Game 16 Preview: Flyers vs. Bruins

In the final game of a three-game homestand, Alain Vigneault's Philadelphia Flyers (8-4-3) host Bruce Cassidy's Boston Bruins (8-5-0) at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday evening. Game time is 7:00 p.m. ET (NBCSP, 93.3 WMMR).

This is the second of three meetings this season between the teams, and the second and final game at the Wells Fargo Center. On Oct. 20, the Flyers skated to a 6-3 home win. The season series will conclude at TD Garden in Boston on Jan. 13.

The Flyers have collected three of a possible four points thus far on the homestand. On Tuesday, they earned a 2-1 overtime win against the Calgary Games. On Thursday against Tampa Bay, they rescued one point with a Claude Giroux goal (his second goal of the game) off a faceoff in the final 10 seconds to force overtime.

The Bruins have been idle since last Sunday's 5-2 home win against the Montreal Canadiens. This game will be the start of a back-to-back that will see the Bruins return home afterwards to host the Calgary Flames on Friday.


The Flyers had a complete off-day on Friday. The team has not yet announced an update on the status of center Kevin Hayes, and how much time he might miss from the lineup. Max Willman is on emergency-conditions recall from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. When lineups are available, they'll be added to today's preview blog.

For a five-facet preview of this game, see "Five Things: Flyers vs. Bruins" on the Flyers' official website.

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Phantoms Update: Frost Shines in 4-3 SOL in Rochester; Phantoms @ TOR

In the front end of a road back-to-back set, Ian Laperrriere's Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-8-4) had to settle for one point in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Rochester Americans (8-5-0) on Friday evening. On Saturday, the Phantoms are in Ontario to play Greg Moore's Toronto Marlies (7-4-1). Game time is 4 p.m. EST.

On Friday, the Phantoms got off to what has been a characteristically rough start. They fell behind the Amerks, 2-0, within the opening 7:54 of the game. The first goal, tallied by Brett Murray was a power play deflection goal. The second, scored by Linnus Weissbach was a breakaway goal after Egor Zamula flubbed a puck at the offensive blueline.

However, over the next 33 minutes, the Phantoms dominated the game. Morgan Frost was at the forefront, making positive things happen on multiple shifts. He played with good pace. He won left-circle faceoffs. He contributed defensively. Most of all, Frost was in the thick of multiple Lehigh Valley scoring chances.

The Phantoms narrowed the gap to 2-1 at 10:33 of the first period. After Cooper Zech worked the puck behind the net, persistence paid off for Frost. On a second effort sequence, he centered the puck to Garrett Wilson, who scored his third goal of the season.

The second period was arguably the best period the Phantoms have played all season to date. Lehigh Valley dominated the frame, nearly from start to finish, and racked up a 19-4 shot on goal advantage. The PHantoms were also rewarded on the scoresheet.

At 4:01, the Phantoms' goal-starved power play made the Amerks pay for a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty. Frost skated to the top of the left circle after receiving a pass from defenseman Logan Day, and the fired a shot that beat Michael Houser to the glove side. Cam York got the secondary assist.

A mere 12 seconds later, the Phantoms took the lead. Connor Bunnaman got off the schneid for the season, jamming home the puck from the doorstep. Adam Clendening got the lone assist.

Phantoms starting goalie Felix Sandström was only tested once of note in the second period, but came up with a doozy of an arm-save on a 2-on-1 chance for the Amerks. Sandström stopped 19 of 23 shots for the game.

After controlling the second period, the Phantoms had the tables turned on them in the third period. Rochester controlled the frame, and the Phantoms' lead seemed increasingly tenuous. At 12:57, Murray notched his second of the game to tie the score at 3-3. At 16:34, J.J. Peterka put the Amerks ahead, 4-3.

With the two sides skating 4-on-4, the Phantoms pulled Sandström for an extra attacker. At 18:33, Frost set up Gerry Mayhew to re-knot the game at 4-4. Zamula got the secondary assist.

In overtime, the Amerks controlled the puck more or less from the opening faceoff for the first two-and-a-half minutes. After a Rochester offside, Frost was boarded by Sean Malone at 2:55. That set up a 4-on-3 Phantoms power play for all but the final five seconds of OT. The Phantoms had trouble getting set up on the power play but Frost had two looks late in the man advantage. The game then went to a shootout.

In the shootout, Jack Quinn and Peterka scored for Rochester. Mayhew was denied in the first round for the Phantoms, while Frost was picked by a Houser glove save.

With his three-point game, Frost now has 14 points (2g, 12a) in 15 games this season despite a slow offensive start. Over his past nine games, Frost has posted 12 points (2g, 10a).

For Sunday's late afternoon game, Pat Nagle is expected to get the start in goal for the Phantoms. On the injury front, the Phantoms may be without the services of German Rubtsov, who left Friday's game in the first period and did not return. In the meantime, Tyson Foerster has yet to return to skating, and the Phantoms remain without injured players Ryan Fitzpatrick, Zayde Wisdom, Mason Millman, Tanner Laczynski (hip surgery, out for the season) and Wade Allison (whose high ankle sprain rehab is making progress but his return to play is not imminent). Rookie goalie Samuel Ersson (lower-body injury) also remains out.

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