Flyers-Penguins Preview: Back to December

The Flyers had a 8-2-3 record in the month of December, but closed 2023 with a 1-2-2 record over the final five games. The beginning of December featured four straight wins, starting with back-to-back victories in a home-and-home against Monday night's opponent, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

While the Flyers were able to get back into the win column on Saturday, they are still 2-3-3 in their last eight games since a 7-0-1 start to December. Since the back-to-back losses to the Flyers, the Penguins have started to heat up. They finished December with three straight wins and a 7-1-1 record over the final nine games. Since the turn to 2024, the Penguins have lost two of three games.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Pittsburgh Penguins	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	39	21	15	36	Jake Guentzel	38	18	25	43
Joel Farabee	39	12	17	29	Sidney Crosby	38	22	19	41
Sean Couturier	37	10	17	27	Evgeni Malkin	38	14	19	33
Travis Sanheim	38	4	21	25	Erik Karlsson	38	6	21	27
Owen Tippett	39	12	10	22	Kris Letang	38	3	23	26

Travis Konecny has been red-hot of late. The All-Star is on a current seven-game points streak and has points in 13 of the last 15 games, a stretch that started with two assists against the Penguins on Dec. 4. After going seven straight games without a goal, Konecny has scored five in the last five games, including four in the last three games.

Sidney Crosby continues to have a strong season. Despite being held without a point in a loss to Buffalo on Saturday, Crosby had a goal and two assists against Boston on Thursday and a goal and an assist against Washington on Tuesday. For all of his career success against the Flyers, a whopping 54 goals and 125 points in 85 games, he was held to just one goal in the two games between the teams so far this season.

Carter Hart gets the start for the Flyers. Hart was in goal for Saturday's win, making 22 saves on 24 shots. It marked his first win since Dec. 9. Hart also made 31 saves on 32 shots in a win against the Penguins on Dec. 4.

Alex Nedeljkovic gets the start for Pittsburgh. Nedeljkovic got the win against Boston in his last start on Thursday, despite allowing five goals on 29 shots. Nedeljkovic has won five of his last seven starts, all since an overtime loss to the Flyers on Dec. 4, where he made 31 saves on 33 shots.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Noah Cates (injury), Marc Staal (healthy)

Penguins Scratches: Matt Nieto (injury), John Ludvig (injury), Radim Zohorna (healthy), Ryan Shea (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: No changes to the Flyers lineup from last game.
Penguins: The Penguins held an optional morning skate and Mike Sullivan did not disclose any lineup changes.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (9.8% - 32nd), Penguins (14.6% - 26th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (86.0% - 2nd), Penguins (83.1% - 8th)
Recent History vs. Penguins
- 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: 48 GP, 9 G, 21 A, 30 P
- Travis Konecny: 28 GP, 11 G, 13 A, 24 P
- Joel Farabee: 18 GP, 4 G, 9 A, 13 P
- Carter Hart: 13 GP, 5-5-2, 3.24 GAA, .900 SV%
- Samuel Ersson: 2 GP, 1-1-0, 2.94 GAA, .903 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Sean Couturier needs three assists to reach 300 for his career.