Flyers at Red Wings
The Philadelphia Flyers have applied the breaks on a disastrous stretch while the Detroit Red Wings effectively have skidded out of control. With former Red Wing Petr Mrazek in tow, the Flyers have answered a woeful 1-6-1 stretch with back-to-back victories heading into Tuesday's road tilt against a Detroit squad that been outscored 41-19 during its 10-game winless skid (0-9-1).
"You go small sample sizes and go one period at a time. We know we control our own destiny, so for us, it's just keep doing good things," said Philadelphia forward Wayne Simmonds, who recorded his first multi-goal performance since his season-opening hat trick in Sunday's 6-3 triumph over Washington. The 29-year-old Simmonds increased his point total to six (three goals, three assists) in his last five games for the Flyers, who reside two points behind second-place Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division. The ever-changing standings haven't been much of a concern for the Red Wings, who are inching closer to missing the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since a five-year drought from 1979-1983. "Sports isn't supposed to be easy, it's supposed to be hard. That's why it feels so good when you win. So we got to find a way to keep fighting here," coach Jeff Blashill told reporters after Detroit concluded a fruitless five-game road trip with a lackluster 5-1 setback at Colorado on Sunday.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE FLYERS (37-25-11): Mrazek is expected to get the start on Tuesday, just four weeks after being acquired from Detroit for a pair of conditional draft picks as Philadelphia was left to address its ailing goaltender carousel. "It's gonna be nice to get back, but when the game starts, it doesn't matter who is on the other side," the 26-year-old Mrazek told Philly.com. "We are going there to get some good results, and we have to build from there." Travis Konecny, who scored 27 seconds into overtime in a 3-2 win at Detroit on Jan. 23, is expected to be elevated to the top line in place of Michael Raffl, who will be sidelined at least two weeks after sustaining an upper-body injury against the Capitals.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (26-35-11): Goaltender Jared Coreau has lost three straight decisions and yielded 15 goals on 104 shots in four appearances since being summoned from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League to replace Mrazek. "I'm not putting it on him. This is a team thing," Blashill said after the 26-year-old permitted all five goals against the Avalanche. "But I also would say I've talked to our team about guys have to step up and make plays. That's the goaltenders, too. You gotta step up and make tons of saves here." Luke Glendening set up Justin Abdelkader's goal versus Colorado and had two assists against Philadelphia in the January encounter.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia captain Claude Giroux has 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in his last 20 games to raise his career total to 659, tying Eric Lindros for fifth place in franchise history.
2. Abdelkader resides one goal shy of 100 for his career.
3. Flyers RW Jakub Voracek, who has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past nine games, has one goal and two assists against the Red Wings this season.