Shea-ved Ice: Penguins Vs. Flyers Preview
PHILADELPHIA (KDKA) – After a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Penguins will be looking to get back on track against cross-state rival Philadelphia this afternoon.
At the moment, the Penguins (32-20-5, 69 points) are two points behind the Flyers (32-18-7, 71 points) in the Atlantic Division and are just one point behind the New Jersey Devils.
On Wednesday, the Penguins got out to a 1-0 lead against the Ducks on a great shot by Jordan Staal. Unfortunately, it was the only goal the Penguins would score in the game.
Anaheim responded with goals by Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne, while Jonas Hiller made 24 saves to preserve the win.
The Flyers enter today's matchup riding high after a 7-2 drubbing of the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. Buffalo led 2-0 after the first period, before the Flyers exploded for seven goals over the final 40 minutes.
Wayne Simmonds and Max Talbot each had two goals in the contest.
Claude Giroux had five assists in the game to close the gap on Evgeni Malkin in the NHL scoring race. Malkin currently leads the league with 69 points (32 goals, 37 assists), but Grioux is hot on his heels with 67 points (22 goals, 45 assists).
This will be the third meeting between the two teams this season. Philadelphia has won both of the previous meetings by scores of 3-2 on Dec. 8, and 4-2 on Dec. 29.
In goal, it's been a roller coaster season for Ilya Bryzgalov (20-11-6, 2.75 GAA, .901 save percentage). Against the Penguins, he is 3-1-1 with a 1.78 GAA and a .939 save percentage.
His teammate, Sergei Bobrovsky (12-7-1, 2.90 GAA, .901 save percentage) has also performed well against the Penguins.
For his career, Bobrovsky is 4-1-1 with a 2.14 GAA and a .925 save percentage.
As for the Penguins, Marc-Andre Fleury (29-14-3, 2.34 GAA, .911 save percentage) allowed two goals on 29 shots against the Ducks on Wednesday.
Against the Flyers, Fleury is 20-12 with a 2.74 GAA with a .905 save percentage and has two shutouts.
As for Malkin, he has 18 goals and 28 assists with six goals and 10 assists on the power play in just 32 games against Philadelphia.
The puck is set to drop at 1 p.m. and you can watch the game locally on Root Sports. The game will also be on NHL Network for viewers outside of the Pittsburgh area.
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