PREVIEW: FLYERS @ RED WINGS
Looking to reduce to three their magic number for an Eastern Conference playoff spot, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (38-26-13) are in Michigan to take on Jeff Blashill's Detroit Red Wings (40-28-11). Game time at Joe Louis Arena is 8:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network as its Wednesday Night Rivalry game.
This is the third and final meeting of the season between the teams and the second in Detroit. On Jan. 17 in Detroit, outstanding goaltending by Michal Neuvirth and Petr Mrazek ruled the night and the two teams played to a 65-minute tie before the Flyers won via shootout. On March 15 in Philadelphia, the Flyers dominated early but then had to hang on for a 4-3 win in regulation. Philly needed a 20-save third period by Steve Mason to earn the win.
The Flyers enter this game coming off a 6-2 regulation road loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. The Penguins came right out attacking from the opening faceoff with four shots in the opening 20 seconds. That set the tone for a lopsided game. Mason actually played well in goal, despite yielding five goals. The final Pittsburgh goal was an empty netter.
Wednesday's game is the Red Wings' final home game of the season. The team is coming off back-to-back wins on Friday against the Minnesota Wild (3-2 at the Joe) and Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs (3-2 on the road). After this game, the Wings are on the road on Thursday to face the Boston Bruins head-to-head in a crucial game for both teams. That tilt may also have direct impact on the Flyers depending on the outcome of Wednesday's game.
There are still a host of possible scenarios for the Flyers to get into the playoffs. Here is the simplest one: If the Flyers beat the Red Wings in regulation and then defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs by any means on Thursday, Philadelphia is in the playoffs regardless of the Boston vs. Detroit outcome. That is because their magic number is guaranteed to reduce by at minimum one point when either Boston or Detroit loses.
Flyers Outlook
The Flyers are 13-4-2 over their last 19 games. Two of the regulation losses came at the Penguins' hands and there is still one game (at home) to play against Pittsburgh. For the season, the Flyers have a 17-16-6 road record compared to a 22-10-7 home mark.
In a losing cause on Sunday, the Flyers got goals by Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek. Claude Giroux, Andrew MacDonald, Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Couturier got one assist apiece. Mason stopped 33 of 38 shots.
MacDonald left Sunday's game in the third period after going head-first into the boards. He practiced on Tuesday. Officially, MacDonald is day-to-day and will be a gameday decision for Wednesday's match. If he does not play, Evgeny Medvedev will take his spot.
Mason will make his 10th consecutive start. He has appeared in 51 games this season, posting a 22-18-9 record, 2.53 goals against average, .918 save percentage and four shutouts (five regulation shutouts). Neuvirth, who is for the rest of the regular season with torn meniscus in his left knee, appeared in 31 games, posting a 17-8-4 record, 2.28 GAA, .925 save percentage and three shutouts.
Neuvirth has skated each of the last two days. If the Flyers reach the playoffs, he should be available within the first round. Second year pro Anthony Stolarz has had several NHL recalls but has yet to appear in an NHL regular season game. Stolarz had an outstanding first half of the AHL season -- especially the first two months -- and earned a selection to the AHL All-Star Game. in 40 games this season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Stolarz has posted a 19-14-6 record, 2.57 GAA and .917 SV%.
On April 1, the Flyers announced that they were signing veteran goaltender Ray Emery to a contract for the rest of the season. He is available for backup duty for the final four games of the season. He is not playoff eligible.
Thus far, the Flyers have done a remarkably good job of playing around the absence of top-pairing defenseman Michael Del Zotto. The player, who suffered torn ligaments in his left wrist on February 13, is out for the rest of the season.
Shayne Gostisbehere has set two franchise records and an NHL record this season: most goals by a Flyers rookie defenseman (16 to date), and longest consecutive-game point streak (15 games) by a Flyers rookie or any rookie defenseman in NHL history. Gostisbehere needs six points over the final four games to match Behn Wilson's franchise rookie defenseman season record of 49 points (set over 80 games in 1978-79).
Team captain Claude Giroux leads the Flyers with 22 goals, 44 assists and 66 points in 75 games. He is followed on the Flyers' scoring leader list by Simmonds (29 goals, 28 assists, 57 points, 143 penalty minutes), Brayden Schenn (25 goals, 31 assists, 56 points) and Voracek (11 goals, 42 assists, 53 points in 69 games). Among Gostisbehere's 16 goals, seven have come on the power play, and four in overtime and he has scored five game-winners overall to go along with 27 assists and 43 points in 60 games. Couturier rounds out the top six with 11 goals, 27 assists and 38 points in 60 games.
Red Wings Outlook
Detroit has had issues closing out games of late -- there have quite a few close calls even in games they've won -- but the bottom line is that the team has won three of its last four games since it was their turn to get smoked, 7-2, by Pittsburgh on March 26.
Over the last 10 games, the Red Wings are 6-4-0 dating back to their 4-3 loss in Philadelphia on March 15. For the season, Detroit is 21-13-6 at home and 19-15-5 on the road.
On a team stat basis (see section below), the Red Wings and Flyers are remarkably similar including an identical average 2.56 goals scored per game and goals against differential of about one-tenth of a goal per game (2.56 GAA for Philly, 2.67 GAA for Detroit). Both teams have scored 127 goals at 5-on-5. The Flyers have won 50.7 percent of their faceoffs this season, Detroit has won 50.6 percent.
On Saturday in Toronto, the Red Wings stormed out to a 2-0 lead at the first intermission, courtesy of goals by veteran forward Brad Richards (power play) and defenseman Mike Green.
After Toronto scored the only goal of the middle stanza, Kyle Quincey restored a two-goal margin early in the third period. With Garret Sparks pulled for an extra attacker, Toronto cut the deficit back to one goal with 1:07 left in regulation. Detroit hung on for the 4-3 win. Jimmy Howard turned back 32 of 34 shots.
With Mrazek struggling a bit down the stretch, he and Howard have rotated of late. Although Blashill has not formally identified his planned goalie for Wednesday, Howard appears to be the likely starter against the Flyers.
Howard has appeared in 34 games (30 starts) with a 13-12-5 record, 2.81 goals against average, .906 save percentage and one shutout. Mrazek has appeared in 53 games (49 starts) with a 27-16-6 record, 2.35 goals against average, .920 save percentage and four shutouts.
Detroit forward Drew Miller is on injured reserve with a knee injury. Veteran forward Johan Franzén has been out all year with post-concussion issues.
Two familiar veteran stars and one of the NHL's most impressive rookies hold down the top three spots on the Detroit scoring leader board: Pavel Datsyuk (16 goals, 32 assists, 48 points in just 63 games), Henrik Zetterberg (13 goals, 35 assists, 48 points) and Dylan Larkin (23 goals, 22 assists, 45 points in 77 games, plus-13 at even strength).
Tomas Tatar also has 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists in 78 games) to rank fourth in offensive production. He is followed by Gustav Nyquist (17 goals, 25 assists, 42 points), power forward Justin Abdelkader (18 goals, 23 assists, 41 points, 114 penalty minutes, minus-16), veteran offensive defenseman Green (seven goals, 27 assists, 34 points), Richards (10 goals, 17 assists, 27 points in 65 games), Kronwall (three goals, 23 assists, 26 points in 61 games, minus-19), Darren Helm (12 goals, 13 assists, 25 points) and Riley Sheahan (13 goals, 11 assists, 24 points).
Key team stat comparisons (NHL overall ranking)
Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 2.56 (T-21st), Red Wings 2.56 (T-21st)
Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.56 (13th), Red Wings 2.67 (18th)
5-on-5 Goals For/Against Ratio: Flyers 127/123, Red Wings 127/133
Power play efficiency: Flyers 18.9% (15th), Red Wings 19.3% (11th)
Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 80.1% (23rd), Red Wings 81.2% (T-14th)
Shots per game: Flyers 30.8 (6th), Red Wings 29.8 (15th)
Shots against per game: Flyers 31.2 (T-26th), Red Wings 29.8 (17th)
Faceoff percentage: Flyers 50.7% (T-6th), Red Wings 50.6% (T-8th)
Projected lineups (subject to change, will be updated)
Flyers
10 Brayden Schenn - 28 Claude Giroux - 17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
89 Sam Gagner - 52 Nick Cousins - 24 Matt Read
76 Chris VandeVelde - 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 25 Ryan White
47 Andrew MacDonald - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
55 Nick Schultz - 32 Mark Streit
23 Brandon Manning - 3 Radko Gudas
35 Steve Mason
[65 Anthony Stolarz]
Scratches: Andrew MacDonald (questionable, upper body), Evgeny Medvedev (healthy, will play if MacDonald is out), R.J. Umberger (healthy), Scott Laughton (healthy), Jordan Weal (healthy), Michael Del Zotto (IR, wrist), Michal Neuvirth (suspected left knee injury), Ray Emery (healthy).
Red Wings
71 Dylan Larkin - 40 Henrik Zetterberg - 8 Justin Abdelkader
43 Darren Helm - 13 Pavel Datsyuk - 17 Brad Richards
14 Gustav Nyquist - 15 Riley Sheahan - 21 Tomas Tatar
72 Andreas Athanasiou - 41 Luke Glendening - 26 Tomas Jurco
65 Dan DeKeyser - 27 Kyle Quincey
55 Niklas Kronwall - 47 Alexey Marchenko
52 Jonathan Ericsson - 25 Mike Green
35 Jimmy Howard
[34 Petr Mrazek]
Scratches: Teemu Pulkkinen (healthy), Anthony Mantha (healthy), Brendan Smith (healthy), Drew Miller (IR, knee), Johan Franzén (IR, post-concussion syndrome).
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FLYERS SIGN ALEX LYON
Over the last two seasons,
there have been rumors that the Philadelphia Flyers were scouting Yale University goaltender Alex Lyon. The organization had plenty of fierce competition for the services of the 23-year-old native of Baudette, Minnesota. The abundance of interest was enough to convince him to forego his senior season at the Ivy League university.
On Tuesday, the Flyers signed Lyon to an entry-level contract. By contractual agreement, the Flyers will burn the first year of the ELC by putting him on the NHL roster for the rest of the season.
Lyon is a quick and fluid young goaltender, who is pretty polished for someone who has never played professionally. He makes tough saves look routine because he plays his angles well and reads the play. Lyon has OK size for a current-day goalie (6-foot-1, 200 pounds) but is far from one of those gargantuan netminders that fascinate a lot of organizations nowadays.
Lyon came onto the scene a little late. He played high school hockey for Lake of the Woods in his native Baudette -- the same town that produced longtime NHL defenseman Keith Ballard. It was not until he graduated high school and moved on two years of USHL play with the Omaha Lancers that Lyon started to get a little wider exposure.
The young goaltender had a tremendous collegiate career in the ECAC. For two straight seasons, he has been a finalist for the Mike Richter Award (the NCAA equivalent of the Vezina Trophy across all conferences). He's won the Ken Dryden Award (top ECAC goalie in back-to-back years). Flyers goaltending prospect Merrick Madsen (Harvard) enjoyed a very strong sophomore season in 2015-16 but there was no doubt that Lyon was the best goalie in the conference. Lyon has also taken ECAC First Team, All-Ivy League First Team and the All-New England First Team honors in back-to-back years. Lyon was a Hobey Baker Award (NCAA most valuable player) finalist this season.
Last year, Lyon was even selected to the Team USA roster for the 2015 IIHF World Championships in the Czech Republic. He was the squad's third-string goalie and did not play in a game, but he did dress as a backup for one match. The American team won the bronze medal. Simply being chosen for the roster was a tremendous accomplishment for the undrafted collegiate goalie.
The abundance of awards and international recognition are the real evidence that Lyon is considered a genuine NHL prospect, more than his stats alone. However, the statistics from this season are excellent: 19-8-4 record, 1.64 GAA, .936 save percentage and five shutouts in 31 games. He finishes his collegiate career with 15 shutouts in 93 games.
Come next season, Lyon and Anthony Stolarz will push one another for playing time with the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms; a promising arrangement that could help both prospects elevate their games to the next level.
In the meantime, within a single year, the Flyers have gone from having barren depth in the goaltending pipeline -- Stolarz was the extent of prospect pool -- to now having enviable depth within the system.
Stolarz improved considerably in his second AHL season, earning an All-Star Game selection. Third-round draft pick Felix Sandström held his own as a teenage goaltender in Sweden's SHL and got some hard-earned experience dealing with adversity at the World Junior Championships along with some solid success. Merrick went from playing just one game as a freshman at Harvard to a strong regular starter as a sophomore. Now add Lyon to the mix as a somewhat older goaltending prospect.
Only UND's Matej Tomek, a 2015 third-round pick who dealt with injury issues in the fall and did not play in a single game, did not have development opportunity this season. The Flyers also have hulking 2015 seventh-round pick Ivan Fedotov, who played regularly at Russia's MHL level (KHL feeding junior league) and backed up in a few KHL games, in the system for further depth.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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