Opening night trends, headlines, lineup

BOSTON -- Ready or not, the puck drops on the Flyers' 44th season tonight in Beantown.

Last year, it began with an impressive 3-2 win over the Penguins in the first-ever game at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. It was Sergei Bobrovsky's first NHL start.

They used that game to get off to a 12-4-2 start, as they cruised to the top of the overall NHL standings by December.

This year, the Flyers again start on the road. This time, under tougher circumstances, as they will witness an emotional ceremony as the Bruins' Stanley Cup banner is raised to the rafters at TD Garden. The game is televised nationally on Versus at 7 o'clock.

They are 5-7-4 all-time in the first game when opening the season on the road.

All-time, the Flyers are 20-16-7 (.547) in season opening games. Peter Laviolette is 3-2-2 in his season opening games.

Jaromir Jagr is tied for the NHL's all-time lead in points scored in season openers. He has 9 goals and 21 assists for 30 points on opening night.

LINEUP: Here are the Flyers' expected lineup and lines tonight.

Forwards
Van Riemsdyk - Giroux - Jagr
Voracek - Briere - Simmonds
Hartnell - Couturier - Read
Nodl - Talbot - Rinaldo

Defense
Carle - Pronger
Timonen - Meszaros
Coburn - Walker

Goalies
Bryzgalov
Bobrovsky

That leaves Andreas Lilja as a healthy scratch on defense.

HEADLINES: Here's everything you need to know from our week-long preview coverage:

Ilya Bryzgalov is a master story-teller

Sean Couturier makes his rookie debut tonight

Predicting the Eastern Conference

Why the Flyers need Chris Pronger on the ice

Max Talbot brings energy to the Flyers

Schenn's demotion: all about the salary cap

For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers