FLYERS (36-24-13) at COYOTES (33-34-7)
TV: 10 p.m. ET; CSN-PH, FS-A+, NHL.TV
Season series: Claude Giroux's second-period goal was the game-winner and his 500th NHL point when the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-2 at Wells Fargo Center on Feb. 27.
Flyers team scope: Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol would not commit to a goaltender for Saturday, meaning rookie Anthony Stolarz could make his NHL debut and give Steve Mason a night off. Stolarz was recalled Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on March 20 after Michal Neuvirth sustained a lower-body injury. In 42 AHL games Stolarz is 19-15-7 with a 2.59 goals-against average and .916 save percentage. "He's got to be ready to play," Hakstol told the Flyers website. "We're going to need him to go in and play. His job right now is to be ready when we make that decision." The forward lines likely will stay the same as they were in a 4-2 defeat of the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday that kept the Flyers in the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The big change was Jakub Voracek playing right wing on a line with center Sean Couturier and left wing Michael Raffl. Sam Gagner, who had been with Couturier and Raffl, moved to a line with center Nick Cousins and left wing Matt Read. "We thought it was the time to not make big changes but a couple little shifts to our lineup," Hakstol said.
Coyotes team scope: Mike Smith will start in goal, coach Dave Tippett told the team website, after Louis Domingue made 37 saves Thursday in a 3-1 win against the Dallas Stars. Arizona has won back-to-back games at home third week. Forwards Martin Hanzal, Max Domi and Boyd Gordon and defenseman Michael Stone did not practice Friday, but Tippett said they had maintenance days and would be available Saturday, according to the Arizona Republic. Domi, who as a rookie has emerged as a go-to offensive performer, is earning accolades for his penalty-killing. Tippett said getting Domi on the penalty kill was part of the plan for him this season, but he wanted to wait until the 21-year-old had fully acclimated himself to the NHL and only recently has started using him in that role. "I think he can be a good penalty-killer," Tippett told the Republic. "He's a young player. We've integrated him into a lot of power play, a lot of offensive situations. There's a 5-on-5 responsibility that he continues to grab on to. Good young players like that, they continue to expand their games."
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