The Flyers will take place in the first game of a home and home series against the Ottawa Senators in an intriguing match ups between the two teams sitting 4th and 5th in the Eastern Conference.
The Senators are coming in with 4 of the 6 starters for the East in the up coming All Star Game. A majority of fans out argue that there is a home city bias to the results. (When isn't there?) But it is tough to argue with the picks that were chosen.
Daniel Alfredsson wears the "C" for the Sens. Pretty obvious why he was selected. He is a perennial All-Star and has registered 1,051 points in 1,090 games in 15 seasons in the NHL, all with the Sens.
Erik Karlsson was the overall leading vote getter and the top defensemen in the NHL. This kid is a stud. With 5 goals and 32 assists on the season Karlsson is no stranger to the offense. He has registered 143 shots on goal this season, first on the team.
Jason Spezza has put together a pretty solid first half of the season and it is understandable how he could be selected to the team. He is the points leader for the Sens and has played in all 41 games this season for Ottawa averaging just over 20 minutes of ice time per night.
Milan Mihalik was probably the most surprising choice of them all however a late push in the voting moved him past Toronto Maple Leaf, Phil Kessel. Mihalik is dangerous in more than one way. He has the most goals on the team at this point in the season but he also boasts the highest shooting percentage of all players for Ottawa.
The Flyers go into play today with a little uncertainty. Kimmo Timonen will attempt to play today after x-rays came back negative. Timonen blocked a shot off his wrist in the Winter Classic and left the previous game against the Blackhawks midway through the second period. His level of play could effect the outcome of this game depending on how other Flyer players play today. They have blown 2 goal leads late in their last two games and look to remedy that today.
Expect to see Sergei Bobrovsky in net today and Ilya Bryzgalov back in net tomorrow when they take the battle north of the border to Canada. Bryzgalov looked solid but still beatable against Chicago after stopping 30 of 34 shots fired at him. He snapped a personal 4 game losing streak in the process but saw his GAA go up again, now up to 3.05 for the season.
Bobrovsky currently has a GAA of 2.56 and a save percentage that is .914. He is giving up a shade under half a goal less than Bryzgalov and is currently stopping 2.5 more shots per goal than Bryz. If Bob keeps playing well it is going to be tough for Peter Lavoilette not to play him.
The Flyers bring with them tonight the second most goals scored in the East this season. Only trailing Boston and only a few ahead of the fourth place Senators. They will need to score early and often today to grab 2 points in this game. With the Rangers winning again they moved 6 points ahead of the Flyers in the division. They are idle until Tuesday when the Phoenix Coyotes come to play. If the Flyers can take both of these games they will find themselves only 2 points back of the Rangers with a little under half the season left.
Impact Players
Ottawa: D, Erik Karlsson
As stated earlier, the kid is a stud. Undoubtedly he will make a play in this game that will impact it one way or the other. He takes a lot of shots and picks up a decent amount of those assists on rebounds that get buried by Michalik or Spezza. Watch out for Ottawa's first line as they carry a big portion of the burden for the Sens.
Philadelphia: LW, James VanReimsdyk
JVR is coming off a huge game against Chicago. 2 goals and the eventual game winner with 33 seconds left in the game. Look for JVR to continue that level of play and expect him to see ice time with Wayne Simmonds and Braydon Schenn. If that line doesn't to have it early, JVR could find himself on a line with Claude Giroux and Scott Harnell, the two players who assisted on the GWG versus Chicago.
What to look for
Look for the depth of the Flyers to come up big in this game. All four lines registered a goal in the previous game and anytime you get contributions from all four lines you are going to have a lot of success playing the game. If the top two defensive pairings for the Flyers can keep the Sens top line at bay the Flyers should win this game no problem. If Ottawa's top line finds success, look for it to be a shoot out.
Prediction
Flyers 3- Ottawa 1
Philly Goals by- Giroux, Couturier, VanReimsdyk
Ottawa Goal by- Spezza
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