Flyers-Bruins: Game 40 Preview

Following another meeting with the Islanders that resulted in a shootout loss, the Flyers are going back up against the Boston Bruins for the third time this week.

The two teams split the games earlier in the week with the Flyers winning on Monday night in overtime, then falling in regulation on Tuesday. That loss certainly felt like the final nail in the coffin on the Flyers playoff hopes, but if they are to make any bid at getting back in the race, a regulation win on Saturday against Boston is a must.

Game time is at 2 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Boston Bruins	GP	G	A	P
Jake Voracek	36	7	25	32	Brad Marchand	35	19	28	47
James van Riemsdyk	39	13	18	31	Patrice Bergeron	37	15	19	34
Claude Giroux	37	11	20	31	David Pastrnak	30	16	16	32
Sean Couturier	28	11	17	28	David Krejci	33	2	21	23
Joel Farabee	38	14	13	27	Charlie McAvoy	35	4	18	22

Jake Voracek has certainly been a noticeable player of late. He has goals in his last two games and points in five of the last six games, totaling seven points over that time.

Brad Marchand has been on a roll since late February. In his last five games, Marchand has 11 points including six goals with a hat trick against Pittsburgh on April 3 and a four-point game against the Flyers on Tuesday. Marchand has points in 14 of his last 18 games with 10 goals and 17 assists in that time.

Brian Elliott gets back in goal for the first game of this back-to-back for the Flyers. He picked up the win on Monday night in Boston, making 27 saves in the overtime victory for the Flyers. Elliott has also won three of his last four starts.

After making his NHL debut on Tuesday night and making 40 saves in the win over the Flyers, Jeremy Swayman was back in goal on Thursday against Washington and picked up another win, making 31 saves on 33 shots. Swayman makes his third straight start on Saturday afternoon.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Morgan Frost (injury), Phil Myers (healthy), Erik Gustafsson (healthy)

Bruins Scratches: Tuukka Rask (injury), Brandon Carlo (injury), Ondrej Kase (injury), Charlie McAvoy (injury), Jaroslav Halak (COVID protocol), Anders Bjork (healthy), Jarred Tinordi (healthy), Zach Senyshyn (healthy), Anton Blidh (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: The Flyers are not making any changes to the lineup from Thursday's game.
Bruins: No expected changes from the Bruins either for Saturday. Tuukka Rask is nearing a return, but remains out for Saturday's game. Jaroslav Halak is also still on the COVID list for Boston.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (21st), Bruins (8th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (29th), Bruins (1st)
Recent History vs. Bruins
- Jan. 21, 2021 - Bruins 5, Flyers 4 (F/SO) (at BOS)
- Jan. 23, 2021 - Bruins 6, Flyers 1 (at BOS)
- Feb. 3, 2021 - Bruins 4, Flyers 3 (F/OT) (at PHI)
- Feb. 5, 2021 - Bruins 2, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
- Feb. 21, 2021 - Bruins 7, Flyers 3 (at Lake Tahoe)
- April 5, 2021 - Flyers 3, Bruins 2 (F/OT) (at BOS)
- April 6, 2021 - Bruins 4, Flyers 2 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Bruins
- Jake Voracek - 37 GP, 8 G, 26 A, 34 P
- James van Riemsdyk - 43 GP, 18 G, 16 A, 34 P
- Claude Giroux - 45 GP, 10 G, 22 A, 32 P
- Brian Elliott - 18 GP, 4-9-3, 2.94 GAA, .895 SV%