Preview: Flyers look to reignite the rivalry in Pittsburgh

The Game : 7:00 p.m. EST on NBCSports Philadelphia, ESPN+/Hulu, and 93.3 WMMR

At 11-10-2, the Flyers come into December just a single overtime loss ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who they’ll kick off a home-and-home with tonight in Western PA.

The Flyers are coming into this game having just earned that loser point in a 4-3 loss to the Devils, struck down by a Luke Hughes comeback goal in the overtime period. Meanwhile, the Penguins have had an up-and-down season as well but are likely feeling good coming off of their 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, sealed by an empty-net goal from goalie Tristan Jarry in the waning moments of the contest.

Tonight’s matchup is the first taste we’re getting of the 2023-24 version of the Flyers-Penguins rivalry. These games have always had a real anything-can-happen feel to them, so the standings and talent-level of each team rarely matters, but this is the first time in what feels like quite a long time that these two teams are pretty evenly matched on paper. It’s unfortunate that it’s not because the Flyers have gotten significantly stronger, but we’re not going to complain about the decline of the Penguins either.

Players to watch

Joel Farabee

The young winger—who, in his fifth season, is a veteran by this roster’s standards—was benched for most of Thursday’s loss to the Devils in a move that John Tortorella did not elaborate on. Farabee is having a good season on the stat sheet—8 goals and 7 assists through 23 games—but is clearly lacking by the standards of the coaching staff. Not to editorialize at all, but it does seem like Farabee is the perfect player to pick on if you’re attempting to send a message: he’s not a guy who’s been around a ton and is firmly established in the league nor he is a fresh-faced youngin who is fragile enough to be broken by a benching. Tonight is his night to respond.

Erik Karlsson

This\'ll be the first time the Flyers have faced the Penguins since their latest big-swing acquisition this past offseason. Karlsson came back in a big way last year, scoring over 100 points and earning his third Norris Trophy, seven seasons after his last. After a step back last year, finishing just outside the playoffs, Pittsburgh pushed the chips in further with Crosby, Malkin, and Letang still on the roster. Karlsson has been good but it remains to be seen if it\'ll pay off in the standings. Thus far, no.

Travis Sanheim

Sanheim has stepped into the top role for the Flyers quite nicely. Scoring-wise, he started off the season hot with a point-per-game pace through 14 games. But he he only has 2 assists in the 9 games since then. Sanheim’s defensive play hasn’t been as streaky, but if he can put it all together with consistency, that contract isn’t as bad for now as it seemed at the end of last season. Here’s to the start of another hot streak.

Tristan Jarry

As previously mentioned, Jarry scored an empty netter on Thursday—the first goalie by a goaltender in Penguins history. Jarry played well in net, too, stopping 39 shots en route to a 4-2 victory. The Penguins haven’t announced tonight’s starter yet, but the split has leaned heavily in Jarry’s favor this season; he’s made 17 starts to Alex Nedeljkovic’s 4. Although the Penguins have lost more of those 17 games than they’ve won, it has rarely been on Jarry, who has a .919 save percentage and leads the league with 3 shutouts.

Projected Lineups

Philadelphia Flyers

Cam Atkinson – Sean Couturier – Tyson Foerster Travis Konecny – Morgan Frost – Owen Tippett Joel Farabee – Ryan Poehling – Bobby Brink Nic Deslauriers – Scott Laughton – Garnet Hathaway

Cam York – Travis Sanheim Nick Seeler – Sean Walker Marc Staal – Rasmus Ristolainen

Sam Ersson

Carter Hart

Pittsburgh Penguins

Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust Reilly Smith - Evgeni Malkin - Drew O’Connor Radim Zohorna - Lars Eller - Jansen Harkins Matt Nieto - Noel Acciari - Jeff Carter

Ryan Graves - Kris Letang Marcus Pettersson - Erik Karlsson Ryan Shea - John Ludvig

Tristan Jarry Alex Nedeljkovic

Gameday Tunes

It\'s the first Flyers game in December! In the NHL it\'s post-Thanksgiving when the standings typically start taking form into what they\'re going to look like for the rest of the season. December will be a huge month for the Flyers playoff chances, especially if they make it through their typically disastrous end-of-the-month Disney on Ice road trip. Also, Merle Haggard 4 Lyfe.

https://open.spotify.com/track/4sTlOOWxFx5dR7SZmi7S79?si=7d4bc8ecfe564488

All stats via Natural Stat Trick and Hockey-reference.com.

Talking Points