Flyers-Rangers: Game 64 Preview
A few weeks ago, it felt like this weekend home-and-home series would have more potential to be a trap for the Flyers than a big game with a lot of playoff implications. But the New York Rangers have emerged as the hottest team in hockey at the moment, rolling off wins in nine of their last 10 games, including five straight following Thursday's comeback win over the Canadiens.
This recent surge has the Rangers just two points out of a playoff spot, while the Flyers, on a four-game winning streak of their own, look to maintain their place in third in the Metro with their sights now firmly set on taking another step and trying to catch the teams at the top.
It all starts on Friday night, when the Flyers play host in the weekend opener. Game time is 7 p.m.
Team Leaders
Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | New York Rangers | GP | G | A | P |
Travis Konecny | 60 | 22 | 35 | 57 | Artemi Panarin | 62 | 32 | 55 | 87 |
Sean Couturier | 63 | 19 | 36 | 55 | Mika Zibanejad | 50 | 30 | 32 | 62 |
Claude Giroux | 63 | 17 | 30 | 47 | Ryan Strome | 63 | 18 | 40 | 58 |
Jake Voracek | 63 | 12 | 34 | 46 | Tony DeAngelo | 61 | 13 | 34 | 47 |
James van Riemsdyk | 63 | 18 | 21 | 39 | Chris Kreider | 62 | 24 | 21 | 45 |
Player to Watch | |
13 Kevin Hayes | 10 Artemi Panarin |
Last 5 Games: 4 G, 2 A, 6 P, +4 | Last 5 Games: 3 G, 6 A, 9 P, +8 |
Projected Goalie Matchup | |
79 Carter Hart | 40 Alexandar Georgiev |
38 GP, 20-12-3, 2.51 GAA, .909 SV% | 30 GP, 16-12-1, 2.94 GAA, .914 SV% |
Carter Hart gets back in the net on home ice once again, looking for his fourth straight win. Hart made 26 saves in Tuesday's win over the Sharks. Hart was also in goal against the Rangers in the Flyers 5-1 win on Dec. 23, making 34 saves.
The Rangers have leaned heavily on Alexander Georgiev with newcomer Igor Shesterkin on the shelf with an injury and that means Georgiev will make his third start in four nights on Friday in Philadelphia. Georgiev had a solid game on Thursday, making 32 saves in a win over Montreal. Georgiev has won four of his last five starts, including both starts this week. He has seen a large volume of shots in the last four games specifically. A total of 149 shots have been fired his way and the Rangers netminder has allowed just eight goals.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Nolan Patrick (migrane disorder, out indefinitely), Oskar Lindblom (Ewing's sarcoma, out for season)
Scratches: Shayne Gostisbehere
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
28 Claude Giroux | 14 Sean Couturier | 93 Jake Voracek |
21 Scott Laughton | 13 Kevin Hayes | 11 Travis Konecny |
25 James van Riemsdyk | 38 Derek Grant | 18 Tyler Pitlick |
12 Michael Raffl | 44 Nate Thompson | 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel |
Defense | ||
9 Ivan Provorov | 15 Matt Niskanen | |
6 Travis Sanheim | 5 Phil Myers | |
8 Robert Hagg | 61 Justin Braun | |
Goalie | ||
79 Carter Hart | 37 Brian Elliott |
Lineup Notes
Kevin Hayes and Matt Niskanen were not at practice on Thursday for maintenance days, but are both expected to play. There are no changes expected to the lineup as a result.
Rangers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Igor Shesterkin, Pavel Buchnevich, Michael Haley
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
20 Chris Kreider | 93 Mika Zibanejad | 72 Filip Chytil |
10 Artemi Panarin | 16 Ryan Strome | 17 Jesper Fast |
33 Phil Di Giuseppe | 21 Brett Howden | 24 Kaapo Kakko |
48 Brendan Lemieux | 14 Greg McKegg | 12 Julien Gauthier |
Defense | ||
42 Brendan Smith | 8 Jacob Trouba | |
55 Ryan Lindgren | 23 Adam Fox | |
18 Marc Staal | 77 Tony DeAngelo | |
Goalie | ||
40 Alexandar Georgiev | 30 Henrik Lundqvist |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (14th), Rangers (6th)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-9th), Rangers (18th)
- Recent History vs. Rangers
- Nov. 23, 2018 - Flyers 4, Rangers 0 (at PHI)
- Dec. 23, 2018 - Flyers 3, Rangers 2 (F/SO) (at NYR)
- Jan. 29, 2019 - Flyers 1, Rangers 0 (at NYR)
- March 31, 2019 - Rangers 3, Flyers 0 (at PHI)
- Dec. 23, 2019 - Flyers 5, Rangers 1 (at PHI)
- Flyers Leaders vs. Rangers
- Claude Giroux - 54 GP, 10 G, 39 A, 49 P
- Jake Voracek - 40 GP, 13 G, 17 A, 30 P
- Travis Konecny - 13 GP, 4 G, 5 A, 9 P
- Carter Hart - 2 GP, 1-1-0, 2.00 GAA, .933 SV%
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.