Flyers-Wild Preview: The Middle

As the Flyers hit the road for the final two games before the All-Star break, their next matchup comes against a team in a similar position.

The Minnesota Wild may have a winning record at 25-17-4, but 54 points have them one short of a playoff spot. While the road to the playoffs is certainly more manageable for the Wild than the Flyers at this point, both teams are somewhere in the middle of the standings, essentially the No Man's Land of the NHL.

Game time is 8 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Minnesota Wild	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	43	24	25	49	Kirill Kaprizov	46	27	30	57
Kevin Hayes	48	15	29	44	Mats Zuccarello	44	18	27	45
Scott Laughton	45	12	16	28	Joel Eriksson Ek	46	17	22	39
Tony DeAngelo	44	7	21	28	Matt Boldy	46	14	19	33
Owen Tippett	44	13	13	26	Calen Addison	45	3	20	23

Players to Watch

Wade Allison snapped a five-game goalless drought with a goal against the Kings on Tuesday, but has points in three of his last five games. Allison was shaken up a bit in Tuesday's game, so that's worth watching.

Kirill Kaprizov looks to continue a strong month of January. Kaprizov has a three-game points streak entering Thursday's game and has seven goals and 12 points in 10 games this month.

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Carter Hart will get another start for the Flyers on Thursday. Hart allowed four goals in Tuesday's overtime loss to the Kings. It was his third loss in his last four starts.

Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to start for the Wild. Fleury took the loss in Minnesota's last game, allowing three goals on 38 shots to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Fleury has just one win in the month of January, making 27 saves on 28 shots against Arizona on Jan. 14.

Projected Lineups

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Flyers Scratches: Sean Couturier (injury), Tanner Laczynski (injury), Justin Braun (healthy), Kieffer Bellows (healthy)

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Wild Scratches: Alex Goligoski (healthy), Ryan Hartman (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: No changes are expected to the lineup.
Wild: No changed expected to the Minnesota lineup.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (27th), Wild (12th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (19th), Wild (15th)
Recent History vs. Wild
- March 29, 2022 - Wild 4, Flyers 1 (at MIN)
- March 3, 2022 - Wild 5, Flyers 4 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Wild
- James van Riemsdyk: 16 GP, 8 G, 1 A, 9 P
- Tony DeAngelo: 9 GP, 1 G, 7 A, 8 P
- Scott Laughton: 10 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 P
- Carter Hart: 3 GP, 1-2-0, 4.08 GAA, .884 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Travis Sanheim needs two assists to reach 100 for his career.