1. TAKING FLIGHT
At 3-1-0, the Flyers are looking to start their season with four wins in their first five games for the first time since the 2011-12 season when they went 4-0-1... They also embark on their first road trip of the season, a four-game trip that will keep them away from Wells Fargo Center for nine days beginning tonight in Boston for a two-game set and ending in Newark for a two-game set with the Devils next week... The road team has a 22-23-9 record so far in this season.
2. ONE GOAL WONDERS
The Bruins come into tonight having dropped two of their first three games, including two in-a-row... All three games this season have been decided by one goal, including the first two past regulation play with their only win coming in a shootout... In addition, four of the last five meetings between the Flyers-Bruins have been decided by one goal with three going past regulation.
3. OPPOSITES ATTRACT
The Flyers are among the league's best in goals scored (T-3rd) with 15 so far this season, despite being at the bottom of the league in shots per-game (T-27th - 24.8)... The Flyers also rank second in the NHL for most third-period goals (8)... The Bruins on the other hand have just three goals through their first three games, which is at the bottom of the league standings, but are averaging over 30 shots per-game.
4. TAKE YOUR TIME
Ivan Provorov leads the team in ice-time per-game, averaging 24:34, which is more than three full minutes than the next closest Flyer (Sanheim - 21:30)... Against the Bruins, he has averaged over 25 minutes of ice-time (25:02) through 12 career games... Charlie McAvoy leads the Bruins by averaging over 26 minutes per-game (26:08), which is Top 10 in the NHL (7th) and 4th in the Eastern Conference... He has also averaged over 26 minutes per-game playing against the Flyers (26:04) in six career games.
5. PLAYERS TO WATCH
FLYERS (C: #13 - Kevin Hayes)
Hayes is off to his best start of his seven-year career, posting five points (2g-3a) in the Flyers first four games, which also includes his +3 rating... His five points also ranks second on the team and he is tied for the team lead with 10 shots on goal, while leading all Flyers forwards in ice time thus far at 18:40 per-game.
BRUINS (LW: #63 - Brad Marchand)
He leads the Bruins this year factoring into all three goals they have scored with a goal and two assists... Marchand also has a five-game point streak against the Flyers with six points (1g-5a) in that stretch... Since his first full season in the NHL (2010-11), Marchand leads all players with a total plus-minus rating of +224.
