NHL Preview: Philadelphia Flyers (21-14-6) at Minnesota Wild (17-19-4)

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Minnesota Wild logo

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS NOTES:

INJURY REPORT

PLAYER INJURY DATES GAMES MISSED

Noah Cates IR – lower body 11/28-current 20

2023-24 TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 66

QUICK HITS – The Flyers are 10-4-5 in their last 19 games, including a season-high nine-game point streak (7-0-2) from Nov. 30-Dec. 19. – Philadelphia is 15-7-5 since Nov. 11, ranking sixth in the NHL in points percentage (.648) and ninth in wins in that span. – The Flyers are 16-3-2 when scoring first this season and ranks T-6th in the NHL in wins when scoring first. – Philadelphia is 16-2-3 when scoring three-plus goals in a game (including shootout goals) this season.

MISCELLANEOUS STATS – Philadelphia leads the NHL with 1,366 shots and sixth with a 33.3 shot-per-game average. – The Flyers have posted 30-plus shots in 28 of their 41 games this season, earning at least a point in 19 of those contests. – Philadelphia ranks fifth in the League with 735 blocked shots and 11th with 705 hits.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN – Philadelphia is 10-4-3 in its last 17 road games, including a season-high nine-game road point streak (6-0-3) from Nov. 25-Dec. 31. – The Flyers rank third in the NHL in road wins since Nov. 3. and have outscored their opponents, 54-41 (not including shootout goals), in that span. – Philadelphia has netted four-plus goals in 10 of its 21 road games (including shootout goals) this season, posting an 8-0-2 road record when scoring four-plus goals.

VS. THE WEST – Philadelphia plays a Western Conference opponent in 10 of 13 games from Dec. 28-Jan. 20. Following Jan. 20, Philadelphia will only have seven contests remaining against the West in the 2023-24 season (six at home, one on the road). – The Flyers are 10-7-3 against the West this season including a 3-1-2 record against the Central Division and a 7-6-1 record against the Pacific Division. – Philadelphia is 20-16-6 in the last 42 games against a Western Conference opponent. – Philadelphia went 3-2-1 in a season-long six-game stretch against a Western Conference team, Oct. 17-28.

PENALTY KILLERS – Philadelphia leads the NHL with 10 shorthanded goals. – The Flyers have allowed just eight power-play goals against in their last 27 games, going 78-for-86 on the penalty kill since Nov. 11. – Philadelphia leads the NHL with a 90.7 penalty kill percentage and is T-1st in PPGA since Nov. 11. – The Flyers are 35-for-39 on the penalty kill on the road since Nov. 11 to rank fourth in the League in road penalty kill percentage (89.7). – Philadelphia ranks second overall in the NHL with an 86.3 penalty kill percentage and T-2nd in PPGA (18).

BACK-TO-BACKS – Friday’s and Saturday’s games mark the Flyers seventh of 12 back-to-back sets this season. – This set marks the third-of-four road back-to-backs this season: – Nov. 10 at ANA (6-3 W); Nov. 11 at LAK (4-2 W) – Dec. 28 at VAN (4-1 W); Dec. 29 at SEA (2-1 OTL) – Jan. 12 at MIN; Jan. 13 at WPG – April 5 at BUF; April 6 at CBJ – The Flyers are 4-2-0 in the first game of a back-to-back and 3-1-2 in the second contest this season.

MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:

SERIES NOTES

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

All-Time Wild Record: 12-15-3 (7-5-2 at Xcel Energy Center, 5-10-1 at Philadelphia)

2023-24: Philadelphia won the series-opening contest, 6-2, at Wells Fargo Center (10/26)…LW Marcus Foligno (1-0=1) and D Dakota Mermis (1-0=1) scored for Minnesota…G Filip Gustavsson saved 29-of-35 shots faced for the Wild…RW Cam Atkinson (0-3=3) and D Travis Sanheim (1-2=3)led the Flyers with three points each…RW Bobby Brink (2-0=2), C Sean Couturier (1-1=2) and RW Travis Konecny (1-1=2) all registered two point nights…G Carter Hall stopped 26-of-28 shots faced for Philadelphia.

WILD LEADERS: RW Mats Zuccarello leads the Wild with 20 points (5- 15=20) in 32 matches against the Flyers…LW Marcus Johansson has 20 points (7-13=20) in 40 games…D Alex Goligoski owns 16 points (5-11=16) in 32 contests…LW Pat Maroon has 15 points (7-8=15) in 21 games.

WILD GOALIES: G Marc-Andre Fleury is 32-19-3 with a 2.87 GAA, a .902 SV% and three shutouts in 60 career games against Philadelphia… Gustavsson is 0-1-0 with a 6.01 GAA and a .829 SV% in one start vs. the Flyers (10/26/23)…G Jesper Wallstedt has not faced the Flyers.

FLYERS LEADERS: Atkinson leads Philadelphia with 11 points (6-5=11) in 17 games against Minnesota…Couturier has nine points (6-3=9) in 15 games…D Ryan Ellis owns 8 points (3-5=8) in 32 contests…Sanheim has seven points (1-6=7) in 10 games.

FLYERS GOALIES: Hart is 3-2-1 with a 3.47 GAA and a .882 SV% in six starts against the Wild…G Samuel Ersson has not faced Minnesota.

FAST FACTS: The Wild is 6-3-1 in its last 10 contests against the Flyers… Minnesota’s five goals on March 3, 2022, set a new team-high against Philadelphia…Minnesota has posted back-to-back shutouts twice against Philadelphia (last, 11/11-11/14/17)…The frst time was Feb. 10-12, 2003, which also marked the first back-to-back shutouts in team history…The Wild has shutout the Flyers five times in the 28 all-time meetings – tied for its most shutouts against an Eastern Conference team.

INJURIES

Jonas Brodin: upper body

Filip Gustavsson: lower body

Kirill Kaprizov: upper body

Vinni Lettieri: lower body

Jared Spurgeon: lower body

2023-24 Total Man Games Lost: 106

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