Atlanta Thrashers: 31-35-8, 70 points
Philadelphia Flyers: 35-28-10, 80 points
Kari Lehtonen v. Antero Niittymaki
In desperate need of a win, the Flyers host the Thrashers in their first game since the humiliating 7-1 defeat in Pittsburgh. At the moment, they sit one point ahead of Buffalo and two ahead of Washington and Florida. The Flyers, Sabres and Caps all have one game in hand over Florida. Washington is in Nashville tonight, and the other two teams don't play.
Antero Niittymaki will get his first start in a while tonight. He owns Atlanta, so it makes sense.
If the Flyers don't win this game, they will not make the playoffs. There is absolutely no excuse for losing to Atlanta at this point. We all know about how the Flyers own the Thrashers in their history, so I'm not going to waste too much time talking about it. What you have to consider is how bad the Thrashers are right now. They traded Marian Hossa, and one of the players they got in return, Erik Christensen, is out for the season. They've dropped to 14th in the conference, and they're 2-4-4 in their last 10.
Without R.J. Umberger and Derian Hatcher, some players are going to have to step up. Scottie Upshall will be back in the lineup tonight, and you know you can count on him to bring intensity. Hopefully the chemistry on the Briere line isn't disrupted. Playing with Mike Richards, Scott Hartnell has to start playing better again. He was a -4 last calendar week, and my fantasy team suffered because of it.
Bill Meltzer posts his lines and scratches.
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