PITTSBURGH - "There's never a good time to go to Pittsburgh." - Jakub Voracek
Perhaps a bitter rivalry game against the Penguins (10-9-5) will help the Flyers (10-12-2) get back on track. The Flyers are 1-5-1 over their last seven games.
Last season, the Penguins swept the Flyers in their four regular-season matchups for just the second time in the history of the series. Pittsburgh also took all eight regular-season games during the 2006-07 season.
Let's take a look at Saturday's essentials.
• When: 7 p.m. ET with Flyers Pregame Live at 6:30 p.m.
• Where: PPG Paints Arena
• Broadcast: NBCSP
• Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app
• The Flyers will be extremely mindful of their first period in Pittsburgh. In each of their last two road games, they've been outscored 8-0 in the opening 20 minutes at Buffalo and at Toronto.
Philadelphia Flyers
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia Flyers and their rivals in the NHL from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
I'll be real direct. The games in Buffalo and Toronto, we needed a little bit better start from our goaltenders to help our team get off to a little bit better start. Those results were terrible. We needed a save or two more.
- Head coach Dave Hakstol
Calvin Pickard allowed four goals on six shots in the 6-0 loss last Saturday to the Maple Leafs and was pulled just 12:20 into the game. Anthony Stolarz came in during mop-up duty and stopped 33 of 35 shots.
As a result, the Flyers placed Pickard on waivers Thursday and he was claimed by the Arizona Coyotes.
Hakstol also made the decision he no longer needed assistant coach Gord Murphy, who joined the Flyers in 2014 when Craig Berube was head coach. Murphy's responsibilities were primarily working with the Flyers' young defensive corps.
• When Stolarz started Tuesday's game against Ottawa, the 2018-19 Flyers became the third team in NHL history to start five different goaltenders in the first 24 games of a season, joining the 1988-89 Pittsburgh Penguins and the 2005-06 Atlanta Thrashers.
According to the Flyers' website, they've had six different goalies make an appearance in their last six meetings with the Penguins, including tonight's game. The five starters: Stolarz, Alex Lyon, Petr Mrazek, Michal Neuvirth, Brian Elliott and Steve Mason.
Neuvirth returns to the Flyers for the first time since sustaining a groin injury during practice Nov. 2 in San Jose. He will back up the starter, Stolarz. Neuvirth has seen action in just one game this season, when he allowed all six goals in a 6-1 to the New York Islanders on Oct. 27.
• In preparation of tonight's game in Pittsburgh, Hakstol jumbled his bottom three lines. The most notable change is moving James van Riemsdyk and Wayne Simmonds up to the second line with center Nolan Patrick. The Flyers' top line of Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny is the only one that remains intact.
Van Riemsdyk is searching for a spark. He's been held without a point in five of his six games since returning from a leg injury after missing the previous 16 games.
Simmonds has been struggling as well. After scoring four goals in the Flyers' first six games, the "Wayne Train" has just four goals over his last 18 games.
• The Flyers could desperately use a power-play opportunity tonight against the Penguins. Since the NHL started tracking power-play numbers in 1977-78, this marks the first time in Flyers history they've gone back-to-back games without a power-play opportunity. Interestingly, the Penguins have had fewer power-play chances (69) than the Flyers (70) this season.
However, special teams have definitely favored the Penguins this season. Pittsburgh is one of just four teams (Jets, Blues and Lightning) with a power play and penalty kill both ranked in the top 10 in the league.
The Flyers, on the other hand, have a power play (26th) and penalty kill (30th) both ranked in the bottom third, joining the Blackhawks, Kings and Hurricanes with both special teams units in the bottom 10.
• Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has been on a tear since returning from an upper-body injury on Nov. 21. Crosby has scored five goals with nine points in his last five games, including a natural hat trick in a 6-3 loss to the Avalanche Wednesday night.
• Penguins winger Patric Hornqvist is expected to return to the lineup, where he will play right winger on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust. Hornqvist has been out since Nov. 23 with a concussion.
Projected lineup
Forwards
Claude Giroux-Sean Couturier-Travis Konecny
James van Riemsdyk-Nolan Patrick-Wayne Simmonds
Michael Raffl-Scott Laughton-Jakub Voracek
Dale Weise-Jori Lehtera-Oskar Lindblom
Defensemen
Ivan Provorov-Shayne Gostisbehere
Andrew MacDonald-Robert Hagg
Travis Sanheim-Radko Gudas
Goalies
Anthony Stolarz
Michal Neuvirth
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.
