Flyers at Coyotes
THE STORY: Ilya Bryzgalov and the Philadelphia Flyers skated away with a 2-1 triumph over the Phoenix Coyotes when the teams met in the City of Brotherly Love on Nov. 17. Prior to the contest, former teammates Derek Morris and Adrian Aucoin fired initial shots – albeit verbal ones – at the Russian netminder. The pair claimed that Bryzgalov is "known for letting in bad goals" while also trumpeting his replacement in Mike Smith. "Personally, I’m glad (Bryzgalov’s) gone because I think the guy we brought in has done a great job and fitted in real well and made our team even closer,” Morris said at the time. “There’s no animosity. There was with Bryz at times." After the contest, Bryzgalov did his best to put it in perspective. "Some people hate you, some people like you, some people love you. It’s life," he said. Signed to a nine-year, $51 million deal in the offseason, Bryzgalov will likely see and hear all of those emotions from the Arizona residents on Saturday when he returns to the desert to face the Coyotes.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSP, FSAZ+
ABOUT THE FLYERS (14-7-3): Six days removed from its previous contest, Philadelphia was slow out of the blocks as it began its three-game road trip in Anaheim. The Flyers surrendered the first three goals before the returning Jaromir Jagr provided a spark with a pair of power-play goals. Jagr had been sidelined for four of the last six games with a groin injury. Claude Giroux capped the four-goal uprising with the overtime goal. Giroux has five goals and seven assists his last eight contests. Defenseman Kimmo Timonen set up three goals and has 16 assists this season, one shy of Giroux's total.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (13-8-3): Captain Shane Doan was admittedly emotional after he received a standing ovation during Thursday's road game against the Winnipeg Jets. Doan was selected with the seventh overall pick of the 1995 draft by the original Jets, who then moved to Phoenix after his rookie season. Smith deserved a better fate after stopping 30 of 31 shots in a 1-0 loss to Winnipeg. The 29-year-old netminder has yielded just two goals in his last three games and permitted more than three tallies just three times this season.
OVERTIME:
1. Coyotes RW Radim Vrbata has collected 11 goals in his last 15 games for Phoenix, which is 4-1-1 in its last six meetings with Philadelphia.
2. Phoenix's special teams are on opposite ends of the spectrum. While the Coyotes have converted just one of their last 31 power plays, their penalty kill has been nearly spotless. Phoenix has killed off 41 of its last 43 shorthanded situations.