Preview: Flyers at Sharks

FLYERS (20-13-4) at SHARKS (22-12-1)
10 p.m. ET; CSN-PH, CSN-CA, NHL.TV

Flyers team scope

Philadelphia Flyers rookie second-line forward Travis Konecny will be a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Fourth-line forward Roman Lyubimov also will be scratched. Forward Michael Raffl will return to the lineup after missing one game because of a knee injury. Forward Boyd Gordon will return after being a healthy scratch three straight games and six of the past seven. Konecny, the 24th pick of the 2015 NHL Draft, has four goals and 14 assists in 37 games but has gone 22 games without a goal. He had two assists in the Flyers' 6-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday. "There's little things that he needs to do a little bit better on a consistent basis, and that's with the puck and without the puck," coach Dave Hakstol said. "There's nothing negative about him being out of the lineup. It's just an opportunity, another way of developing and growing." Raffl, who was injured during a 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 22, likely will skate at left wing on the top line with center Claude Giroux and right wing Jakub Voracek. "It felt pretty good so I'm good to go," Raffl said after an optional morning skate. Defenseman Radko Gudas will miss the game because of an upper-body injury he sustained against the Blues. Brandon Manning will replace him in the lineup. Gudas is day-to-day but skated Friday and said he expects to miss one game. The Flyers have lost two straight (0-2-0) and gone 1-3-1 after winning 10 straight games.

Sharks team scope

San Jose Sharks backup goaltender Aaron Dell will make his fifth start of the season and face Hakstol, his coach at the University of North Dakota, for the first time in the NHL. "I think that's a little extra motivation," Dell said. "He recruited me to UND. It would be a little sweet to beat him after that." Dell is 3-1-0 with a 2.16 goals-against average and .926 save percentage in five games. Martin Jones is expected to play at the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. "Back-to-back, he [Dell] has played well, deserves to play. He's part of the team," coach Peter DeBoer said. "Just one of those games we identified as a situation to play him." Dell will play for the first time since making 30 saves in a 4-3 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 10. Defenseman David Schlemko will return to the lineup and replace Dylan DeMelo after being a healthy scratch the past three games. "It would be nice to jump in and contribute," Schlemko said. "Right now you're just focused on the process of how I want to play my game and do those little things and hopefully everything else takes care of itself." The Sharks, who lead the Pacific Division with 45 points, have won three straight and seven of their past eight games (7-1-0).

Flyers projected lineup

Michael Raffl -- Claude Giroux -- Jakub Voracek
Taylor Leier -- Brayden Schenn -- Wayne Simmonds
Nick Cousins -- Sean Couturier -- Dale Weise
Chris VandeVelde -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Boyd Gordon
Ivan Provorov -- Andrew MacDonald
Brandon Manning -- Shane Gostisbehere
Nick Schultz -- Michael Del Zotto
Steve Mason
Anthony Stolarz
Scratched:Travis Konecny, Roman Lyubimov
Injured: Radko Gudas (upper body), Michal Neuvirth (lower body), Matt Read (upper body), Mark Streit (shoulder)

Sharks projected lineup

Patrick Marleau -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski
Kevin Labanc -- Logan Couture -- Mikkel Boedker
Timo Meier -- Chris Tierney -- Joonas Donskoi
Joel Ward -- Micheal Haley -- Melker Karlsson
Paul Martin -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- David Schlemko
Aaron Dell
Martin Jones
Scratched: Dylan DeMelo, Matt Nieto, Tommy Wingels
Injured: Tomas Hertl (knee)

Status update

Mason was the first Flyers goaltender off the ice and is expected to make his 28th start of the season. Hakstol declined to reveal his line combinations, but Leier likely will take Konecny's spot on the second line after playing left wing on the top line against the Blues. Gordon is expected to skate on the fourth line. ... DeBoer likely will juggle his struggling power-play units, with Ward replacing Marleau on the top unit.

Who's hot

Pavelski has two goals and four assists during a four-game point streak. Burns has one goal and three assists in his past two games, including the overtime goal in a 3-2 victory against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. ... Simmonds scored his Flyers-high 17th goal and had an assist against the Blues.