Flyers-Penguins Preview: Back-to-Back Battle of PA

The Battle of Pennsylvania is set for its next chapter. The first of four meetings between the Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins comes on Saturday night.

The Flyers managed a comeback to force overtime on Thursday, but suffered the loss to the Devils for their fourth in the last five games. The Penguins appear to be taking a step in the right direction again after losing four of five themselves. They closed November with two wins in three games and five out of a possible six points.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Pittsburgh Penguins	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	23	12	5	17	Sidney Crosby	22	14	11	25
Travis Sanheim	23	2	14	16	Jake Guentzel	22	7	18	25
Joel Farabee	23	8	7	15	Evgeni Malkin	22	10	10	20
Sean Couturier	21	5	10	15	Erik Karlsson	22	6	12	18
Cam Atkinson	23	8	6	14	Bryan Rust	19	10	7	17

Sean Couturier gets tasked with defending the top players on the opposition, and there is plenty of familiarity with Pittsburgh's stars. Couturier also has solid offensive numbers against Pittsburgh, with eight goals and 28 points in 46 games.

Jake Guentzel has been quiet of late on the goal-scoring front with just one goal in his last five games. That could be solved against the Flyers, a team he has great success against. In 26 career games, Guentzel has 10 goals and 26 points.

Sam Ersson gets the start for the Flyers. Ersson returns to the net for his first start since last Saturday against the Islanders, where he posted a 25-save shutout in a shootout win.

Tristan Jarry gets the start for Pittsburgh. His last was a historic start. Jarry made 39 saves on 41 shots in the win, but also made history by scoring into the empty net to become the first goalie in Penguins history to score a goal.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Noah Cates (injury), Louie Belpedio (healthy), Egor Zamula (healthy)

Penguins Scratches: Rickard Rakell (injury), Chad Ruhwedel (injury), Pierre-Olivier Joseph (injury), Noel Acciari (injury), Matt Nieto (injury), Dmitri Samorukov (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: Marc Staal comes back into the lineup for Egor Zamula. No other changes are being made.
Penguins: Both Noel Acciari and Matt Nieto will not play Saturday. Joona Koppanen was called up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (11.7% - 28th), Penguins (11.9% - 27th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (83.8% - 10th), Penguins (85.3% - 8th)
Recent History vs. Penguins
- April 2, 2023 - Penguins 4, Flyers 2 (at PIT)
- March 11, 2023 - Penguins 5, Flyers 1 (at PIT)
- Nov. 25, 2022 - Penguins 4, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Penguins
- Sean Couturier: 46 GP, 8 G, 20 A, 28 P
- Travis Konecny: 26 GP, 11 G, 11 A, 22 P
- Marc Staal: 59 GP, 3 G, 12 A, 15 P
- Cam Atkinson: 31 GP, 10 G, 4 A, 14 P
- Sam Ersson: 1 GP, 0-1-0, 3.12 GAA, .900 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Nick Deslauriers also needs one point to reach 100 for his career.
- Travis Konecny needs three assists to reach 200 for his career.