5 THINGS: Flyers vs. Bruins

Wrapping up a three-game homestand, Alain Vigneault's Philadelphia Flyers (8-4-3) host Bruce Cassidy's Boston Bruins (8-5-0) at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday evening. Game time is 7:00 p.m. ET (NBCSP, 93.3 WMMR).

This is the second of three meetings this season between the teams, and the second and final game at the Wells Fargo Center. On Oct. 20, the Flyers skated to a 6-3 home win. The season series will conclude at TD Garden in Boston on Jan. 13.
In the Oct. 20 game, Philly led by scores of 1-0 (first period) and 3-1 (second period). Even after Boston tied the game at 3-3 in the final minute before the second intermission, the Flyers responded right away in the final stanza.
Philadelphia also received strong goaltending from Martin Jones when they needed it. He severely outplayed his Boston counterpart, Jeremy Swayman on this night. Both teams had their share of turnovers, but the Flyers were the more opportunistic team in converting them into goals. These factors, along with staying out of the penalty box (1-for-1 on the power play) and scoring on two power plays of their own, decided the game.
Cam Atkinson (2nd goal of the season) and Joel Farabee (power play, 3rd) sandwiched first period goals around a Karson Kuhlman tally (1st) to send the Flyers to intermission with a 2-1 lead. Scott Laughton (1st) and Taylor Hall (1st) traded off second period goals before Brad Marchand (3rd) tied the game at 3-3 in the final minute of the stanza. Atkinson (2nd of the game, 3rd of the season) scored off a Farabee transition feed to restore a Flyers lead at 4-3 in the opening minute of the third period, Travis Konecny (3rd) aded some mid-period insurance. Sean Couturier (1st, power play) added an empty netter with a shot from his own blueline.
Here are five things to watch in tonight's rematch.
1. Are the Bruins Over-Rested?
The Bruins last played on Nov. 14: a 5-2 home win against the Montreal Canadiens. When a team has a five-night schedule break, it can actually be detrimental in the first period of their next game. Passing can be off and it can take a period for the team to recover their game-day legs.
It's important for the Flyers to get off to a good start in this game before the Bruins settle into a rhythm. When trailing first in a game, the Bruins have a 2-2-0 record. They've scored first nine times and are 6-3-0 in those games. The Flyers are 6-0-2 when leading first, and 2-4-1 when trailing first.
2.Scoring Depth: The Farabee Factor.
Joel Farabee got off to a hot start this season with three goals and six points over the first three games of the regular season. Than including a goal and a helper against the Bruins in the third games of the regular season. Since that time, Farabee only has one point (1g, 0a) over his last 11 games.
Likewise, the Flyers will need more from the likes of James van Riemsdyk (2g, 4a in 15 GP this season, one point in his last six games) and Oskar Lindblom (0g, 1a in 14 GP for the season). Derick Brassard collected two assists in Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Lightning, including winning the faceoff in the final 10 seconds of regulation that led directly to Claude Giroux's game-tying goal. Before that game, Brassard had two points (1g, 1a) over his previous games.
Lastly, the Flyers could use an uptick in offensive contributions from the defense corps. Entering this game, Flyers defensemen have scored only a combined three goals: one apiece from Ivan Provorov, Justin Braun and the injured Ryan Ellis.
Excellent goaltending and improved team defense are at the root of the Flyers' decent won-loss record to date. Sooner or later, though, the team will need to start getting goals from more sources than they have so far.
3. Inside the Numbers.
The Bruins enter this game ranked fifth in total shot attempt differentials at 5-on-5 (53.76 percent team Corsi) and third in shot quality (55.2 percent Expected Goals For percentage). Overall, the Bruins rank 13th in the NHL with an average 3.08 goals scored and 15th with a 2.85 goals against.
For the Flyers, the team enters the game with the NHL's seventh-ranked goals against average (2.47). Goals have been hard to come by at times, however, and the Flyers rank 21st offensively in the NHL (2.73 goals per game).

4. Behind Enemy Lines: Boston Bruins.
It is uncharacteristic of the Bruins to be in the red in even-strength goal differentials but the club enters this game at a collective minus-five (23 GF, 28A) at five-on-five. The vaunted top line of Brad Marchand (8g, 11a in 13 games), Patrice Bergeron (6g, 7a, 62.31 faceoff percentage) and David Pastrnak (4g, 9a) is always a force to be reckoned with. Likewise, defenseman Charlie McAvoy has rattled off 12 points (3g, 9a, +7).
As with the Flyers, however, the Bruins have a need for more supplementary scoring. Taylor Hall scored in the Nov. 14 game against Montreal after posting just one goal in his previous nine games. Charlie Coyle's two-goal game against the Habs ended a stretch of two points (1g, 1a) in eight games. Jake DeBrusk had points in back-to-back games before the recent schedule break. Before that, he posted only a single point (1g, 0a) over his previous 10 games.
The question is: After five days off, will any of these recent step-up performances be replicated?
5. Players to Watch: Provorov and Pastrnak.
David Pastrnak has made a history of punishing the Flyers. In 23 career games against Philadelphia, he's posted 15 goals, 11 assists and 25 points.Seven of the tallies have come on the power play; tied for the most PPGs "Pasta" has scored against any team.
As they do against every team, the Flyers will rely heavily on Ivan Provorov and defense partner Justin Braun to help prevent Bergeron, Marchand and/or Pastrnak from single-handedly taking over the game. In the first meeting of the season, Provorov logged a rock steady 22:40 of ice time. The Flyers will need a similar effort from him to earn their second win of the season series against Boston.