Kings at Flyers
THE STORY: Welcome back, Mike Richards. The former team
captain was shipped to Tinseltown during the Philadelphia Flyers'
offseason summer trading frenzy. On Saturday, Richards will join fellow
former Flyers Simon Gagne and coach Terry Murray when they return
to the City of Brotherly Love as members of the Los Angeles Kings.
Although he admits that Saturday's contest against Philadelphia won't be
just another game, Richards said he's focused on his current team - not
his former one. "We’ve got a great team here, and an opportunity to do
something special throughout the season," he said. "I’m happy to
be here. Do I miss friends? Of course. I’ve been here a long time and
spent a lot of time with a lot of people around here, so you miss them,
but we have a good group here and it’s fun to come to the rink every
day." The Flyers are also having fun by, well, winning. Undefeated
Philadelphia recorded its second 3-0-0 start in three years after
posting a 5-4 victory over the reigning Western Conference champion
Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSW, CSP
ABOUT THE KINGS (1-1-1): After signing a two-year, $7
million deal in the summer, Gagne collected his first goal of the season
in Wednesday's 2-1 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils. Gagne has
faced his former team three times, recording a pair of assists. Dustin
Penner played in his first game of the season on Thursday after sitting
out with an undisclosed lower-body injury. A former 30-goal scorer,
Penner has scored three times and set up another in four career games
versus the Flyers.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (3-0-0): Wayne Simmonds, who was
acquired in the deal for Richards, has been making his presence felt in
front of the net for the Flyers. Simmonds admitted that he's looking
forward to facing his former team. "I think it will be pretty fun. I
played there for three seasons, and I know a lot of faces over there,"
Simmonds said. "It will be a good time, definitely, but once you step on
the ice, there's no friends, that's for sure."
OVERTIME:
1. Claude Giroux has scored Philadelphia's first goal in all three of
its games this season. He has four assists in as many career contests
against the Kings.
2. Ilya Bryzgalov certainly knows a thing or two about Los Angeles after spending the previous four seasons with the Pacific Division rival Phoenix Coyotes. The 31-year-old Russian has posted a 14-6-3 mark with a 2.30
goals-against average versus the Kings.