Detroit Red Wings (2-2-0) at Philadelphia Flyers (0-2-1)
Wachovia Center - 7:00 PM ET - Philadelphia, PA
TV: The Comcast Network
Radio: 610 WIP
This is the open game thread.
Behind Enemy Lines: Winging It In Motown
Hockey is back in Philadelphia tonight for the first time since fans grudgingly slogged out of the Wachovia Center on a Saturday afternoon in late April. Those fans will be in attendance tonight with not quite the same enthusiasm, given this is just a preseason game, but there is an eager sense of anticipation in the air tonight.
It's always exciting when hockey returns for another year, but tonight we get our first home looks at key offseason acquistions Ray Emery and Chris Pronger. The hopes of this season largely rest on these two players, and they'll get a lot of ice time tonight to prove their worth to the Flyer faithful.
Emery is expected to play the entire game tonight while Brian Boucher gets used to his nice cozy seat at the end of the bench. Pronger will play on the second pairing with Matt Carle, while Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn reunite on the top pairing. Rounding out the defense, Randy Jones will sit out while Danny Syvret gets a crack at playing with Ryan Parent, a trade off many fans wouldn't mind seeing all season long.
Up front, Simon Gagne makes his anticipated preseason debut tonight in front of the home fans. He's yet to play in game action this training camp due to a groin injury he suffered with Team Canada last month, but he's close to 100 percent and will be in the lineup tonight on a line with Mike Richards and James van Riemsdyk.
The top of the lineup you'll see tonight looks very similar to the one you could see 10 days from now when the season starts. Danny Briere is on the second line with Scott Hartnell and Jeff Carter, while Claude Giroux will center NHL hopefuls Mika Pyorala and Lukas Kaspar on the third line. Blair Betts, Arron Asham, and Ian Laperriere are the notables missing from the lineup. Riley Cote is also not in the lineup, making way for Dan Carcillo, Darroll Powe, and Jason Ward to fill out the bottom line.
After the jump, the Red Wings roster for this evening.
Courtesy of mlive.com, here is the Red Wings' lineup tonight.
Forwards
Leino-Filppula-Bertuzzi
Draper-Abdelkader-Eaves
Ritola-Emmerton-Jason Williams
Ryno-Newbury-Tardiff
Defense
Lidstrom-Rafalski
Lebda-Ericsson
Kolosov-MeechGoal: Chris Osgood, Thomas McCollum
The puck drops at 7 PM and you can watch it locally on The Comcast Network -- our first taste of Jim Jackson, Keith Jones, and Coatesy this season. Go Flyers.