It was 10 days ago that the Flyers last took the ice. On Friday night, they finally make their return from the All-Star break and bye week and get a familiar opponent.

The Flyers secured a 3-0 win 10 days ago against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and now will open up the second-half push to the playoffs by meeting the Penguins again, this time on the road.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia FlyersGPGAPPittsburgh PenguinsGPGAP
Sean Couturier50133043Evgeni Malkin37153550
Travis Konecny47172643Jake Guentzel39202343
Jake Voracek50102838Bryan Rust36212243
Claude Giroux50132235Kris Letang42102131
James van Riemsdyk 50141529Jared McCann48141428
Player to Watch
25 James van Riemsdyk87 Sidney Crosby
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 4 A, 6 P, ELast 5 Games: 3 G, 5 A, 8 P, -1
James van Riemsdyk entered the All-Star break with goals in back-to-back games and a total of four points in his previous two games. After going eight straight games without a point, van Riemsdyk has six in his last five games.
Sidney Crosby had posted eight points in four games since returning from injury before last Tuesday's game against the Flyers where he and the rest of the Penguins were shut out. There will certainly be a lot of motivation for the Penguins captain to be better than he was in last week's meeting against the Flyers.
Projected Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott35 Tristan Jarry
24 GP, 12-5-3, 2.89 GAA, .904 SV%25 GP, 16-8-1, 2.16 GAA, .929 SV%

Brian Elliott stopped all 19 shots faced in last Tuesday's shutout win over the Penguins. Elliott has been excellent since being moved into the primary starter role with Carter Hart out with injury. In the three starts he has made since Hart's injury, Elliott has stopped 83 of 87 shots faced in three straight wins.

Tristan Jarry was also in goal for the Flyers 3-0 win over Pittsburgh last Tuesday, allowing two goals on 29 shots. Jarry lost his final two starts going to the All-Star break, allowing a combined five goals in that time.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Carter Hart (lower right abdominal, out at least seven days), Shayne Gostisbehere (knee, day-to-day), Nolan Patrick (migrane disorder, out indefinitely), Oskar Lindblom (Ewing's sarcoma, out for season)

Left WingCenterRight Wing
25 James van Riemsdyk28 Claude Giroux11 Travis Konecny
12 Michael Raffl14 Sean Couturier93 Jake Voracek
21 Scott Laughton13 Kevin Hayes62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
49 Joel Farabee82 Connor Bunnaman18 Tyler Pitlick
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim5 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hagg61 Justin Braun
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott34 Alex Lyon

Lineup Notes

Michael Raffl makes his return to the lineup on the second line. Some other Flyers are also getting close to returning. Shayne Gostisbehere practiced on Thursday and will not play on Friday, but could be ready as soon as Saturday. Carter Hart is still at least a week away from returning to game action.

Penguins Projected Lineup

Injuries: Jake Guentzel, Dominik Kahun, Nick Bjugstad, Brian Dumoulin

Scratches: Juuso Riikola

Left WingCenterRight Wing
19 Jared McCann87 Sidney Crosby12 Dominik Simon
17 Bryan Rust71 Evgeni Malkin72 Patric Hornqvist
46 Zach Aston-Reese53 Teddy Blueger13 Brandon Tanev
18 Alex Galchenyuk26 Andrew Agozzino57 Anthony Angello
Defense
3 Jack Johnson58 Kris Letang
28 Marcus Pettersson6 John Marino
2 Chad Ruhwedel4 Justin Schultz
Goalie
35 Tristan Jarry30 Matt Murray

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (T-18th), Penguins (17th)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (10th), Penguins (11th)
  • Recent History vs. Penguins
    • Oct. 29, 2019 - Penguins 7, Flyers 1 (at PIT)
    • Jan. 21, 2020 - Flyers 3, Penguins 0 (at PHI)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Penguins
    • Claude Giroux - 50 GP, 16 G, 35 A, 51 P
    • Jake Voracek - 42 GP, 22 G, 20 A, 42 P
    • Sean Couturier - 36 GP, 6 G, 17 A, 23 P
    • James van Riemsdyk - 38 GP, 12 G, 11 A, 23 P
    • Brian Elliott - 16 GP, 9-4-2, 2.96 GAA, .914 SV%
  • Milestone Watch
    • Claude Giroux needs three points to reach 800 for his career.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
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.

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