In their final game before the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Flyers well welcome in the Pittsburgh Penguins.
This will be the first of three games the two teams play this month. They will have a home-and-home series on Feb. 25 & 27 to wrap up the season series. The Penguins took the first game by a runaway score of 7-3.
Sidney Crosby, who may miss tonight's game, had four points for the Penguins. The Flyers were within a goal three times, trailing 1-0, 2-1, and 4-3 before Pittsburgh pulled away late in the third period.
Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia will have at least one of their new players available. Andrei Kuzmenko will make his long-awaited Flyers debut on Saturday night. Jakob Pelletier is with the team, but will not be able to play until after the break due to the continuation of his visa issues. For Kuzmenko, this is a chance for another fresh start. He'll have Travis Konecny on his wing, which is not a bad player to have as you try to gel with a new team.
After being shut out in three straight games, the Flyers have scored five goals in their last two games. However, they have lost five straight and seven of their last eight. There was a good sign in their last game against Washington, though, as Michkov posted two goals and had his highest ice time (19:32) since Nov. 18. It was only the eighth time he has played over 19 minutes.
Sam Ersson will return to the net after what John Tortorella called his best performance of the season against Utah. He faced a career-high 42 shots and made a career-high 39 saves. Ersson will be a part of the 4 Nations Face-Off with Team Sweden, though it's unlikely he will play much.
Flyers Projected Roster
Tyson Foerster - Noah Cates - Bobby Brink
Andrei Kuzmenko -Scott Laughton -Travis Konecny
Rodrigo Abols - Sean Couturier - Matvei Michkov
Nic Deslauriers - Jacob Gaucher - Garnet Hathaway
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae - Erik Johnson
Sam Ersson
Pittsburgh Penguins
This will be the second game of a back-to-back for the Penguins. Pittsburgh is 5-3-0 in the second game. They defeated the Rangers on Friday despite not registering a shot in the third period. It's the first time a team has won a one-goal game without a shot in the final period.
Crosby leads the Penguins with 58 points, but he missed his first game of the season against the Rangers. He took the optional skate so there is a chance he could be back. The Flyers would like to see him rest another game as he had tortured them in his career. Crosby has 56 goals and 133 points in 88 games against Philadelphia. Richard Rakell, who leads the Penguins with 25 goals, is also a Flyer killer. Rakell has 10 goals and 16 points in 17 career games against the Flyers. He also has goals in five consecutive games versus them.
Joel Blomqvist is expected to be in the net for the Penguins. The rookie goaltender has appeared in 10 games throughout the season. He took the loss in his last game against Seattle and has lost four of his last five outings. He has given up three or more goals in eight of his 10 games. In his young career, Blomqvist has a 3.59 GAA and a .899 SV%.
Penguins Projected Roster
Anthony Beauvillier - Rickard Rakell - Bryan Rust
Michael Bunting - Cody Glass - Danton Heinen
Matt Nieto - Kevin Hayes - Philip Tomasino
Bokondji Imama - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
P. O. Joseph - Kris Letang
Matt Grzelcyk - Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves - Vincent Desharnais
Joel Blomqvist
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBCSP
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Live Stream: FuboTv
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