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Flyers Gameday: 2/9/16 vs. ANA |
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PREVIEW: FLYERS VS. DUCKS
Dropping the puck on a three-game homestand, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (23-19-9) play host on Tuesday night to Bruce Boudreau's Anaheim Ducks (25-19-7). Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. The game will be televised on CSN Philadelphia
This is the seond and final meeting of the season between the clubs, and the lone meeting in Philadelphia. On Dec. 27, the Flyers began a distastrous California road trip with a 4-2 loss in Anaheim.
The Flyers took a day off on Monday after playing back-to-back matinees on Saturday at home against the New York Rangers and Sunday in DC against the Washington Capitals. They played fairly well overall but nevertheless earned just one of four possible points. This week will be another busy one, with four games in six nights including another three-in-four set with consecutive games on Saturday and Sunday.
The Ducks played back-to-back games last Thursday and Friday, had the rest of the weekend off on the schedule and then started another set of back-to-back games with a game against the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Monday. Tuesday's game is the second of a seven-game road trip.
Flyers Outlook
After starting the season 5-8-3, the Flyers have gone 18-11-6. For the season, the Flyers have posted a 12-7-6 home record.
On Sunday in DC, the Flyers got off to a strong start and took the lead on a Michael Del Zotto goal but closely spaced late second0period goals by the Capitals turned a 1-0 advantage into a 2-1 deficit. The Flyers tied the game again in the opening minute of the third period on a rare goal by defensive defenseman Nick Schultz but a massive breakdown on an end-to-end rush by Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen decided the game. Steve Mason stopped 27 of 30 shots in a losing cause.
The previou afternoon against the Rangers, the Flyers got a second period power play goal by Shayne Gostisbehere and a third period even-strength goal by Ryan White. They were unable to hold either lead, generating just two shots (one of which was White's goal) over the final 30:15 of regulation and overtime. Mason stopped 26 of 28 shots in regulation and overtime but went 0-for-2 in the shootout. Sam Gagner and Claude Giroux were unable to convert their shootout attempts.
The Flyers are going to have to do a better job at finding ways to win when they do not have two-way center Sean Couturier (IR, lower-body injury). Unfortunately, the margin for error is very slim. The Flyers are just 2-7-2 without Couturier in the lineup. He will be out the rest of February.
Team captain Giroux leads the Flyers with 16 goals, 28 assists and 44 points in 10 games. He is followed on the Flyers' scoring leader list by Jakub Voracek (eight goals, 34 assists, 42 points), Wayne Simmonds (18 goals, 16 assists, 34 points, 110 penalty minutes), and Brayden Schenn (14 goals, 15 assists, 29 points). Rookie defenseman Gostisbehere brings an eight-game point into this match and, overall, has nine goals (five on the power play, three in overtime), 18 assists and 27 points in 33 games. The injured Couturier rounds out the top six with nine goals, 15 assists and 24 points.
Mason will be making his fifth start in eight nights. He has appeared in 33 games, posting a 12-13-7 record, 2.69 goals against average, .916 save percentage and three shutouts (four regulation shutouts). Injured backup goalie Michal Neuvirth has appeared in 20 games, posting an 11-6-2 record, 2.05 GAA, .933 save percentage and three shutouts. Neuvirth is on injured reserve; out for seven to 10 days from Feb. 2 with a lower-body injury. Recent recall Anthony Stolarz is backing up Mason until Neuvirth returns.
Ducks Outlook
The Ducks had a six-game winning streak snapped in Pittsburgh on Monday, dropping a 6-2 decision. Overall, the Ducks have recovered from a terrible start up through the Christmas break and have pulled themselves up from the cellar to third place (i.e. playoff position) in the Pacific Division. For the season, Anaheim has posted a 9-11-3 road record.
On Monday, the Ducks fell into a quick 2-0 hole. After Ryan Getzlaf's fifth goal of the season cut the gap to one in the final minute of the second period, Pittsburgh answered right back on the next shift to take a 3-1 lead to the locker room. The deficit grew to 4-1 before former Flyers farmhand Patrick Maroon tallied a late second period goal to narrow the deficit to 4-2. However, the Pens pulled away with a pair of unanswered goals in the third period. Losing goalie John Gibson yielded six goals on 31 shots. Frederik Andersen mopped up in the third period and is expected to get the start against the Flyers.
Even with Monday's loss in Pittsburgh, the Ducks have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL as of late. The club has won eight of its last 10 (8-2-0) games.
As much as the Flyers struggled to score in the first half of the season, they had nothing on Anaheim. The team averaged well under two goals per game through Christmas. The club still ranks at the bottom of the league offensively (2.22 goals per game, tied with New Jersey) but has been scoring at a much healthier clip the last six weeks.
Nevertheless, the real root of Anaheim's turnaround (Pittsburgh game aside) has been the way the team has played defensively. The Ducks rank in the top one-third of the league in goals against average, boast the NHL's top-ranked penalty kill and have yielded the third fewest shots per game while generating the seventh most.
Former Hart Trophy finalist Getzlaf leads the Ducks with 36 points (five goals, 31 assists) in 47 games. He is followed by former Hart Trophy winner Corey Perry (21 goals, 15 assists,36 points), Ryan Kesler (11 goals, 15 assists, 26 points), Rickard Rakell (11 goals, 15 assists, 26 points in 48 games), Finnish defenseman Sam Vatanen (six goals, 18 assists, 24 points) and Swedish forward Jakob Silfverberg (six goals, 11 assists, 17 points).
Anderson has appeared in 27 games to date (23 starts), posting a 10-8-5 record, 2.33 goals against average and .918 save percentage. Gibson has had 23 outings (21 starts), with 12-8-2 record, 2.13 goals against average, .917 save percentage and four shutouts.
Defenseman Clayton Stoner is on injured reserve with a hip injury. Veteran forward Shawn Horcoff is suspended by the NHL (violation of the league's performance-enhancing drug policy) until March 11. Former Flyers forward Harry Zolnierczyk is a likely healthy scratch.
Key team stat comparisons (NHL overall ranking)
Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 2.37 (25th), Ducks 2.22 (T-29th)
Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.61 (14th), Ducks 2.37 (8th)
5-on-5 Goals For/Against Ratio: Flyers 75/78, Ducks 73/87
Power play efficiency: Flyers 18.2% (17th), Ducks 17.9% (20th)
Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 78.7% (T-23rd), Ducks 89.1% (1st)
Shots per game: Flyers 30.4 (11th), Ducks 30.7 (T-7th)
Shots against per game: Flyers 32.3 (29th), Ducks 27.5 (3rd)
Faceoff percentage: Flyers 50.0% (T-15th), Ducks 51.2% (6th)
Projected lineups (subject to change, will be updated)
Flyers
93 Jakub Voracek - 28 Claude Giroux - 17 Wayne Simmonds
89 Sam Gagner - 52 Nick Cousins - 10 Brayden Schenn
76 Chris VandeVelde - 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 25 Ryan White
12 Michael Raffl - 21 Scott Laughton - 24 Matt Read
15 Michael Del Zotto - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
55 Nick Schultz - 32 Mark Streit
23 Brandon Manning - 3 Radko Gudas
35 Steve Mason
[65 Anthony Stolarz]
Scratches: Evgeny Medvedev (healthy), Jordan Weal (healthy), R.J. Umberger (healthy), Michal Neuvirth (IR, lower body), Sean Couturier (IR, lower body).
Ducks
57 David Perron - 15 Ryan Getzlaf - 29 Chris Stewart
19 Patrick Maroon - 67 Rickard Rakell - 10 Corey Perry
7 Andrew Cogliano - 17 Ryan Kesler - 33 Jakob Silfverberg
16 Ryan Garbutt - 44 Nate Thompson - 25 Mike Santorelli
4 Cam Fowler - 2 Kevin Bieksa
47 Hampus Lindholm - 42 Josh Manson
24 Simon Despres - 45 Sami Vatanen
31 Frederik Andersen
[36 John Gibson]
Scratches: Harry Zolnierczyk (healthy), Korbinian Holzer (healthy), Clayton Stoner (IR, hip), Shawn Horcoff (NHL suspension).
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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