Game 3 Preview: Lehigh Valley at W-B/Scranton

Editor's Note: I'll have full coverage of tonight's Phantoms game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins live from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

• The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. ET, but make sure you're following along on Twitter -> @TonyAndrock for live in-game updates.
• Stay tuned here agter the game for a full recap of the action. Don't forget to subscribe to Inside AHL Hockey's YouTube channel for post-game player interviews.

WILKES-BARRE - The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (1-0-1) kick off a three-game rivalry weekend on the road to start a home and home series with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (0-1-0) tonight. What better way to start off the 12-game season series than on Friday the 13th!

BY THE NUMBERS

LV: 2 game played, 1-0-1-0 = 3 points 3rd Place Atlantic Division Streak: 1-0-1-0 Last Ten Games: 1-0-1-0

WBS: 1 game played, 0-1-0-0 = 0 points Tied-6th Place Atlantic Division Streak: 0-1-0-0 Last Ten Games: 0-1-0-0

Special Teams

Power Play

LV: 0-for-6 = 0.0% (T-21st) WBS: 1-for-6 = 16.7% (T-15th)

Penalty Kill

LV: 5-for-7 = 71.4% (T-23rd) WBS: 5-for-6 = 83.3% (T-16th)

LEADING SCORERS

LV: Danick Martel (2GP, 4G-0A), Reece Willcox (2GP, 1G-2A), T.J. Brennan (2GP, 0G-3A) and Mike Vecchione (2GP, 0G-3A)

WBS: Thomas Di Pauli (1GP, 1G-0A), Daniel Sprong (1GP, 1G-0A), Teddy Blueger (1GP, 0G-1A) and Tristan Jarry (1GP, 0G-1A)

EXPECTED STARTING GOALTENDERS

LV: Alex Lyon (1-0-1, 1.44 GAA, .955 SV%, 0 SO) WBS: Tristan Jarry (0-1-0, 4.02 GAA, .886 SV%, 0 SO)

SEASON SERIES

Tonight marks the first of 12 meetings between the Phantoms and Penguins this season. Lehigh Valley came up short in the season series last year, going 5-6-1 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2016-17.

Season Series Schedule

Friday, October 13th: Lehigh Valley at W-B/Scranton - 7:05 p.m. ET Saturday, October 14th: W-B/Scranton at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 p.m. ET Friday, November 3rd: W-B/Scranton at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 p.m. ET Wednesday, November 22nd: Lehigh Valley at W-B/Scranton - 7:05 p.m. ET Wednesday, December 6th: W-B/Scranton at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 p.m. ET Saturday, December 23rd: Lehigh Valley at W-B/Scranton - 5:05 p.m. ET Wednesday, December 27th: Lehigh Valley at W-B/Scranton - 7:05 p.m. ET Wednesday, January 17th: Lehigh Valley at W-B/Scranton - 7:05 p.m. ET Friday, January 26th: W-B/Scranton at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 p.m. ET Saturday, February 3rd: Lehigh Valley at W-B/Scranton - 7:05 p.m. ET Sunday, February 18th: - W-B/Scranton at Lehigh Valley - 5:05 p.m. ET Saturday, April 14: W-B/Scranton at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 p.m. ET

LEHIGH VALLEY PHANTOMS

Roster Notes

Alex Lyon is expected back in net for Lehigh Valley Friday night to start off the three-game weekend.

Earlier in the week, the Flyers acquired goaltender Dustin Tokarski from Anaheim in exchange for future considerations. In a separate move, the Phantoms loaned goaltender Leland Irving to Anaheim's AHL affiliate San Diego.

It will be interesting to see when Tokarski gets his first game with the Phantoms, especially considering he hadn't been practicing with San Diego this season due to what an off-the-record source told Inside AHL Hockey was a conflict between team & player. Tokarski was San Diego's third goalie and wasn't practicing with the team, hence why Anaheim was interested in moving him.

Sam Morin returned to the Phantoms this week and will make his regular season debut tonight. Morin was a healthy scratch during the Flyers' season-opening road trip out west, so he's certainly more than eager to get into game action.

Forwards Cole Bardreau (upper body) and Colin McDonald (lower body) are nearing returns, but did not travel with the team to Wilkes-Barre tonight. They remain out with their injuries.

Scratches: Anthony Stolarz (knee surgery), Cole Bardreau (upper body), Steven Swavely (healthy), Colin McDonald (lower body), Max Lamarche (healthy) and Will O'Neill (healthy)

Expected Lines:

Oskar Lindblom - Phil Varone - Chris Conner Greg Carey - Mikhail Voroybev - Corban Knight Danick Martel - Mike Vecchione - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Tyrell Goulbourne - Radel Fazleev - Matt Read

T.J. Brennan - Reece Willcox Mark Friedman - Mark Alt Sam Morin - Phil Myers

Alex Lyon - Dustin Tokarski

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS

Roster Notes

Tristan Jarry got the loss in the Penguins' season opener, but expect him back in net Friday. Casey DeSmith could be an option tonight, but it's more than likely both goalies will play this weekend.

Defenseman Chris Summers was called up earlier this week, leaving a hole in the Pens' blue line from their opening night lineup. Expect Ethan Prow to enter the lineup in Summers' place.

Pittsburgh and Vancouver swapped defenseman before the AHL's regular season, as Derrick Pouliot joined the Canucks and the Penguins received Andrey Pedan.

Scratches: Jeff Taylor, Kevin Spinozzi, Troy Josephs, Patrick McGrath, Gage Quinney, Jarred Tinordi, Ethan Prow, Colin Smith, Ryan Haggerty and Freddie Tiffels.

Expected Lines:

Zach Aston-Reese - Teddy Blueger - Daniel Sprong Dominik Simon - Adam Johnson - Christian Thomas Garrett Wilson - Jean-Sebastien Dea - Tom Kostopoulos Tom Sestito - Jarrett Burton - Thomas Di Pauli

Andrey Pedan - Lukas Bengtsson Zach Trotman - Kevin Czuczman Dylan Zink - Frank Corrado

Casey DeSmith - Tristan Jarry