In the road half of a home-and-home set, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (11-10-2) are in western Pennsylvania to take on Mike Sullivan's Pittsburgh Penguins (11-10-1). Game time at PPG Paints Arena is 7:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on NBC Sports Philadelphia with Jim Jackson and Brian Boucher on the call. The radio broadcast, with Tim Saunders and Todd Fedoruk on the call, is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
Saturday's game is the first of four meetings this season between the archrival clubs. The Battle of Pennsylvania will renew on Monday at the Wells Fargo Center. Thereafter, the Flyers and Penguins will play each other again on January 8 in Philadelphia and February 25 in Pittsburgh.
The Flyers enter this game coming off a 4-3 overtime home loss on Thursday to the New Jersey Devils. The Flyers trailed by scores of 2-0 and 3-1 before scoring twice in the latter portion of the third period to force overtime. Morgan Frost (PPG, 3rd goal of the season) scored in the second period before Tyson Foerster tallied an even strength deflection goal (2nd) at 15:00 and a 6-on-4 power play marker (3rd) at 19:09. In a losing cause, Carter Hart stopped 31 of 35 shots.
Here are five things to watch in Saturday's game.
- Transition Game
The Flyers got themselves in trouble in their recent games against the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils by giving up odd-man rush goals in transition. Scoring has been fairly sparse for the Flyers lately, apart from their late third period surge against the Devils. As such, mistakes tend to get magnified.
The current Penguins are no longer one of the NHL's highest-scoring clubs. They are in the middle of the pack (3.14 goals per game average, ranked 17th). That doesn't mean, however, that Pittsburgh will not burn an opponent that turns pucks over in dangerous areas of the ice and gets outnumbered in transition.
The Flyers have to stay connected as five-man units when play is at even strength. When a defenseman pinches in the offensive zone, a third forward must provide support up high. Players need to avoid overstaying their shifts whenever possible.
Over the last couple weeks, ever since the Flyers' five-game winning streak ended, the team has been trying to strike a balance between being aggressive with the puck and on the forecheck, while not leaving themselves vulnerable when the other team gains possession.
2. Important game for Farabee and Frost
In Thursday's game against the Devils, Joel Farabee was benched for the rest of the game after skating just 53 seconds over two shifts in the first period. The Flyers' leading 5-on-5 scorer this season, Farabee had been one of the team's most consistent all-around players over the season's first 22 games. His abbreviated outing against the Devils was a bump in the road.
Farabee was unavailable for comment after Thursday's game or Friday's practice. But his actions in making an immediate corrective step will speak for him. Tortorella said that the player will be fine, and he'll step right back into his normal use.
Frost, meanwhile, had a strong two-way game in last Saturday's 1-0 (1-0) shootout road win over the New York Islanders. He had a subpar performance on Tuesday in a 4-1 home loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. On Thursday against the Devils, Frost had an uneven performance.
On the positive side, he notched a power play goal and set up a couple of chances for linemates. On the downside, Frost took a pair of minor penalties: an offensive zone tripping penalty that negated a first period power play and a third period hooking penalty on an attempted D-zone stick lift that rode up onto Michael McLeod's hands. While the latter penalty was a questionable call, it was untimely. New Jersey scored on their ensuing power play.
The best games that Frost has played this season -- a stretch of four points in four games notwithstanding -- were the three games of Oct. 30 to Nov. 3 against Carolina and the Buffalo Sabres. He created a lot of high-quality scoring chances (eight in all), defended very effectively and did not take any penalties. That's the caliber of play the player has to deliver on a consistent basis.
3. Inside the numbers: Puck possession and shot quality
Overall, just as the similarity of their respective win-loss records suggest, this is a fairly even matchup on paper. On the ice? That remains to be seen.
The Flyers still rank in the top half of the NHL in terms of puck possession metrics at five-on-five: 13th in shot attempt differential (51.1 percent Corsi according to Natural Stat Trick), fourth fewest opposing shots on goal per game (27.7), and 7th in expected goals share (53.13 percent).
The Penguins rank 8th in shot attempt differential (52.6 percent Corsi), 12th in opposing shot volume (31.3 SA/GP), and eighth in expected goals (52.64 percent).
Philly does not often generate much instant puck possession via faceoff wins (46.8 percent, 28th in the NHL). The Penguins rank second in the NHL in faceoff percentage (54.5 percent).
4. Flyers special teams vs. Penguins special teams
The Flyers bagged two power play goals (2-for-6) against the Devils on Thursday. It's no secret, however, that the Flyers have had a season-long struggle on the man advantage. Philly enters this game ranked 28th in the NHL at 11.7 percent (9-for-77) with one shorthanded goal allowed.
The Penguins haven't fared much better on the power play this season than the Flyers. Pittsburgh enters the game ranked 27th at 11.9 percent (7-for-69) with three shorthanded goals against.
Philly's penalty kill, which went 4-for-5 against the Devils including a successful five-minute kill, has been a positive this season. The club enters the game ranked 10th in the NHL at 83.8 percent. Opposing power plays are 12-for-74,
The Flyers have scored five shorthanded goals two apiece for Travis Konecny and Sean Walker as well as one for former Penguins center Ryan Poehling.
The Penguins have also been a very good penalty killing club this season. Pittsburgh checks into Saturday's game ranked eighth in NHL at 85.3 percent. Opposing power plays are 10-for-68.
Pittsburgh has scored one shorthanded goal so far this season. Lars Elller tallied a 4-on-5 goal against the LA Kings on November 9.
5. Behind Enemy Lines: Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins are 5-6-1 on home ice so far this season, 6-4-1 on the road. Over the last 10 games, Pittsburgh is 5-4-1. The Penguins enter this game coming off a 4-2 road win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
Thursday's game was one for the record boards for Pittsburgh as Tristan Jarry became the first goaltender in the Penguins' 56-year history to score a goal. Jarry is one of 14 goalies in NHL history to be credited with a regular season goal.
Prior to Jarry's empty net goalie goal at 18:52 of the third period, the Penguins held a 3-2 lead provided by veteran ex-Flyers forward Jeff Carter (1st goal of the season) earlier in the period. The Penguins trailed 2-0 at the first intermission but pushed back in the middle frame for goals by Sidney Crosby (14th) and Drew O'Connor (2nd).
In general this season, the Penguins have played strong team defense and received good goaltending. Jarry has been a workhorse this season, starting 17 games (8-8-1, 2.45 goals against average, .919 save percentage, three shutouts). Alex Nedeljkovic (2-2-0, 2.26 GAA, .937 SV%, one shutout) has made four appearances. As a team, the Penguins' 2.59 goals against average ranks seventh leaguewide.
The Penguins, who have the NHL's oldest roster by average age, are still heavily reliant on team captain Crosby as their No. 1 catalyst. Crosby enters Saturday's game leading Pittsburgh with 25 points (14g,11 assists).
Jake Guentzel (7g, 18a) also has 25 points, followed by veterans Evgeni Malkin (10g, 10a), Erik Karlsson (6g, 12a), Bryan Rust (10g, 17 points in 19 games) and Reilly Smith (6g, 7a). Thirty-six year old defenseman Kris Letang (1g, 11a) has been a thorn in the Flyers' side throughout his career.
