Canadiens at Flyers
The City of Brotherly Love will be in a festive mood on Thursday as Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kennedy said he expects "north of two million people" to line the streets to honor the Super Bowl champion Eagles. The Flyers, who are the most recognizable tenants of Broad Street, will bid to keep the party going later that night when they host the Montreal Canadiens.
Perhaps fueled by the soaring Eagles, the Flyers snapped a four-game skid with Tuesday's 2-1 overtime victory at Carolina to move into the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. "It was big because we'd been playing some good hockey and dominating for periods of time, and (Tuesday) I think we had a good 60-minute effort," said Jordan Weal, who scored with 3.1 seconds left in overtime against the Hurricanes. Montreal has answered a dismal 2-5-2 stretch by going 5-for-10 on the power play to post resounding victories over Anaheim and Ottawa over the weekend. "Our power play got better because we stuck with it," Canadiens coach Claude Julien told the Montreal Gazette. “All the pain that we went through earlier on is starting to pay off."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN2, RDS (Montreal), NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (22-25-6): Shea Weber skated before Wednesday's practice, marking the first time he's done so since Dec. 16 as he nurses a right foot injury. "It's good to get him back on the ice. It's been quite a while. It's good to know he's getting better," fellow defenseman Victor Mete said of the 32-year-old, who has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 26 games and is averaging 25:20 of ice time. Carey Price certainly has missed Weber, especially on the road as the former Hart and Vezina Trophy winner sports a 4-12-0 mark with a 3.23 goals-against average in 16 encounters outside of the Bell Centre this season.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (25-19-9): Jakub Voracek extended his assist and point streak to six games by setting up Wayne Simmonds' goal in the second period on Tuesday, giving him two goals and seven assists in that stretch. The 28-year-old Czech, who leads the NHL with 52 assists, scored a goal and set up two others in three meetings versus Montreal last season to give him 22 points (four goals, 18 assists) in as many career encounters with the Canadiens. Brian Elliott made 27 saves on Tuesday in his return from a four-game absence due to an undisclosed injury and boasts a 6-3-1 career mark with two shutouts against Montreal.
OVERTIME
1. Montreal D Jeff Petry scored three times over the last two games, including a power-play goal in his team's 4-1 triumph over Ottawa on Sunday.
2. Philadelphia rookie F Nolan Patrick has collected two goals and two assists in his last four games.
3. Due to the parade, the Canadiens changed hotels and canceled their morning skate for Thursday while the Flyers shuffled their morning skate to the Skate Zone in Voorhees, N.J.