UPDATE 1:45 PM ET
Sergei Bobrovsky will be in goal for the Flyers tonight.
Also, here are a few quick-hit prospect notes:
* The Phantoms have a busy weekend slate, playing at home on Friday and then back-to-back games in Hershey on Saturday and Sunday. The leading scorer through 6 games is Patrick Maroon (4 G, 2 A, 6 PTS), followed by defensemen Joonas Lehtivuori (2 G, 2 A , 4 PTS) and Erik Gustafsson (1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS).
* Brendan Ranford, the Flyers' 7th round pick in the 2010 draft has been ripping apart the WHL so far, racking up 11 goals and 18 points in his first 12 games. No one has ever questioned the left winger's offensive prowess. It's his speed, lack of size and all-around game that led him to slip in the draft. But he has been making strides in the latter area as well, according to coach Guy Charron.
* Joacim Eriksson gets the start today for SAIK against BIF. Meanwhile BIF defenseman Simon Bertilsson is getting a shot on the top defensive pairing. The game is scoreless early in the second period as of this writing. Eriksson was not busy in the first period, facing just 4 shots.
* Over in the KHL, Denis Bodrov had two poor games in a row, especially his last outing and was a healthy scratch for Spartak yesterday.
PREVIEW 8:45 AM ET
After stumbling in their last two games and spending the week to date emphasizing conditioning and systems (a polite way of saying bag skates and hard practices), the Flyers finally return to game action tonight as they take on the Anaheim Ducks (2-4-1) at the Wells Fargo Center. Anaheim played last night in Columbus, dropping a 3-1 decision.
The turning point of last night's Anaheim-Columbus game occurred early in the second period as the Ducks yielded a pair of goals in a span of 71 seconds. Future Hockey Hall of Famer Teemu Selänne scored the lone Anaheim goal early in the third period for career goal #609. Jonas Hiller (19 saves on 21 shots) took the loss, while his team generated 32 shots on Steve Mason but only found the net once.
For the Flyers (2-2-1), tonight's game represents an opportunity to play their first truly strong 60 minutes of the young season. They've played well sporadically, but have to string even back-to-back dominant periods together let alone look like the better club for an entire game. The areas the club needs to improve -- taking fewer preventable minor penalties, getting the powerplay going, receiving scoring from all other sources not named Daniel Briere or Claude Giroux, creating more turnovers with the forecheck -- have been discussed constantly over the last week. Tonight we'll see if words become actions.
Anaheim appears destined to finish near the bottom of the Western Conference standings this season. Although the top line of Ryan Getzlaf (2 G, 8 PTS), Bobby Ryan (1 G, 5 PTS) and Corey Perry (3 G, 6 PTS) is formidable and the likes of 40-year-old Selänne (3 G, 6 PTS) and 35-year-old Saku Koivu (2 G, 3 PTS) can still hurt you on any given night, the team lacks depth up front. Veteran Jason Blake (1 A) is still looking for his first goal of the season. Ex-Flyer Joffrey Lupul remains out indefinitely with a blood infection.
The Ducks are especially vulnerable on the blueline, as the huge void left by the trade of Chris Pronger to the Flyers and the retirement of Scott Niedermeyer has not remotely been plugged. Veteran Toni Lydman (2 G, plus-2) has been the steadiest presence so far on a team with several promising but inexperienced young players on the blueline. For the most part, the Ducks are vulnerable defensively and have only won when Hiller (.911 save percentage despite an ugly-looking 3.45 GAA) has been a miracle worker in net. Injured rookie Cam Fowler (broken nose) is listed as questionable for the game.
At least on paper, this is a game where the Flyers can get some of their slumping offensive players back on track. Briere has four goals in five games for the Flyers, while Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Giroux, James van Riemsdyk and Ville Leino all have three points and Nikolay Zherdev has one goal. Richards, JVR, Leino, Scott Hartnell and the entire defense have yet to contribute a goal through the first five matches. Zherdev has a bruised hand suffered in the Pittsburgh game, but will play. It appears as though Andreas Nödl will remain in the Flyers lineup tonight in place of Dan Carcillo, but that's not official as of this writing.
The powerplay is one area are where the Ducks have done well this season. The club has connected at a 21.4% clip, while the Flyers have stumbled badly at 9.1%. On the flip side, Anaheim has struggled to kill penalties (79.4%) and, minus the last Pittsburgh game, the Flyers have generally excelled (87.1%).
There should be at least one fight tonight, as ex-Shark Jody Shelley and Anaheim's George Parros are likely to renew acquaintances.
Possible starting lineups (based on last game and subject to change)
FLYERS
Nodl - Richards - Carter
Hartnell - Briere - Leino
JVR - Giroux - Zherdev
Shelley - Betts - Powe
Carle - Pronger
Coburn - Timonen
Meszaros - O'Donnell
Bobrovsky/Boucher
DUCKS
Ryan - Getzlaf - Perry
Blake - Koivu - Selanne
Beleskey - R. Carter - Sexton
Marchant - Chipchura - Parros
Lydman - Visnovsky
Lilja - Mara/Brookbank
Syvret - Brookbank/ Mara
Hiller/McElhinney
****
On this week's
Across the Pond at NHL.com, I take a look at several Swedish prospects who have had breakthrough seasons in SuperElit North and South.
Today's
Daily Drop at Versus.com looks at the Blackhawks' four-game winning streak. The team has accomplished the feat despite so-so starts (by their standards) from Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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