UPDATE 10:30 AM

Per Tim Panaccio, Michael Leighton was the second goalie off the ice at practice today, while Brian Boucher stayed on for extra work. It looks like Leighton will back up Sergei Bobrovsky tonight, marking the first time Leighton is available for an NHL game this season. Projected lineups are updated below to list Leighton as the backup.


PREVIEW 10 AM

In their final game before an eight-day holiday hiatus, the Flyers (22-7-5) need to avoid taking an early mental vacation when they meet up with the Florida Panthers (14-16-0) at the Wells Fargo Center tonight. Philly has already played Florida once this season, cruising to a 5-2 victory on home ice on Nov. 13. Added to the fact that the Flyers are coming off a series of wins against top Eastern Conference teams, this game becomes a dangerous one for Philly.

Florida has been a tough opponent for many clubs this season, coming up to bite higher-ranked opponents that have come out flat or have let the Panthers hang close for two-plus periods. The Panthers have played .500 hockey over last 10 games. Usually a modest-scoring team, goals haven't been a problem for the Panthers in their most recent games. Last Wednesday, they blew a 3-0 lead and went on to lose, 4-3, to Carolina. On Friday, they hammered Buffalo, 6-2. Six Florida players had multiple point games against Buffalo, including Marty Reasoner (2 G). Cory Stillman and Mike Santorelli scored the Florida goals in the club's earlier meeting with Philly.

For the Flyers, the hottest line of late has been the trio of Jeff Carter, flanked by James van Riemsdyk and Nikolay Zherdev. But the club has been getting contributions from all over the lineup. Sergei Bobrovsky is slated to start in goal tonight.

On paper at least, tonight's matchup provides an opportunity for a strong night on special teams for the Flyers (although they'll be starting back from square one after the break, which isn't necessarily a bad thing given their PK inconsistency and power play struggles over the last month). Florida's anemic power play has connected at just 9.6%, while its PK is in the middle of the pack at 83.8%.

When the schedule resumes after the eight-day break, the Flyers will play 9 of their next 10 games on the road. In fact, after tonight, the Flyers have only one game at the Wells Fargo Center until Jan 18. With the way the club has played this season, it would be a shame not to take one more win into the break.

PROJECTED LINEUP (subject to change)

FLYERS

Nodl - Richards - Giroux
Hartnell - Briere - Leino
JVR - Carter - Zherdev
Carcillo - Betts - Powe

Meszaros - Carle
Coburn - Timonen
Bartulis - O'Donnell

Bobrovsky
[Leighton]


PANTHERS

Higgins - Weiss - Frolik
Booth - Santorelli - Bernier
Matthias - Reasoner - Dadonov
Reinprecht - Thomas - Hordichuk

McCabe - Weaver
Garrison - Wideman
Kulikov - Alllen

Vokoun
[Clemmensen]

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