While much of the sporting nation's attention is focused on what will happen on the field in Dallas tomorrow, that city's hockey team is up in Philly for a visit. Leading the Pacific Division by five points, the matchup with the Stars is another one of the "test games" for the Flyers, a barometer for how they'll stack up in a seven-game series against a Western Conference foe. The Flyers were already among the favorites to represent the East, but today's news that Evgeni Malkin could miss the rest of the season increased those odds.
Something tells me the Penguins won't just wilt away, even if Sidney Crosby continues to miss time. Not to mention, if we should be taking anything from Malkin's injury, it's that the same thing can derail the hopes of any team, even one as deep as the Flyers. It sucks when a star goes down with a nasty injury no matter what team they play for.
The Flyers need to keep winning, because the East is very competitive this year. So what do the Stars have to tell us about our Flyers side?
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Mostly, it's a test of how the Flyers can handle a well-balanced opponent with some talented weapons that they don't really seen in action much. Brad Richards is sixth in the league in points, and Loui Eriksson isn't far behind him. Both are ahead of all of the Flyers, but not by much, and three of our forwards clock in just after Loui (Giroux, Richards, Carter). Stars fans are likely saying the same thing about the Flyers right now—they are the Eastern Conference measuring stick for Western teams.
The Bruins are another one, and they beat the Stars by a 6-3 count on Thursday. You may have heard about that game... Despite not seeing each other often, the Bruins and Stars got off to a bloody battle the likes of which you usually only see in the most bitter of rivalries.
The game would get even nastier, with a suspension-worthy headshot before it was over.
So coming off of that hard-fought (literally) loss—their fourth L in their last five games—it will be interesting to see how the Stars look coming out of the gate. None of them would likely admit it, but it's hard to imagine they're thrilled to be facing the Flyers right after that shellacking while they're clearly skating through a rough patch. Still, I'm assuming their previous game experience will have them fired up. This could get interesting.
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As far as the Stars' goaltending, Kari Lehtonen comes in just behind both Sergei Bobrovsky and Brian Boucher in save percentage, although further down the list in goals against average, where both Flyers goalies are hovering around the top 10. Andrew Raycroft started against the Bruins, but allowed two goals on the first two shots he faced and was yanked. No word yet on who's in net for either side. The Flyers are off until Thursday after this, which could be shoehorned into a reason for starting either guy (Bob will get some rest after tonight; Boosh needs to get some work in, etc.). [Update: It's Boosh vs. Lehtonen]
See ya at 7.