Flyers Lineup Update (11:30 a.m. EDT)
During the third period of Tuesday's game, Travis Konecny and Jakub Voracek skated shifts with Claude Giroux. That trio will stay together to start the game against the Coyotes. Matt Read and Wayne Simmonds will flank Sean Couturier.
With the return of Dale Weise from suspension, he will play on the third line with Nick Cousins (moving back to center) and Brayden Schenn. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare drops to the fourth line, with Boyd Gordon as a healthy scratch.
Preview: Flyers vs. Coyotes
On Flyers Hall of Fame Heritage Night at the Wells Fargo Center, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (3-3-1) play host to Dave Tippett's Arizona Coyotes (1-5-0). Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on CSN Philadelphia.
After this game, the Flyers and Coyotes will not face off again until next season. On Oct. 15 in Glendale, the Flyers battled back from deficits of 1-0 and 3-1 to force overtime before losing in a 4-3 final on a delayed penalty goal by Oliver Ekman-Larsson in OT.
The Flyers spent much of the early portion of the game in the penalty box, taking a pair of too many men on the ice penalties. Ultimately, two controversial goals -- one for Arizona that was allowed despite apparent goaltender interference and a disallowed Flyers goal in which an out-of-position referee was too far off to the side to judge if the puck crossed the goal line (plus inconclusive TV replays) -- figured into the outcome.
After the OT goal by Arizona, Flyers forward Jakub Voracek was tagged with 22 minutes worth of penalties. He went ballistic arguing that his stick had been grabbed away earlier in the sequence of events that led up to the goal.
Both the Flyers and the Coyotes are battling some fatigue heading into this game.
For the Flyers, who had an off-day on Wednesday, this game is the team's fourth in six nights and the start of another gauntlet (home-home-road) of three games in four nights. Arizona, meanwhile, is looking to salvage something in the final game of a six-game road trip. The club is winless on the road trip thus far, with every loss coming in regulation.
Flyers Outlook
The Flyers pulled two points out of a hat on Tuesday night, claiming a 4-3 win via shootout against the Buffalo Sabres in a game that the Flyers trailed 3-0 heading into the third period and still trailed 3-1 with time ticking down to three minutes remaining in regulation.
Power play goals by Travis Konecny (first NHL goal), Brayden Schenn and Mark Streit led the comeback, along with flawless relief goaltending by Steve Mason (eight saves in regulation and overtime, 2-for-2 in the shootout). Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek converted their shootout opportunities to secure a second point from the game.
The Flyers went 3-for-4 on the power play against Buffalo but just 2-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Starting goaltender Michal Neuvirth, pulled in the second period for a second straight appearance, stopped 14 of 17 shots. The final Buffalo goal was a stoppable one. With another set of three games in four nights, his next appearance will likely be one of the back-to-back games over the weekend against the Pittsburgh Penguins (home) and Carolina Hurricanes (away).
The Flyers featured some early game line changes in the Carolina game, with Matt Read moving up from the third line to play left wing on Giroux's line. With the Flyers in need of a comeback and energy seemingly running low, Hakstol juggled combinations later in the game.
With the return of Radko Gudas to the Flyers' lineup following a six-game NHL suspension to start the season, veteran defensive defenseman Nick Schultz was a healthy scratch on Tuesday. While it is possible that Schultz could remain the odd man out against Arizona, it is also possible that Andrew MacDonald could sit out.
Dale Weise has finished serving his three-game NHL suspension for a high hit on Anaheim's Korbinian Holzer. Weise will rejoin the lineup for the Coyotes' game. In the meantime the NHL's Department of Player Safety took no action against Buffalo Sabres' defenseman Dmitry Kulikov for a seemingly more violent leaving-his-feet check on Voracek than the one that got Weise suspended.
The morning skate will reveal the Flyers' lineup adjustments.
Coyotes Outlook
The Coyotes are the NHL's youngest team, with a roster laden with players age 21 and under and with, by far, the league's youngest general manager at the helm. There are bound to be rough patches and learning experiences.
Arizona has gotten schooled so far on its grueling road trip as the Coyotes have gone 0-5-0 with a couple of blowout losses and a few narrow ones.
On Tuesday, the Coyotes nearly earned at least one point from a seesaw game in Newark against the New Jersey Devils. The game was tied 3-3 until late in the third period before Travis Zajac scored a power play goal and later added an empty netter for a 5-3 final.
Ekman-Larsson scored twice for the Coyotes. Jordan Martinook, who got under the Flyers' skin in the previous meeting in Glendale, also tallied. Starting in lieu of injured veteran Mike Smith, Justin Peters (30 saves on 34 shots) took the loss in goal.
Projected Lineups (subject to change, will be updated)
FLYERS
11 Travis Konecny - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek
24 Matt Read - 14 Sean Couturier - 17 Wayne Simmonds
10 Brayden Schenn - 25 Nick Cousins - 22 Dale Weise
76 Chris VandeVelde - 76 P-E Bellemare - 13 Roman Lyubimov
32 Mark Streit - 3 Radko Gudas
9 Ivan Provorov - 23 Brandon Manning
47 Andrew MacDonald - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
35 Steve Mason
[30 Michal Neuvirth]
Scratches: Michael Del Zotto (LTIR), Scott Laughton (LTIR), Michael Raffl (IR, upper body), Nick Schultz (healthy), Boyd Gordon (healthy).
COYOTES (per Dailyfaceoff.com)
16 Max Domi - 11 Martin Hanzal- 17 Radim Vrbata
88 Jamie McGinn - 48 Jordan Martinook - 10 Anthony Duclair
8 Tobias Rieder - 12 Brad Richardson - 19 Shane Doan
67 Lawson Crouse - 18 Christian Dvorak - 25 Ryan White
23 Oliver Ekman-Larsson - 5 Connor Murphy
33 Alex Goligoski - 26 Michael Stone
6 Jakob Chychrun - 2 Luke Schenn
35 Louis Domingue / 40 Justin Peters
Scratches: Laurent Dauphin (healthy), Dylan Strome (healthy), Kevin Connauton (healthy), Mike Smith (IR, lower body), Jarred Tinordi (20-game NHL suspension for violating the performance-enhancing drug policy), Dave Bolland (LTIR, back and ankle, unlikely to play again), Chris Pronger (LTIR/retired, salary cap floor contract acquisition), Pavel Datsyuk (KHL, salary cap floor contract acquisition).
**********
Heritage Night: Flyers Hall of Fame
Tonight at the Wells Fargo Center, Flyers will celebrate the first of five Heritage Nights dedicated to the 50th Anniversary history of the franchise. The theme of tonight is Flyers' Hall of Fame Night, with most of the 25 inductees either attending or represented by a family member.
For a history of the Flyers' Hall of Fame and an overview of each of its inductees and why they were honored with selection,
click here.
The following Flyers Hall of Fame members are scheduled to attend in person:
Bill Barber
Rod Brind’Amour
Bob Clarke
Ron Hextall
Mark Howe
John LeClair
Reggie Leach
Eric Lindros
Bernie Parent
Brian Propp
Dave Poulin
Dave Schultz
Joe Watson
Jim Watson
The following deceased Hall of Fame inductees will have a family representative:
Ed Snider (daughter Lindy)
Keith Allen (grandson Chase Rogers)
Gene Hart (wife Sarah)
Barry Ashbee (wife Donna)
Rick MacLeish (daughter Danielle)
Joe Scott (wife Patricia and son Scott)
Not attending the event: Ed Van Impe, Tim Kerr, Eric Desjardins, Gary Dornhoefer.
Deceased, not represented: Fred Shero.
Most of the non-attendees tonight will take part in subsequent Heritage Nights, such as Captains Night. Kerr will play in the Alumni Game on January 15 against the Penguins Alumni. The late Fred Shero's wife, Mariette, is also deceased and sons Ray and Jean-Paul are unable to attend.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»