Flyers-Penguins Preview: Opportunity Knocks

Saturday's hard-fought loss to the Rangers provided no help in the standings. The regulation loss to the hottest team in the NHL only makes Sunday's game more of a critical opportunity for the Flyers.

The Flyers take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of the teams below them in the standings. The Penguins have four games in hand, but also face a nine-point deficit to the Flyers for a playoff spot. A win in regulation could extend that gap to 11, and potentially put the Penguins out of reach as the season nears the final quarter.

Game time is at 3:30 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Pittsburgh Penguins	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	57	27	27	54	Sidney Crosby	54	31	25	56
Joel Farabee	58	17	26	43	Jake Guentzel	50	22	30	52
Owen Tippett	54	21	14	35	Evgeni Malkin	54	16	27	43
Sean Couturier	54	11	22	33	Erik Karlsson	54	7	34	41
Travis Sanheim	57	6	26	32	Kris Letang	44	6	28	34

Tyson Foerster returned to the Flyers lineup on Saturday after missing four games and made an immediate impact. He scored the lone goal for the Flyers on Saturday, marking his fourth in the last five games he has played.

Sidney Crosby continues to pace the Penguins as their top points producer. Crosby has four goals and two assists in eight games in the month of February. Crosby has 54 goals and 125 points in 86 career games against the Flyers.

Cal Petersen is expected to get the start for the Flyers. Petersen makes his first start since Feb. 10, when he stopped 17 of 19 shots in a win against the Seattle Kraken. This is Petersen's fourth start of the season.

Tristan Jarry is expected to start for the Penguins. Jarry made 30 saves on 31 shots in his last start, a win over the Canadiens on Thursday. The win snapped a personal three-game losing streak for Jarry. Jarry made 30 saves on 33 shots in a shootout loss to the Flyers on Dec. 2.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Rasmus Ristolainen (injury), Travis Konecny (injury), Olle Lycksell (healthy)

Penguins Scratches: Jake Guentzel (injury), Matt Nieto (injury), Jesse Puljujarvi (healthy), John Ludvig (healthy), Matthew Phillips (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: Travis Konecny did not play Saturday and is not expected to play Sunday. He is day-to-day with an upper-body injury suffered in practice on Friday. Olle Lycksell was called up, giving the Flyers the option to return to a 12-6 lineup.
Penguins: Emil Bemstrom could make his Penguins debut after being acquired in a trade with Columbus on Thursday. No other changes are expected.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (13.0% - 31st), Penguins (13.9% - 30th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (86.9% - 2nd), Penguins (82.4% - 8th)
Recent History vs. Penguins
- Jan. 8, 2024 - Penguins 4, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
- Dec. 4, 2023 - Flyers 2, Penguins 1 (F/OT) (at PHI)
- Dec. 2, 2023 - Flyers 4, Penguins 3 (F/SO) (at PIT)
Flyers Leaders vs. Penguins
- Sean Couturier: 49 GP, 9 G, 21 A, 30 P
- Travis Konecny: 29 GP, 11 G, 13 A, 24 P
- Marc Staal: 61 GP, 3 G, 12 A, 15 P
- Sam Ersson: 2 GP, 1-1-0, 2.94 GAA, .903 SV%
- Cal Petersen: 3 GP, 2-1-0, 3.01 GAA, .901 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Joel Farabee needs two assists to reach 100 for his career.
- Morgan Frost needs four points to reach 100 for his career.