PREVIEW 5:15 AM EST
If a team is measured by its ability to handle adversity, we're about to learn a lot about the 2013 Philadelphia Flyers. Winless after three games of the lockout-shortened regular season, a depleted Flyers lineup faces a New York Rangers team that swept Philly in last year's regular season series. Tonight's game at the Wells Fargo Center starts at 7:00 p.m. and will be televised locally on CSN Philly and nationally on NHL Network.
This is the first of five meetings between the teams. Last year, the Rangers won all six games, including a 3-2 comeback victory at the Winter Classic.
The Flyers have scored a total of three goals in the three games to date. They've had problems on both ends of special teams and ongoing issues with defensive breakdowns. Philadelphia has spent too much time chasing the game thus far, and have faced multiple goal deficits at junctures of all three matches.
Now the team, which was already without Danny Briere (fractured wrist), has to deal with the Rangers without the services of Scott Hartnell or Brayden Schenn. Hartnell sustained a foot injury in Tuesday's 3-0 loss in New Jersey when he got hit by a shot from teammate Kimmo Timonen. He is out of the lineup indefinitely. Schenn received a one-game suspension yesterday for leaving his feet to deliver a check to New Jersey's Anton Volchenkov. He was not initially penalized for the hit, although it happened directly in front of one of the referees.
The Rangers stumbled out of the gates this season, too. They dropped their first two games last weekend before rebounding last night to squeak out a 4-3 overtime victory against the Boston Bruins. Marian Gaborik powered the Blueshirts with a hat trick, including the winning goal in the opening minute of overtime.
Even under ideal circumstances, it would be crucial for the Flyers not to play from behind against the Rangers. It is doubly imperative now with the team's offensive confidence at low ebb and so many key absences from the lineups.
Last season against the Rangers, the Flyers trailed first in five of the six games and lost all six in regulation. Overall against the league, the Rangers went 30-0-3 when leading after two periods a year ago (35-5-3 when scoring the game's first goal) after going 29-0-0 the previous year. Add in last night's win against the Bruins and the Rangers, and the Rangers are 60-0-3 when leading after two periods since the start of the 2010-11 season.
However, the Rangers didn't exactly slam the door on the Bruins last night. New York blew leads of 2-0 and 3-2 last night before Gaborik rescued a second point from the game. John Tortorella significantly shortened his bench during the game, so perhaps that could end up working to the Flyers' benefit tonight with the Rangers on the back end of tilts on consecutive nights. The Flyers themselves may end up having to shorten the bench tonight.
Out of the nine periods of hockey they've played thus far, the Flyers have had three good ones. They have yet to score a first or third period goal and they've trailed by a pair of 2-0 scores (against Pittsburgh and New Jersey) and 1-0 (versus Buffalo) heading to the first intermission. That's not a formula for success in the NHL.
Neither the Flyers nor Rangers will hold a morning skate today, so it is not yet known how Philly will shuffle around lines or whom if anyone the Flyers might call up from the Phantoms. Briere skated in Hartnell's spot on Claude Giroux's line at practice yesterday, but he is "officially" not expected to be ready to play before the weekend. Fourth liner Zac Rinaldo (leg laceration) is out for about two weeks.
If the team makes a roster callup from Adirondack for tonight's game, I would think that Harry Zolnierczyk or rookie Marcel Noebels would be the player who gets tabbed.
Projected Starting Lineups (subject to change; Flyers lineup is likely to look different)
FLYERS
17 Wayne Simmonds - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek
26 Ruslan Fedotenko - 14 Sean Couturier - 24 Matt Read
25 Max Talbot - 21 Scott Laughton - 32 Tom Sestito
15 Tye McGinn - 11 Eric Wellwood - 45 Jody Shelley
44 Kimmo Timonen - 22 Luke Schenn
8 Nicklas Grossmann - 5 Braydon Coburn
41 Andrej Meszaros - 27 Bruno Gervais
30 Ilya Bryzgalov
[49 Michael Leighton]
Rangers
10 Marian Gaborik - 19 Brad Richards - 61 Rick Nash
20 Chris Kreider - 21 Derek Stepan - 24 Ryan Callahan
62 Carl Hagelin - 22 Brian Boyle - 14 Taylor Pyatt
17 Mike Rupp - 15 Jeff Halpern - 41 Stu Bickel
27 Ryan McDonagh - 5 Dan Girardi
18 Marc Staal - 4 Michael Del Zotto
44 Steve Eminger - 6 Anton Stralman
43 Martin Biron/ 30 Henrik Lundqvist
*************
Kindle users: Please sign up for Flyers Buzz. For more information
click here.
Click below to follow me on Twitter:
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»