About the Flyers - 04-01-12
A preview of the Flyers.
When and where: 12:30 p.m. EDT. Consol Energy Center.
TV: Worst Network Ever NBC.
Record: 45-24-9, 99 points. The Flyers are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and third place in the Atlantic Division
Leading Scorer: Claude Giroux, 86 points (27 goals, 59 assists).
Last Game: 4-3 home shootout loss, yesterday. Segei Bobrovsky (right) made 26 saves for the Flyers.
Last Game against the Penguins: 3-2 home overtime win, March 18. Craig Adams had a goal and an assist for the Penguins.
Flyers Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Scott Hartnell. He has four points in four games against the Penguins this season.
Ex-Penguins on the Flyers: Jaromir Jagr, RW; Joe Mullen, assistant coach; Simon Nolet, scout; Maxime Talbot, C.
Ex-Flyers on the Penguins: Arron Asham, RW; Richard Park, RW.
Useless Flyers Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: The Flyers' all-time leader in penalty minutes is former Penguins right winger Rick Tocchet with 1,817.
Best Flyers Video We Could Find: The Flyers' old Legion of Doom Line - John LeClair, Eric Lindros and Mikael Renberg - shilling luxury seats at the former CoreStates Center:
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (41-16-4, 2.32 GAA, .914 SV%) for the Penguins and xxx (13-9-2, 2.94 GAA, .900 SV%).
Injuries: For the Penguins, goaltender defensemen Kris Letang ("lower body") is day to day. Defenseman Ben Lovejoy (knee) is out. For the Flyers, goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov (foot) is out. Right wingers Ian Laperriere (head), right winger Tim Sestito (groin), defensemen Andrej Meszaros (back), Chris Pronger (head), center Blair Betts (knee) and left winger James van Riemsdyk (foot) are on injured reserve.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins' did not have a practice yesterday. Their primary lines and defensive pairings against the Sabres Friday were:
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Steve Sullivan - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy
Craig Adams - Joe Vitale - Arron Asham
Brooks Orpik - Zbynek Michalek
Matt Niskanen - Paul Martin
Brian Strait - Deryk Engelland
-The Flyers primary lines and defensive pairings against the Senators yesterday were:
Scott Hartnell - Claude Giroux - Jaromir Jagr
Brayden Schenn - Daniel Briere - Wayne Simmonds
Maxime Talbot - Sean Couturier - Zach Rinaldo
Eric Wellwood -Matt Read - Jakub Voracek
Braydon Coburn - Nicklas Grossman
Matt Carle - Kimmo Timonen
Marc-Andre Bourdon - Pavel Kubina
Notes:
-The last time the Penguins played the Flyers, this happened:
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-The Penguins demoted Simon Despres to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. (PG+)
-Fleury needs one win to tie Tom Barrasso's franchise record of 226 career wins.
-Dupuis has a 13-game scoring streak, the best in the NHL this season.
-Kunitz has 147 career goals and 197 career assists.
-Sullivan has 447 career assists.
-The Flyers - and Bobrovsky - have never lost at Consol Energy Center. They are each 4-0-0 all-time in the venue.
-"Maybe it's more them than us." - Brooks Orpik on the Flyers' recent success in Pittsburgh.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 11:30 a.m. Finish up brunch and tune in.
(Photo: Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)