Flyers-Penguins: Game 50 Preview
It has been nearly 11 months since the last time the Flyers played host to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was one of the more memorable games in recent Flyers history, a dramatic comeback win in front of 70,000 fans at Lincoln Financial Field in the 2019 Stadium Series.
The Penguins handled the Flyers with ease in their only meeting of the 2019-20 season so far, a 7-1 drubbing on Oct. 29. A lot has changed for both teams since then. The Flyers have maintained positioning as a team in contention in the playoff picture -- despite entering the game outside of the playoffs -- and the Penguins have surged despite injuries to star players Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel.
The next chapter in the Battle of Pennsylvania has a lot at stake for both sides. The Penguins are challenging for the division lead, just four points behind the Capitals, while the Flyers look to go into the All-Star break and bye week on a high note.
Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Team Leaders
Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | Pittsburgh Penguins | GP | G | A | P |
Sean Couturier | 49 | 13 | 29 | 42 | Evgeni Malkin | 36 | 15 | 35 | 50 |
Travis Konecny | 46 | 17 | 25 | 42 | Jake Guentzel | 39 | 20 | 23 | 43 |
Jake Voracek | 49 | 9 | 28 | 37 | Bryan Rust | 35 | 21 | 22 | 43 |
Claude Giroux | 49 | 13 | 21 | 34 | Kris Letang | 41 | 10 | 21 | 31 |
James van Riemsdyk | 49 | 13 | 15 | 28 | Jared McCann | 47 | 14 | 14 | 28 |
Player to Watch | |
11 Travis Konecny | 87 Sidney Crosby |
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 1 A, 4 P, -2 | Last 5 Games: 3 G, 5 A, 8 P, +1 |
Projected Goalie Matchup | |
37 Brian Elliott | 35 Tristan Jarry |
23 GP, 11-5-3, 3.03 GAA, .901 SV% | 24 GP, 16-7-1, 2.16 GAA, .929 SV% |
Brian Elliott turned in another strong performance on Saturday, making 34 saves on 35 shots in the win over the Kings. In his two games since Carter Hart went down with an injury, Elliott has stopped 64 of 68 shots.
Tristan Jarry was on a three-game winning streak before taking the loss to Boston last Thursday. Jarry has certainly been consistent. In his last six starts, he's allowed three goals in each.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Michael Raffl (upper-body, day-to-day), Carter Hart (lower right abdominal, 2-to-3 weeks), Shayne Gostisbehere (knee, 3 weeks), Nolan Patrick (migrane disorder, out indefinitely), Oskar Lindblom (Ewing's sarcoma, out for season)
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
25 James van Riemsdyk | 28 Claude Giroux | 11 Travis Konecny |
49 Joel Farabee | 14 Sean Couturier | 93 Jake Voracek |
21 Scott Laughton | 13 Kevin Hayes | 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel |
50 German Rubtsov | 82 Connor Bunnaman | 18 Tyler Pitlick |
Defense | ||
9 Ivan Provorov | 15 Matt Niskanen | |
6 Travis Sanheim | 5 Phil Myers | |
8 Robert Hagg | 61 Justin Braun | |
Goalie | ||
37 Brian Elliott | 34 Alex Lyon |
Lineup Notes
Michael Raffl practiced on Monday as a regular, but will not be able to play due to an upper-body injury. German Rubtsov, called up on Monday, will play on the fourth line and Joel Farabee will move up to take Raffl's place in the lineup.
Penguins Projected Lineup
Injuries: Jake Guentzel, Dominik Kahun, Nick Bjugstad, Justin Schultz, Brian Dumoulin
Scratches: Sean Lafferty, Kevin Czuczman
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
12 Domonik Simon | 87 Sidney Crosby | 72 Patric Hornqvist |
19 Jared McCann | 71 Evgeni Malkin | 17 Bryan Rust |
46 Zach Aston-Reese | 53 Teddy Blueger | 13 Brandon Tanev |
18 Alex Galchenyuk | 26 Andrew Agozzino | 36 Joseph Blandisi |
Defense | ||
3 Jack Johnson | 58 Kris Letang | |
28 Marcus Pettersson | 6 John Marino | |
50 Juuso Riikola | 2 Chad Ruhwedel | |
Goalie | ||
35 Tristan Jarry | 30 Matt Murray |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (17th), Penguins (16th)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (11th), Penguins (T-13th)
- Recent History vs. Penguins
- Dec. 1, 2018 - Flyers 4, Penguins 2 (at PIT)
- Feb. 11, 2019 - Penguins 4, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
- Feb. 23, 2019 - Flyers 4, Penguins 3 (F/OT) (at PHI)
- March 17, 2019 - Flyers 2, Penguins 1 (F/OT) (at PIT)
- Oct. 29, 2019 - Penguins 7, Flyers 1 (at PIT)
- Flyers Leaders vs. Penguins
- Claude Giroux - 49 GP, 16 G, 34 A, 50 P
- Jake Voracek - 41 GP, 21 G, 20 A, 41 P
- Sean Couturier - 35 GP, 6 G, 16 A, 22 P
- Brian Elliott - 15 GP, 8-4-2, 3.18 GAA, .911 SV%
- Milestone Watch
- Claude Giroux needs four points to reach 800 for his career.
Where to Watch
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic/97.3 ESPN
Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN and Flyers editor for SportsTalkPhilly.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.