PREVIEW 3:45 AM EST
Facing another must-win game against one the top clubs in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia Flyers (11-13-1) will try to shake off blown winnable games against the Rangers and Penguins as they to travel New England to take on the Boston Bruins (15-3-3). The game starts at 1 p.m. EST and will be broadcast locally on CSN Philly and nationally on NHL Network.
This is the first of three games between the teams this season. Last year, the Flyers took an opening night 2-1 win in Boston. In early December, the then-defending Cup Champions came to Philly and laid a vicious 6-0 beating on the Flyers. The final two meeting were seesaw ties after regulation and overtime from which Boston took two extra points via shootout.
The Flyers enter this game coming off an epic collapse that saw them take a 4-1 lead to the first intermission against Pittsburgh and then go on to lose 5-4 in regulation. The Bruins are coming in off a 4-2 win against Toronto. Tyler Seguin scored a pair of goals for Boston, while Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci had single tallies.
Philly may have a fully intact blueline start the game today for the first time all season. Andrej Meszaros (shoulder) participated fully in practice yesterday and, barring any setbacks, will return to his accustomed spot anchoring the third pairing. Erik Gustafsson, who opened the season injured and has struggled in recent games, was slotted as the sixth defenseman yesterday with Bruno Gervais as an extra skater.
Tye McGinn (fractured orbital bone) is still sidelined for the Flyers, along with Jody Shelley (hip surgery). The Bruins have a healthy lineup heading into today's game.
FLYERS
19 Scott Hartnell - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek
48 Danny Briere - 10 Brayden Schenn - 17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Simon Gagne - 14 Sean Couturier - 24 Matt Read
25 Max Talbot - 26 Ruslan Fedotenko - 36 Zac Rinaldo
44 Kimmo Timonen - 22 Luke Schenn
8 Nicklas Grossmann - 5 Braydon Coburn
41 Andrej Meszaros - 29 Erik Gustafsson
30 Ilya Bryzgalov
[33 Brian Boucher]
BRUINS
17 Milan Lucic - 46 David Krejci - 18 Nathan Horton
63 Brad Marchand - 13 Patrice Bergeron - 19 Tyler Seguin
38 Jordan Caron - 23 Chris Kelly - 49 Rich Peverley
20 Daniel Paille - 11 Gregory Campbell - 22 Shawn Thornton
33 Zdeno Chara - 55 Johnny Boychuk
44 Dennis Seidenberg - 27 Dougie Hamilton
21 Andrew Ference - 54 Adam McQuaid
40 Tuukka Rask
[35 Anton Khudobin]
**********
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:
»