Playing their annual Black Friday home game, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (10-8-1) will take on Peter Laviolette's New York Rangers (13-3-1) in a matinee at Wells Fargo Center. Game time is 1:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast is on 93.3 WMMR with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the first of four meetings this season between the Metro Division rivals. The Flyers and Rangers will rematch in Philadelphia on February 24 before the scene shifts to Madison Square Garden on March 26 and April 11.
Here are five things to track in Friday's game.
1. Scoring first
The 5 Things preview before Wednesday's game against the Islanders led with this issue, and it bears repeating after the loss the Flyers sustained. In that game, the Flyers were never quite able to overcome a first-period goal by Anders Lee that gave New York a 1-0 lead. The teams traded off one goal apiece in the second and third periods.
During the Flyers' recent five-game winning streak, Philly never trailed at any point of any game. The Flyers played a decent overall game but never found an equalizer after twice drawing back with a goal from deficits of 2-0 and 3-1.
For the season, the Flyers are 10-1-0 when scoring first but 0-7-1 when yielding the game's first goal. New York is 10-2-1 when scoring first, 3-1-0 when giving up the first goal.
2. The puck possession game at 5-on-5
The Flyers have improved significantly this season in terms of forechecking, scoring chance ratios and overall puck possession. Their season rankings fell after the recent games against Los Angeles, Carolina and Vegas -- more importantly, the Flyers won these matches -- but the Flyers are still in the upper half of the NHL.
In terms of shot attempt differentials (Corsi) at 5-on-5, the Flyers rank 13th (50.53 percent). Philly has generated 53:07 percent of expected goals share (ranked 14th) at full strength. The Rangers rank 20th in Corsi (50.04) and 19th in expected goals percentage (48.78%). New York has scored a modest 30 goals at 5-on-5 but only allowed 28 (second fewest in the NHL), so the underlying numbers haven't really hurt the team.
3. Flyers power play vs. Rangers PK
For the season, Philly ranks 28th league on the power play at 7-for-62 (11.3 percent). They've yielded one shorthanded goal.
The Rangers' penalty kill, which went 5-for-5 in a win against Pittsburgh on Wednesday, ranks 13th overall this season at 85.2 percent. Opposing power plays are 8-for-54. Chris Kreider scored the Blueshirts' lone SHG.
4. Flyers PK vs. Rangers power play
The penalty kill has been a strength for the Flyers through most of the season's first 19 games. Philly was especially good in going 5-for-5 against Columbus without allowing so much as a single shot on goal. On Wednesday in Elmont, the Flyers were 2-for-2 against the Islanders.
For the season, the Flyers' penalty kill ranks 14th at 82.3 percent. Opposing power plays are 11-for-62. Philly has scored five shorthanded goals thus far: two apiece by Travis Konecny and Sean Walker, and one (scored this past Sunday) by Ryan Poehling.
The Rangers' power play ranks third in the NHL at a robust 30.9 percent efficiency (17-for-55). This is a major reason, so far at least, why the club's pedestrian 5-on-5 scoring has not hurt the club. The Rangers have allowed three shorthanded goals.
5. Behind Enemy Lines: New York Rangers
The Rangers, 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, enter this game coming off a 1-0 road win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. The red-hot Alexis Lafreniere -- four goals in the last five games -- notched the lone tally of the game for either team. Veteran goalie Jonathan Quick recorded a 32-save shutout (60th of his career).
For the season, Artemi Panarin leads the Blueshirts with 26 points (10g. 16a) in 17 games. He's followed by Kreider (10g, 5a), Vincent Trochek (5g, 10a), Lafreniere (8g, 4a), and defensemen Erik Gustafsson (3g, 9a, +5) and the injured Adam Fox (3g, 8a, +1). Fox is on long-term injured reserve.
Mika Zibanejad (2g, 9a) has been a thorn in the Flyers' side in his career, especially over the last three seasons. Overall, Zibanejad has notched 16 career goals (his most against any team) and 33 points in 41 games against Philadelphia.
In goal, Igor Sheshtetkin is 7-3-0 with a 2.60 goals against average and.908 save percentage. Quick is 5-0-1 with a 1.68 GAA, .940 save percentage and two shutouts.
