Maple Leafs at Flyers preview
Philadelphia eyes fifth win in seven games; Tavares remains out for Toronto
by Adam Kimelman @NHLAdamK / NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor
MAPLE LEAFS (6-5-3) at FLYERS (6-5-1)
7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SNO, NBCSP, NHL.TV
The Game
The Philadelphia Flyers look for their fifth win in seven games when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.
The Flyers are 4-2-0 in their past six games following a 4-3 shootout win at the New Jersey Devils on Friday.
The Maple Leafs, 1-2-2 in their past five games, will play without center John Tavares for the seventh straight game because of a broken finger. The Toronto captain took part in an optional morning skate but said the finger hasn't healed enough to allow him to play for the first time since Oct. 16. The Maple Leafs are 2-2-2 without Tavares.
Toronto also will be without defenseman Jake Muzzin because of a leg injury.
Players to watch
Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past six games and is one assist from 100 in the NHL.
Flyers forward Jakub Voracek has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past four games and is one goal shy of 200 in the NHL.
They said it
"It's tough. Jake's been playing great for us. He's a big part of our back end. To lose him is tough but we've got lots of guys that can take more responsibility and play more minutes and take new roles. I think we'll be fine, but it's never easy to not have a guy like Jake in the lineup." -- Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly on playing without defenseman Jake Muzzin
"You always think about your first one. You don't necessarily think about the play or how it's going to happen. Felt really good. I think it was an all-around really good play. [Forward Michael Raffl] bought a lot of time and allowed me to get back in the play. I came down the slot, closed my eyes and shot and it went in." -- Flyers forward Joel Farabee on his first NHL goal Friday
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Andreas Johnsson -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Ilya Mikheyev -- Alexander Kerfoot -- Mitchell Marner
Trevor Moore -- Jason Spezza -- Kasperi Kapanen
Dmytro Timashov -- Nicholas Shore -- Frederik Gauthier
Morgan Rielly -- Cody Ceci
Travis Dermott -- Justin Holl
Martin Marincin -- Tyson Barrie
Frederik Andersen
Michael Hutchinson
Scratched: None
Injured: Zach Hyman (ACL), Jake Muzzin (leg), John Tavares (finger)
Flyers projected lineup
James van Riemsdyk -- Claude Giroux -- Jakub Voracek
Oskar Lindblom -- Sean Couturier -- Travis Konecny
Michael Raffl -- Kevin Hayes -- Joel Farabee
Carsen Twarynski -- German Rubtsov -- Chris Stewart
Ivan Provorov -- Matt Niskanen
Shayne Gostisbehere -- Justin Braun
Travis Sanheim -- Philippe Myers
Brian Elliott
Carter Hart
Scratched: Tyler Pitlick, Robert Hagg
Injured: Nolan Patrick (migraine disorder), Scott Laughton (broken finger)
Status report
Tavares took extra work with Hyman after the morning skate and said he hopes he can play against the Los Angeles Kings at home on Tuesday. ... The Flyers did not hold a morning skate after playing Friday. Coach Alain Vigneault said there were a few players with "bumps and bruises," and that the lineup would be a game-time decision.
Stat pack
Marner has four assists in a three-game point streak. Rielly has three points (one goal, two assists) in a three-game point streak. ... Konecny has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past seven games. Giroux has 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) in 34 games against Toronto.