UPDATE: 11:30 AM ET

Sergei Bobrovsky will get the start in goal tonight for the Flyers.

Chris Pronger is out, Oskars Bartulis is in. Matt Walker will be a healthy scratch.

I'm surprised on all counts, except that Pronger will be given a little more time.


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PREVIEW -- 9 AM ET

In the first game at the new Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, the defending Eastern Conference champion Flyers will take on the archrival Penguins. The Penguins won five of six games in last year's season series between the clubs.

For the Flyers, the big question mark heading into the season once again will be its goaltending. With Michael Leighton now on LTIR due to a back injury, Brian Boucher will start in goal tonight for Philly, backed up by rookie Sergei Bobrovsky. While there is no official word as of this writing whether Chris Pronger (off-season knee surgery) will be ready to play tonight, it appears as though he'll be in the lineup. If not, Matt Walker will be in the starting lineup.

Beyond these issues, tonight we will get the first inklings of the season-long answers to questions such as:

* Will Jeff Carter get back to his 40-goal form of 2008-09?
* Will Mike Richards hit the ground running after a mediocre Finals and so-so preseason?
* Will Claude Giroux build on his outstanding playoff run and take the final steps to NHL stardom?
* Will James Van Riemsdyk's added upper body strength help translate to more consistency?
* Is Ville Leino for real?
* Can Scott Hartnell display the form he showed in the playoffs rather than during his poor regular season?
* How much will the off-season loss of Simon Gagne, the long-term (and possibly permanent) absence of Ian Laperierre and the fragility of Blair Betts (shoulder, knee) impact the club defensively?
* How much consistency will Nikolay Zherdev show this season, and will he play any defense?
* Will Pronger's knee issues hinder him?
* Will high-priced Andrej Meszaros justify the club's faith in trading for him rather than signing a free agent defenseman?
* Will Braydon Coburn build off his strong playoff and preseason or return to the inconsistent form of the last two regular seasons?

For Pittsburgh, it will be interesting to see how the remade blueline shapes up. In particular, Paul Martin should be a tremendous addition to the club, but can anyone run the point on the powerplay as effectively as the now-departed Sergei Gonchar? Last season, the absence of an injured Gonchar played a big part in the Penguins' "inexplicable"
struggles on the man advantage for much of the season. It also remains to be seen how much the club will miss the two-way presence of Jordan Staal. The club is also thin on wing depth. Finally, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will need to bounce back from a poor playoff showing this past spring.

When a team has Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and a strong all-around blueline like Pittsburgh's, the club is still plenty formidable. But, just like the Flyers, the Penguins will be seeking answers starting tonight to plenty of their own questions.

Drop the puck!

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Apart from the injured Leighton and Laperriere, the Flyers' scratch list tonight will be Oskars Bartulis and Andreas Nodl (who is expected to be recalled now that the injured players have been designated to IR). Matt Walker will be scratched as well if Chris Pronger is unable to play.

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Today on Versus.com's Daily Drop, I take a look at whether it's better to start the season at home or on the road. I will post a link to the blog when it's online.

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