UPDATE 4:00 PM EST
The Flyers have decided to return Scott Laughton to the OHL's Oshawa Generals. In addition, Michael Leighton will be in goal tonight.
Lineups below have been updated.
PREVIEW 7:30 AM EST
The grueling pace of the 48-game regular season does not allow teams to dwell for too long on particular wins or losses. Coming off a 7-1 trouncing of the Florida Panthers last night, the Philadelphia Flyers (2-3-0) conclude their weekend road trip through the Sunshine State with a clash against the Tampa Bay Lightning (3-1-0). The game starts at 6:00 p.m. EST. It will be televised locally on CSN Philly.
This is the first of three meetings between the teams this season. Last year, Tampa won three of four games. They were some of the more notable games of the 2011-12 season.
The first match was the infamous tilt that made news throughout the hockey world because Tampa played such a severe 0-4-1 trap that the Flyers simply refused to move the puck out of the defensive zone.
The lone Philadelphia victory, a home win on Dec. 10, saw the team explode offensively in the second period after trailing early. What overshadowed Philly's 5-3 win was losing Claude Giroux to a freakish concussion as teammate Wayne Simmonds accidentally kneed Giroux in the head trying to hurdle him in the neutral zone.
In the third game, played on Dec. 27, the Flyers were guilty of overlooking their opponent in anticipation of the various Winter Classic related festivities that awaited them upon their return to Philadelphia. They paid the price with an ugly 5-1 loss. Tampa defenseman Bruno Gervais (now a Flyer) kicked off the scoring, and then the Bolts struck Philly for four answered goals, including two by Steven Stamkos and one by Vincent LeCavalier.
The final meeting took place on March 26 in Philadelphia. In that tilt, Ilya Bryzgalov suffered an injury in the warmup but labored through a 5-3 loss in which he struggled to move around his crease. It was learned the next day that the NHL's Player of the Month for March had suffered a chip fracture in his right foot; an injury from which he hurried back to finish the regular season and play through in the playoffs before he was completely healed.
Tonight, the Flyers will be in action for the second time in less than 24 hours, the third time in four nights and for the sixth time in a span of 210 hours. That is why last night's trouncing of the Panthers was a best-case scenario come true, apart from the much-needed two points for the victory.
Against the Panthers, Peter Laviolette was able to dole out double-digit ice time to each of his twelve forwards and six defensemen. With the time also having successfully rolled all of their lines against the Rangers on Thursday, fatigue should be less of factor tonight for the Flyers than it otherwise could have been.
Last night, the Flyers got strong performances from all around the lineup. Matt Read (first career hat trick) and Luke Schenn (one goal, one assist, eleven hits, one takeaway) were the top standouts.
Philly also got goals from Wayne Simmonds (5-on-3 power play goal on a deflection), Tye McGinn (even strength deflection tally for his first NHL tally) and Ruslan Fedotenko (first goal since his return to the Flyers, scored from the slot as he was being knocked to the ice). Bryzgalov played a strong game in goal, stopping 30 of 31 Florida shots.
Tampa is in the second game of a five-game homestand. On Friday, the Lightning fell behind Ottawa by 3-1 and 4-2 scores but then rallied for a they rallied for a 6-4 win. Ryan Malone led the way with a pair of goals. Ex-Flyers defenseman Matt Carle tallied a power play goal for his first goal since re-signing with the club that traded him to Philly. Tampa also got goals from Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Tom Pyatt (empty netter).
Former Nashville Predators goaltender Anders Lindbäck has started three of Tampa's four games to date. The towering (6-foot-6) Swede has given up 11 goals thus far but still has a save percentage over 90 percent, which suggests that head coach Guy Boucher's team has been playing a little more wide open thus far than he typically prefers. But the Lightning have the horses to win games by a variety of means, despite last year's disappointing record. They are counting on Lindbäck to be an upgrade in goal this year.
As of this writing, the Flyers have not yet made an announcement as to whether 18-year-old rookie Scott Laughton will remain with the team or be returned to the OHL's Oshawa Generals. On the injury front, the Flyers remain without Scott Hartnell (foot) and Andrej Meszaros (shoulder) for at least the next month. Danny Briere (wrist) played his first game of the season last night but is still not 100 percent.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change; will be updated later if necessary)
FLYERS
17 Wayne Simmonds - 28 Claude Giroux - 24 Matt Read
48 Danny Briere - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
25 Max Talbot - 10 Brayden Schenn - 9 Mike Knuble
15 Tye McGinn - 26 Ruslan Fedotenko - 32 Tom Sestito
44 Kimmo Timonen - 22 Luke Schenn
8 Nicklas Grossmann - 5 Braydon Coburn
6 Andreas Lilja/ 3 Kurtis Foster - 27 Bruno Gervais
49 Michael Leighton
[30 Ilya Bryzgalov]
LIGHTNING
12 Ryan Malone - 91 Steven Stamkos - 26 Martin St. Louis
89 Cory Conacher - 4 Vincent Lecavalier - 16 Teddy Purcell
67 Benoit Pouliot - 44 Nate Thompson - 11 Tom Pyatt
18 Adam Hall - 19 B.J. Crombeen - 42 Dana Tyrell
2 Eric Brewer - 25 Matt Carle
77 Victor Hedman - 6 Sami Salo
3 Keith Aulie - 29 Brendan Mikkelson
39 Anders Lindbäck
[32 Mathieu Garon]
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