Philly Leader

In the final matchup before the NHL pauses for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, the Philadelphia Flyers will host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Wells Fargo Center. The game is scheduled for Saturday at 7:00 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on NBCSP, with radio coverage on 97.5 The Fanatic and an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.

This contest marks the second of four meetings this season between these rivals. After the tournament break, they will face off again in a home-and-home series on February 25 and February 27. In their previous encounter on December 23, the Penguins defeated the Flyers with a score of 7-3.

The Flyers are currently experiencing a challenging period, having not won in their last five games (0-4-1) and securing only one victory in their past eight outings (1-6-1). They recently lost to the Washington Capitals despite leading 3-2 in the third period.

Conversely, the Penguins have been performing well, with a record of 3-0-1 over their last four games. On Friday, they secured a win against the New York Rangers with notable contributions from Blake Lizotte, Rickard Rakell, and Philip Tomasino. Bryan Rust assisted twice while goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic made significant saves.

Looking ahead to Saturday's game:

1. Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier are new additions to the Flyers after being traded from Calgary Flames. Both players have joined practices and may feature in Saturday's lineup.

2. Samuel Ersson is expected to start as goalie for Philadelphia after an impressive performance against Salt Lake City earlier this week.

3. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is anticipated to return after missing a game due to injury.

4. The line featuring Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster, and Bobby Brink has been effective recently; they aim to continue their success against Pittsburgh.

5. Special teams play could be crucial as both teams look to capitalize on power plays and penalty kills heading into this break.

The Flyers currently rank low in league-wide power play efficiency but hope recent improvements can lead them into February's schedule with momentum.