About the Flyers - 12-29-11

A preview of the Flyers.

When and where: 7 p.m. EST. Consol Energy Center.

TV: Root Sport. CSN Philadelphia.

Record: 21-10-4, 46 points. The Flyers are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and second place in the Atlantic Division

Leading Scorer: Claude Giroux, 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists).

Last Game: 5-1 road loss to the Lightning Tuesday. Scott Hartnell had a goal for the Flyers.

Last Game against the Penguins: 3-2 home win, Dec. 8. Evgeni Malkin had two assists for the Penguins.

Flyers Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Jagr. Who else would you pick?

Ex-Penguins on the Flyers: Jaromir Jagr, RW; Joe Mullen, assistant coach; Simon Nolet, scout; Maxime Talbot (above), C.

Ex-Flyers on the Penguins: Arron Asham, RW; Richard Park, RW; Alexandre Picard, D.

Useless Flyers Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Flyers forward Maxime Talbot scored five career Stanley Cup final goals for the Penguins. Only Mario Lemieux (10) and Kevin Stevens (six) have more in franchise history.

Best Flyers Video We Could Find: Shhhhhhh!:

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(That's not really a "best" video for the Flyers.)

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (19-7-2, 2.24 GAA, .916 SV%) for the Penguins and Sergei Bobrovsky (7-2-1, 2.57 GAA, .913 SV%).

Injuries: For the Penguins, Defensemen Robert Bortuzzo (head), Kris Letang (head), Paul Martin ("lower body"), centers Sidney Crosby (head), Dustin Jeffrey (knee) and right winger Richard Park (foot) are on injured reserve. For the Flyers, defensemen Erik Gustafsson (wrist), Chris Pronger (concussion), centers Blair Betts ("lower body"), Sean Couturier (head), right wing Ian Laperriere (concussion) are on injured reserve. Couturier is expected to return to the lineup tonight.

Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins' did not skate with a full crew today. Their primary lines and defensive pairings in practice today were:

Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Pascal Dupuis - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy
Matt Cooke - Joe Vitale - Steve Sullivan
Arron Asham - Craig Adams - Jason Williams

Brooks Orpik - Matt Niskanen
Simon Despres - Zbynek Michalek
Alexandre Picard - Ben Lovejoy

-According to Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Flyers primary lines and defensive pairings are expected to be:

Scott Hartnell - Claude Giroux - Jaromir Jagr
Matt Read - Daniel Briere - Wayne Simmond
James van Riemsdyk - Maxime Talb - Jakub Voracek
Brayden Schenn - Sean Couturier - Harry Zolnierczyk

Notes:

-Jaromir Jagr spoke this morning. Just.... wow.

-"It’s just another game." - Joe Mullen.

-Deryk Engelland is suspended.

-With a win tonight, Dan Bylsma will break a tie with Michel Therrien for second-most coaching wins in franchise history. Each has 135. Eddie Johnston holds the record with 232.

-Martin has 197 career points.

-Our live blog begins at approximately 6 p.m. Please tune in.

(Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)