• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Blue Jackets-Flyers Preview

Jan 19, 2010 - 5:04 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Columbus (18-23-9) at Philadelphia (23-21-3), 7:00 p.m. EDT

The Philadelphia Flyers haven't played well in their last two games, but returning to the Wachovia Center could help them get back on track.

The Flyers go for their fourth straight home win as they open a season-high six-game homestand Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

After falling 4-0 at Toronto on Thursday and 5-3 in Washington on Sunday, Philadelphia (23-21-3) returns home where it has won three straight by a 16-6 margin.

"We have to keep taking advantage of home games. It's as simple as that," said captain Mike Richards, who has six goals and seven assists in his last 12 games. "It's a place that we have to make difficult for opponents to play."

In these teams' last meeting in Philadelphia, Richards scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory Nov. 24, 2006. That was Ken Hitchcock's first game as Columbus' coach after getting fired a month earlier by the Flyers.

Hitchcock's current club snapped a three-game slide Monday with a 4-2 victory over St. Louis, but the Blue Jackets (19-23-9) open a three-game trip with 15 losses in their lost 17 games on the road. Columbus is surrendering an average of 3.47 goals during that stretch.

The Blue Jackets have totaled one goal in their last two road games, but they appear to have a good chance to deliver a better offensive performance against Philadelphia's Ray Emery, who is 0-5-0 with a 5.30 goals-against average in his last six starts.

Emery will make his second consecutive start Tuesday after stopping 17 shots Sunday in his first appearance since Dec. 5 due to abdominal surgery.

"Ray's got to get back in there and get some games, and this is an opportunity for him to jump right back in there," coach Peter Laviolette told the Flyers' official Web site. "We need to do a little better job of taking care of the puck in front of him."

Emery is 0-0-1 with a 2.46 GAA lifetime versus the Blue Jackets.

With reigning Calder Trophy winner Steve Mason struggling, Mathieu Garon is expected to make his second consecutive start for the Blue Jackets even though he was hurt before Monday's game when a puck hit him in the wrist.

"I felt great out there," said Garon, 1-2-0 with a 3.70 GAA in three career starts against Philadelphia. "A couple of times I felt a little pain, but it's not something that's bothering me."

Blue Jackets forward Raffi Torres will look to continue his scoring surge after netting two goals Monday. He has found the back of the net six times in his last nine games after scoring 10 in his first 38 this season.

"He's an unpredictable scoring player. He's got a great wrist shot and he's one of the few guys that can score from distance," Hitchcock told the Blue Jackets' official Web site. "It's hard to cover him because he doesn't have to be at the net to score his goals. He's got arguably the best release on the team."

Since Torres arrived via trade prior to the 2008-09 season, Columbus is 19-3-2 when he scores.

After notching his 400th career point Monday on a second-period power-play goal, captain Rick Nash will try to lead Columbus to its second consecutive win against Philadelphia. The Blue Jackets defeated the Flyers 3-0 in Columbus on Dec. 27, 2008, for their first victory in this series after going 0-4-0 with three ties in the clubs' first seven meetings.