The Flyers have had a tough time scoring recently and have likely seen more than enough of the Minnesota Wild after being shutout in back to back games against them. They’ve now come north to test themselves against our Winnipeg Jets who look to keep clipping along as they add to the win column.

They took care of business in their home and away set against the Arizona Cotes and have won three of their last four games. The Flyers present a bit of a stiffer test for the Winnipeg Jets, but again given their offensive woes, this should be a game that the Jets should be a favorite in. Mathieu Perreault will make his return to the Jets lineup tonight, but Paul Maurice cautioned that he will be eased into the lineup and Matty P’s minutes will be limited to bottom six forward ice time. Paul Maurice also confirmed that Connor Hellebuyck gets the start tonight as we unfortunately not get out “Steve Mason versus his old buddies” match up that it seems Flyers fans were looking forward to.

The biggest bit of news – at least for Winnipeg hockey fans – will be the return of Nolan Patrick who was the 2nd overall pick in last year’s draft and a Winnipeg native. He’s missed the last nine games due to a possible concussion. As for the team, the Flyers have been shutout in their last two games which happened to be a home and away set against the Minnesota Wild. It probably goes without saying that they lost both games by a 1-0 score at home this past Saturday and 3-0 on Tuesday in Minnesota. Scoring has actually been quite a bit of an issue as they’ve been held scoreless in five games so far in this young season, though it hasn’t been for lack of trying. The last time the Flyers were held to under 30 shots in a game was their November 2nd contest against St. Louis – a game which funny enough they won in a 2-0 shutout. Offensively the Flyers are led by Jakub Voracek (4 goals, 21 points) and Claude Giroux (9 goals, 20 points) and the team has gone with a platoon approach in goal splitting starts between Michal Neuvirth and Brian Elliott.

The Jets and Flyers split last season’s two game set, but the Jets 2-1 last march 21 marked the first win over the Flyers for the Jets since November 2013 – a span of six games. Connor Hellebuyck’s last and only start against Philly was a 5-2 loss where he had a tough outing giving up five goals on 22 shots faced.

The Flyers have been a bit of a ‘feast or famine’ club early on and they are for sure in an offensive dry spell right now, so you can bet that between the desire to get a goal early and the hype that will be around Nolan Patrick’s debut, the Flyers should come out strong. Here is hoping the Jets weather that a bit and deny them an early goal to put some doubt right back into their game. The Flyers may score tonight, but it won’t be before the Jets get a 2-0 lead on them. Jets win 2-1