirk (healthy), Jakub Lauko (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: The Flyers did not practice on Friday. Any lineup changes will be known closer to game time.
Bruins: Brad Marchand had a maintenance day on Friday but is expected to play. James van Riemsdyk is questionable to play after missing two games due to illness.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (12.7% - 32nd), Bruins (23.8% - 8th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (84.6% - 3rd), Bruins (82.1% - 7th)
Recent History vs. Bruins
- March 16, 2024 - Bruins 6, Flyers 5 (at BOS)
- Jan. 27, 2024 - Bruins 6, Flyers 2 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Bruins
- Sean Couturier: 34 GP, 9 G, 10 A, 19 P
- Travis Konecny: 27 GP, 6 G, 8 A, 14 P
- Travis Sanheim: 24 GP, 5 G, 6 A, 11 P
- Sam Ersson: 2 GP, 0-1-0, 6.87 GAA, .778 SV%
- Felix Sandstrom: 2 GP, 0-2-0, 5.76 GAA, .828 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Sean Couturier needs four points to reach 500 for his career.