PREVIEW 7:45 AM EDT
Coming off regulation losses in each of the last two games, the already-faint playoff hopes of the Philadelphia Flyers (17-19-3) have all but been extinguished. The Flyers are not yet mathematically eliminated. Practically speaking, though, they are. At this point of the season, the Flyers are pretty much in the role of spoilers while fans have an eye on the club's potential lottery odds in the 2013 NHL Draft.
Tonight, the Flyers take on the Ottawa Senators (19-14-6) at the Wells Fargo Center. Game time is at 7 p.m. The game will be televised locally on CSN Philadelphia.
This is the second of three meetings between the teams this season and second of two in Philadelphia. The Flyers got an ill-fated month of March off to promising start with a 2-1 home win over the Sens on the 2nd of the month. Second period goals by Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds broke a score tie and Ilya Bryzgalov made 33 saves to nail down the victory.
Both the Flyers and Senators have dealt with an inordinate number of injuries this season. The difference is that Ottawa has done more with less for the balance of the shortened season, while the Flyers underachieved even when they had most of the players available. However, the Senators have hit the skids of late, dragging a five-game losing streak into Philadelphia.
For the rest of the season, the Flyers' lineup will be without forward Max Talbot (broken leg) and defensemen Braydon Coburn (separated shoulder) and Andrej Meszaros (torn rotator cuff). The return this season of defenseman Nicklas Grossmann (concussion, including vestibular system issues) is in doubt despite an official prognosis of potentially returning for the final week of the season. Zac Rinaldo (high ankle sprain) remains out indefinitely. Danny Briere (concussion) has returned to practice and may be cleared to return this weekend barring a setback.
The Senators remain without Norris Trophy defenseman Erik Karlsson (Achilles tendon) and top-line forward Jason Spezza (back surgery). Also missing are forwards Milan Michalek (knee) and Mike Hoffman (upper body), and defenseman Jared Cowen (hip).
Ottawa and the Flyers have something else in common this year: both clubs have been much more successful at home than on the road.
The Flyers have a 12-5-2 record at home (and should have won at least two more games that were well within their grasp and slipped away). On the road, Philly is a dismal 5-14-1. Meanwhile, the Senators are 13-3-3 at home and 6-11-3 away.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)
FLYERS
19 Scott Hartnell - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek
24 Matt Read - 10 Brayden Schenn - 17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Simon Gagne - 26 Ruslan Fedotenko - 9 Mike Knuble
37 Jay Rosehill - 14 Sean Couturier - 18 Adam Hall
44 Kimmo Timonen - 27 Bruno Gervais
38 Oliver Lauridsen - 22 Luke Schenn
23 Kent Huskins - 29 Erik Gustafsson
30 Ilya Bryzgalov
[35 Steve Mason]
SENATORS
73 Guillaume Latendresse - 7 Kyle Turris - 11 Daniel Alfredsson
89 Cory Conacher - 93 Mika Zibanejad -33 Jakob Silfverberg
14 Colin Greening - 15 Zack Smith - 25 Chris Neil
28 Matt Kassian - 13 Peter Regin - 22 Erik Condra
46 Patrick Wiercioch - 55 Sergei Gonchar
4 Chris Phillips - 61 Andre Benoit
3 Marc Methot - 62 Eric Gryba
41 Craig Anderson
[40 Robin Lehner]
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