About the Flyers - 04-07-12
A preview of the Flyers.
When and where: 4 p.m. EDT. Consol Energy Center.
TV: NBC Sports Network.
Record: 47-25-9, 103 points. The Flyers are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and third place in the Atlantic Division
Leading Scorer: Claude Giroux, 93 points (28 goals, 65 assists).
Last Game: 2-1 home win against the Sabres, Thursday. Marc-Andre Bourdon had a goal and an assist for the Flyers.
Last Game against the Penguins: 6-4 road win, Sunday. Steve Sullivan scored two goals for the Penguins.
Flyers Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Scott Hartnell (above). He has five points in five 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: Five former Penguins first-round picks have played for the Flyers. They are Center Mike Bullard (1980), right winger Jaromir Jagr (1990), defenseman Chris Joseph (1987), right winger Rich Sutter (1982) and defenseman Zarley Zalapski (1986).
Best Flyers Video We Could Find: Rob Brown > Ron Hextall:
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Probable goaltenders: The Penguins have not indicated if Marc-Andre Fleury (42-17-4, 2.36 GAA, .913 SV%) or Brent Johnson (5-7-2, 3.14 GAA, .884 SV%) will start. The Flyers have not indicated if Sergei Bobrovsky (14-9-2, 2.98 GAA, .901 SV%) or Ilya Bryzgalov (33-16-7, 2.48 GAA, .909 SV%) will start.
Injuries: For the Penguins, left wingers James Neal ("lower body"), Steve Sullivan ("lower body") and defenseman Matt Niskanen ("upper body") are day to day. Right winger Arron Asham (undisclosed) is undisclosed. Defensemen Ben Lovejoy (knee) is out. For the Flyers, defenseman Nicklas Grossman (right knee) is day to day. Right winger Daniel Briere (back) is out. Right wingers Ian Laperriere (head), 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: Dan Bylsma said his entire lineup was a "game-time" decision. The Penguins' primary lines and defensive pairings at yesterday's practice were: (PG+)
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - Richard Park
Eric Tangradi - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy
Craig Adams - Joe Vitale - Dustin Jeffrey
Kris Letang - Paul Martin
Zbynek Michalek - Brooks Orpik
Brian Strait - Deryk Engelland
-The Flyers' primary lines and defensive pairings against the Sabres Thursday were:
Scott Hartnell - Claude Giroux - Jaromir Jagr
Brayden Schenn - Matt Read - Wayne Simmonds
Maxime Talbot - Sean Couturier - Jakub Voracek
Jody Shelley - Eric Wellwood - Zac Rinaldo
Matt Carle - Kimmo Timonen
Pavel Kubina - Braydon Coburn
Andreas Lilja - Marc-Andre Bourdon
Notes:
-The last time the Penguins played the Flyers, this happened:
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-Oops, no... it was this:
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-Neither team can gain anything in terms of playoff seeding today.
-Welcome back Steve MacIntyre.
-Fleury needs one win to break a tie with Tom Barrasso for the franchise record in career wins. Both have 226 wins.
-Dupuis has a 16-game scoring streak, the best in the NHL this season.
-Dupuis has appeared in 749 games in his career.
-Letang has appeared in 349 career games.
-Adams, Cooke, Dupuis and Kunitz all have appeared in 81 games this season.
-Malkin has 49 goals this season.
-Kunitz has 149 career goals and 349 career points.
-“No, we’re going in there to win a game." - Flyers coach Peter Laviolette on if his team would rest players for today's game.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 3 p.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)