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Preview: Bruins vs. Flyers

The Bruins visit Philadelphia to see Gritty

By ShawnFerris
NHL: Philadelphia Flyers at Boston Bruins Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Just the Facts

Who: Boston Bruins (26-15-5, 57 PTS) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (17-23-6, 40 PTS)

Where: Wells Fargo Center

When: 7:30 PM est

How to Follow: NBCSN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN Site: Broad Street Hockey

Know Your Enemy

Thanks to unstable goaltending, it has been a rough year in Philadelphia. The Flyers have iced SEVEN different netminders so far this season combining for the worst save percentage in the NHL at .882. They also fired their head coach, Dave Hakstol, and general manager, Ron Hextall since the last time these two teams met on October 25th.

The Flyers’ offense runs mainly through Claude Giroux, with support from the likes of Sean Couterier and Jakub Voraceck. This offense isn’t potent, but still scores about two-fifths more goals per hour at 5v5 than the Bruins.

#Lose4Hughes is in full flight for the Flyers as they are 2-7-1 in their last 10.

Game Notes

  • With Peter Cehlarik being promoted on Tuesday, Bruins fans are curious if they will see him in the lineup as soon as tonight. Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Jake DeBrusk, and Chris Wagner took maintenance days on Tuesday. Bruce Cassidy confirmed that Bergeron and Marchand will be in tonight, but DeBrusk (lower body) and Wagner (illness) could potentially watch from the ninth floor.
  • Jaroslav Halak will get the start tonight. The tides have turned as of late. It would be an exaggeration to say his play has been poor lately, but he certainly has cooled off since the beginning of the season. The Bruins would certainly like to sweep this stretch of weak teams before the bye week, and that starts with a good performance in goal.
  • The Bruins’ middle six has been unstable lately. Cassidy tried a few different line combinations in Monday’s loss to the Canadiens. Unless the Bruins run away with the game early, I wonder if we see the same tonight
  • A win tonight would put the Bruins one point ahead of the Maple Leafs for second place in the Atlantic. Although the Leafs would have played two less games, it certainly shows that the Bruins are still in the race for home ice in the first round of the playoffs.