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Flyers Gameday: 12/9/18 @ WPG

December 9, 2018, 10:01 AM ET [237 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Game 28 Preview: Flyers @ Jets

Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (12-12-3) are in Manitoba on Sunday afternoon to take on Paul Maurice's Winnipeg Jets (17-9-2). Game time at Bell MTS Place is 3:00 p.m. ET.

The game will be televised locally on NBCSP. The radio broadcast can be found on 97.5 FM The Fanatic with an online simulcast at FlyersRadio247.com.

This is the first of two meetings this season between the inter-conference clubs, and the lone game in Winnipeg. The teams will rematch in Philadelphia on Jan. 28, 2019.

Last season, the Flyers claimed three of four possible points against the Jets. The home side prevailed in both games.

In Winnipeg on Nov. 16, 2017, in a game most remembered for a slashing incident involving Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas and Jets forward Mathieu Perrault that resulted in a 10-game suspension for Gudas, the visiting Flyers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. Philly held a lead until the the final minute of the third period when Jets' center Mark Scheifele scored during a 6-on-5 attack to force OT. The Flyers survived a penalty kill in overtime before losing (3-2) in a four-round shootout.

In Philadelphia on March 10, the Flyers caught the Jets at a time when Winnipeg was four games into a grueling road trip, and Philly churned out a workmanlike 2-1 victory. Second period goals by Claude Giroux and Andrew MacDonald built a 2-0 lead, and then the Flyers held on in the third after Patrik Laine notched a power play goal on a scorching one-timer to cut the gap to one goal with 11:02 still to play.

Flyers Outlook

This time around, it is the Jets who are a little more rested and the Flyers who have a potential "fatigue factor" disadvantage. The Flyers are playing for the third time (in three different cities and across one time zone) in less than four nights. It is the second game of a five-game road trip that started in Buffalo on Saturday afternoon.

In Buffalo on Saturday, the Flyers spotted the Sabres an early 2-0 lead but then stormed back for six unanswered goals, including an early third period shorthanded goal by Giroux that put the Flyers ahead (3-2) to stay and opened the goal-scoring floodgates. Giroux produced a four-point afternoon (one goal, three assists) to lead the way offensively.

With Sean Couturier sidelined day-to-day with a lower body injury, James van Riemsdyk (2nd goal of the season, 4th assist) was moved up to the top line along with Giroux and Travis Konecny (9th goal). Giroux moved from left wing to center.

Ivan Provorov (3rd goal of the season) knotted the game at 2-2 midway through regulation. Michael Raffl played an excellent game in the trenches and collected a pair of assists in the game. Wayne Simmonds (10th) benefited from some self-made puck luck on a goal that opened a 4-2 lead.

Anthony Stolarz was outstanding in goal, coming up with several crucial saves -- including a couple of 10-bell stops -- over the first half of the game. He was not as busy later on but stepped up when needed. Stolarz finished with 28 saves on 30 shots. Fifteen saves came in the first period. Michal Neuvirth could get the start -- just his second of the season, due to two stints on IR -- in Winnipeg.

The Flyers have won just four of their last 11 games overall (4-5-2) but have claimed five of six possible points in the last three games. The team has also killed off 15 straight penalties successfully.

Entering this game, the Flyers have scored an average 3.11 goals per game (ranked 14th) and have a team 3.48 GAA (tied for 28th). The team has scored four or more goals in 12 games. However, they've also been shut out four times and held to a single goal in three other games.

The Flyers power play comes in at 13.9 percent (11-for-79, 30th) with four shorthanded goals yielded. The penalty kill enters at 73.3 percent (53-for-86, 30th) with two shorthanded goals scored (Dale Weise at Pittsburgh on Dec. 1, Giroux in Buffalo on Dec. 8).

The Flyers have scored first in 10 of 25 games and are 6-2-2 in those games. They have trailed first 17 times. When yielding the game's first goal, the Flyers are 6-10-1.

Philly has been better on the road than at home so far this season. The Flyers are 5-7-2 at home and 7-5-1 on the road.

Jets Outlook

The Jets enter this game in third place in the Central Division, but with two games in hand and only three points off the pace being set by the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche atop the division.

Winnipeg recently swept a three-game road trip to play the Devils, Rangers and Islanders, although the first two games went beyond regulation. The team has since only played once in the last four nights, losing a 1-0 home decision to the St. Louis Blues on Friday.

In the game against the St. Louis, a latter second period power play goal by Colton Parayko stood up as the night's only goal. Jake Allen turned back all 26 Winnipeg shots he faced, while Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 of 27 Blues shots. Particularly frustrating for the Jets on this night was the fact that they went 0-for-6 on the power play. They were 1-for-2 on the penalty kill. The loss marked the second time this season that Winnipeg has been shut out.

Sunday afternoon's game is the second of a four-game homestand for the Jets, which will continue on Tuesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks. Overall, the Jets are 9-4-2 at home this season, which is the tied for the fifth most wins and sixth most points across in the NHL. However, the team has only won one of its last four home games (1-2-1).

Overall, the Jets are scoring at 3.32 goals per game clip (ranked 9th) and carry a team 2.79 GAA (7th) into Sunday's game. The power play enters at 27.3 percent (24-for-88, 5th) with one shorthanded goal allowed. The penalty kill checks in at 81.8 percent (72-for-88, 10th) with two shorthanded goals scored (one apiece for Brandon Tanev and Adam Lowry).

At Bell MTS Place, the Jets are third in the NHL in home power play percentage at 30.9% (13-for-42), but are 1-for-12 (8.3%) on the power play in their last four home games. The Winnipeg penalty kill is 16-for-18 (88.9%) in its last seven home games.

PROJECTED LINEUPS (Subject to change)

FLYERS

25 James van Riemsdyk - 28 Claude Giroux - 11 Travis Konecny
93 Jakub Voracek - 19 Nolan Patrick - 17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl - 21 Scott Laughton - 22 Dale Weise
23 Oskar Lindblom - 15 Jori Lehterä - 44 Phil Varone

9 Ivan Provorov - 47 Andrew MacDonald
53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 6 Travis Sanheim
8 Robert Hägg - 3 Radko Gudas

30 Michal Neuvirth
[41 Anthony Stolarz]

Scratches: 40 Jordan Weal (healthy), 14 Sean Couturier (lower body), 26 Christian Folin (healthy), 37 Brian Elliott (IR, lower body), 10 Corban Knight (IR, collarbone), 5 Sam Morin (ACL surgery).

JETS

27 Nikolaj Ehlers - 55 Mark Schiefele - 26 Blake Wheeler
81 Kyle Connor - 18 Brian Little - 29 Patrik Laine
85 Mathieu Perreault - 17 Adam Lowry - 13 Brandon Tanev
48 Brendan Lemieux - 28 Jack Roslovic - 82 Mason Appleton​

7 Ben Chiarot - 33 Dustin Byfuglien
8 Jacob Trouba - 44 Josh Morrissey
5 Dmitry Kulikov - 57 Tyler Myers​

37 Connor Hellebuyck
[30 Laurent Brossoit]

Scratches: 83 Sami Niku (healthy), 9 Andrew Copp (healthy), 70 Joe Morrow (healthy).

************

Phantoms Update: Cleveland Downs Phantoms Again, 4-2

For the second time within a week, the Cleveland Monsters earned a regulation win on the road against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. On Wednesday, the Monsters skated off with a 5-1 win. On Saturday, it was a 4-2 final.

In Saturday's tilt, Alex Lyon got the start in goal for the Phantoms one night after Carter Hart earned a 26-save shutout against the Hershey Bears. Lyon, who was also in goal on Wednesday, played well overall in both games against the Monsters. He finished with 37 saves on 41 shots in the latter game. Of the four goals he allowed, there was perhaps one short-side goal he might have wanted back.

Both ends of Phantoms special teams had been scorching hot in recent weeks heading into this weekend's back-to-back games. On Saturday, the Monsters got to the Phantoms for two power play goals on four opportunities. On the flip side, the Phantoms also scored both of their goals over four power play chances, so special teams wound up canceling out.

Rookie forward Connor Bunnaman has scored goals in back-to-back games. After potting a rebound for the lone goal of Friday's 1-0 win over Hershey, he parked himself netfront and stashed home the puck from the doorstep for a power play goal (4th goal of the season) that opened the scoring against Cleveland at 4:06 of the first period. The assists went to veterans Greg Carey and T.J. Brennan.

Saturday's game was Teddy Bear Toss night at the PPL Center, with all the stuffed animals thrown on the ice after the Phantoms' first goal being subsequently counted and donated to local children's charities. Oddly enough, "Bunny's" goal that started the started the barrage of bears was the third in his young career. He did it twice before in junior hockey as a member of the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers.

Unfortunately for the Phantoms, there weren't many highlights after the Bunnaman goal, apart from a few big hits, a good fight between Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Tommy Cross, and some good saves by Lyon. For the most part, Cleveland was the better hockey team again.

The Monsters scored the next three goals to take a 3-1 lead, including two goals by veteran forward Nathan Gerbe. Phantoms captain Colin McDonald (2nd goal of the season) got the Phantoms back within 3-2 with a power play goal midway through the third period but another former NHLer, Mark Letestu, restored a two-goal margin for Cleveland five minutes later.

The Phantoms are thin down the middle right now. Reigning AHL MVP winner Phil Varone is on NHL recall to the Flyers. Early season rookie standout German Rubtsov (shoulder surgery) is out for the remainder of the campaign. Second-year pro Mikhail Vorobyev has missed the last two games due to an undisclosed injury.

Lehigh Valley wound up dressing seven defensemen in Saturday's game. Rookie winger David Kase, who got banged up in Friday's win over Hershey, was a late scratch. As a result, defenseman James de Haas was inserted in the lineup and the Phantoms had to go with 11 forwards.

The Phantoms, now 14-8-2, have fallen nine points behind the Atlantic Division leading Charlotte Checkers but are within two points of the second-place Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Phantoms are now off until Friday, when they host the Belleville Senators. The next night, Lehigh Valley is on the road to take on the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins in a divisional game.
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