Flyers at Penguins
If the Pittsburgh Penguins are unable to catch first-place Washington in the Metropolitan Division, they can look no further than New Jersey. The two-time reigning Stanley Cup champions have a more favorable matchup on tap Sunday afternoon when Pittsburgh attempts to complete a four-game sweep of the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.
Sitting five points behind the Capitals and one point ahead of Columbus, the Penguins are nursing a two-point edge over fourth-place Philadelphia, but they have outscored the Flyers 15-7 in winning the first three meetings this season. Pittsburgh also has been dominant on its home ice, winning 15 of the last 17 (15-1-1) at PPG Paints Arena, with both losses coming at the hands of the Devils. After opening the month with seven losses in eight games (1-6-1), the Flyers have regained their equilibrium by earning points in four in a row (3-0-1) to stay on the heels of Pittsburgh and Columbus in the tightly bunched Metropolitan. Philadelphia is holding down the top wild card in the Eastern Conference but New Jersey and Florida remain within striking distance, trailing by two and five points, respectively.
TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC
ABOUT THE FLYERS (38-25-12): Travis Konecny has scored 18 of his 22 goals since Jan. 4, including a pair in Thursday's 4-3 win over the New York Rangers, but he drew the ire of coach Dave Hakstol and found himself planted on the bench for the final seven minutes. "Wasn't taking care of the puck very well," Hakstol said. "Individuals have to be better in how we manage the puck." Captain Claude Giroux is tied for the league lead with 64 assists - one shy of his career high -after collecting three in back-to-back games.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (42-27-6): Coach Mike Sullivan tinkered with his lineup in the third period of Friday's game, swapping right wings on the top two lines and going with the same alignment at Saturday's practice. Patric Hornqvist was elevated to the No. 1 unit alongside Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel while Bryan Rust skated with Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin on the second line. Phil Kessel reached 30 goals for the sixth time in his career in Friday's loss and has two goals and two assists versus Philadelphia this season.
OVERTIME
1. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has 45 points in his last 33 games overall and seven in the last three matchups versus Philadelphia.
2. Flyers rookie G Alex Lyon is expected to make his second straight start and seventh of his career on Sunday.
3. The Penguins have surrendered eight power-play goals in the past seven games.