Schultz replaces MacDonald; Hakstol tinkers with Flyers' lineup

After a two-game benching, veteran defenseman Nick Schultz will return to the Flyers' lineup Saturday night against visiting Pittsburgh, replacing Andrew MacDonald.

MacDonald and his defensive partner, Shayne Gostisbehere, struggled in the Flyers' 5-4 loss to Arizona on Thursday.

Schultz, a solid stay-at-home defender, will bring some stability to the lineup.

All three D pairings will be altered. The new pairings: Gostisbehere and Schultz; Mark Streit and Ivan Provorov; and Brandon Manning and Radko Gudas.

Based on practice, the lines Saturday will look like this: Claude Giroux centering Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds; Sean Couturier centering Travis Konecny and Jake Voracek; Pierre-Edouard Bellemare centering Matt Read and Roman Lyubimov; and Boyd Gordon centering Chris VandeVelde and Dale Weise.

It appears that Nick Cousin, who scored a goal in Thursday's loss, will be a healthy scratch.

Look for Steve Mason to get Saturday's start.

The Flyers (3-4-1) are averaging 3.38 goals per game (eighth in the NHL) and allowing 3.75 per game (27th).

They are 4-1 in their last five games against the Penguins at the Wells Fargo Center.

Sidney Crosby, a certified Flyers killer, has points in 10 straight regular-season games; the Penguins are 10-0 in those games.

Marc-Andre Fleury has started eight consecutive games for Pittsburgh (5-2-1), his third-longest streak to begin a season.

Evgeni Malkin (eight points) and Phil Kessel (seven) lead Pittsburgh in points _ Crosby missed six games because of a concussion but is back in the lineup _  while Giroux (nine) and Voracek (eight) pace the Flyers.

Giroux leads the NHL with nine assists but is searching for his first goal.