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Thursday, 29 December 2011 14:30

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

A preview of the Flyers.

When and where: 7 p.m. EST. Consol Energy Center.

TV: Root Sport. CSN Philadelphia.

Record: 21-10-4, 46 points. The Flyers are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and second place in the Atlantic Division

Leading Scorer: Claude Giroux, 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists).

Last Game: 5-1 road loss to the Lightning Tuesday. Scott Hartnell had a goal for the Flyers.

Last Game against the Penguins: 3-2 home win, Dec. 8. Evgeni Malkin had two assists for the Penguins.

Flyers Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Jagr. Who else would you pick?

Ex-Penguins on the Flyers: Jaromir Jagr, RW; Joe Mullen, assistant coach; Simon Nolet, scout; Maxime Talbot (above), C.

Ex-Flyers on the Penguins: Arron Asham, RW; Richard Park, RW; Alexandre Picard, D.

Useless Flyers Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Flyers forward Maxime Talbot scored five career Stanley Cup final goals for the Penguins. Only Mario Lemieux (10) and Kevin Stevens (six) have more in franchise history.

Best Flyers Video We Could Find: Shhhhhhh!:

(That's not really a "best" video for the Flyers.)

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (19-7-2, 2.24 GAA, .916 SV%) for the Penguins and Sergei Bobrovsky (7-2-1, 2.57 GAA, .913 SV%).

Injuries: For the Penguins, Defensemen Robert Bortuzzo (head), Kris Letang (head), Paul Martin ("lower body"), centers Sidney Crosby (head), Dustin Jeffrey (knee) and right winger Richard Park (foot) are on injured reserve. For the Flyers, defensemen Erik Gustafsson (wrist), Chris Pronger (concussion), centers Blair Betts ("lower body"), Sean Couturier (head), right wing Ian Laperriere (concussion) are on injured reserve. Couturier is expected to return to the lineup tonight.

Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins' did not skate with a full crew today. Their primary lines and defensive pairings in practice today were:

Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Pascal Dupuis - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy
Matt Cooke - Joe Vitale - Steve Sullivan
Arron Asham - Craig Adams - Jason Williams

Brooks Orpik - Matt Niskanen
Simon Despres - Zbynek Michalek
Alexandre Picard - Ben Lovejoy

-According to Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Flyers primary lines and defensive pairings are expected to be:

Scott Hartnell - Claude Giroux - Jaromir Jagr
Matt Read - Daniel Briere - Wayne Simmond
James van Riemsdyk - Maxime Talb - Jakub Voracek
Brayden Schenn - Sean Couturier - Harry Zolnierczyk

Notes:

-Jaromir Jagr spoke this morning. Just.... wow.

-"It’s just another game." - Joe Mullen.

-Deryk Engelland is suspended.

-With a win tonight, Dan Bylsma will break a tie with Michel Therrien for second-most coaching wins in franchise history. Each has 135. Eddie Johnston holds the record with 232.

-Martin has 197 career points.

-Our live blog begins at approximately 6 p.m. Please tune in.

(Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Comments (5)

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written by Luiz Mello, December 29, 2011 - 02:42 PM

Please Pittsburgh, don't boo Max Talbot. He was a Penguins hero, and, while it's a shame that he ended up joining the ranks of Evil, there's no way of blaming him for signing a contract the Penguins wouldn't be able to get nowhere near (or even been interested in getting anywhere near).

As for Jagr... who cares?

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written by GenoSid, December 29, 2011 - 03:35 PM

Please Pittsburgh, boo Max Talbot.

He was a Penguins hero, but...so was Jaromir Jagr. The two are no different.

Don't sign in Philly if you want to be loved in Pittsburgh.

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written by Bones, December 29, 2011 - 03:36 PM

No reason to boo Talbot. Disease jokes and whatnot are kinda sad. The guy was a UFA and had the right to go wherever he wanted to. Never got the impression that the Pens were really all that interested in keeping him anyways.

Jagr continues to be a paradox. The guy is so up and down, he's rude one minute and then complimenting the city the next. Always had a flaky personality. No question that he is bitter towards the Pittsburgh media though. Kennedy comments were classless though, only contract he should worry about is his own.

I wouldn't boo him if I was there, simply because I think that is what he wants. No reaction is way worse than a negative reaction.

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written by barrassosaysno, December 29, 2011 - 04:05 PM

I actually gained some respect for Jagr in this. If you read all of the stuff Jagr has said of late, I am beginning to see that perhaps the media hung him out to dry.
In his view, he knew that someone had to go when the team was being dismantled. He says he approached Craig Patrick to say he "understood" if he had to be traded, as it was in the best interest of the team, not that he asked for it. Additionally, he claims he chose Philly over the Pens as he felt his opportunity for ice time and to be a mentor was better. If all that is indeed true, he has my respect.
He still seems like a tormented soul (and a smarta$$), but perhaps it is because he wishes things worked out differently, and that the media had not painted him into a corner. I am not going to fault a guy who based a decision on where he felt he could get the most playing time and make the biggest difference.
If I were in the stands tonight, I give them both a welcome, but Max gets the warmer one.

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written by newellcr, December 29, 2011 - 05:49 PM

Yes, Just Wow.

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