Flames at Flyers
The Calgary Flames have seen the door close on their once-potent offense after a franchise-worst third consecutive road shutout loss extended the team's winless stretch to six games (0-5-1). The Flames hope the results of a players-only meeting will open the doors to success on Saturday afternoon when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers.
"Just a lot of honesty between guys," Calgary captain Mark Giordano said of the candid chit-chat after Thursday's 5-0 setback in St. Louis. "We all love each other in here. But at the end of the day, sometimes you have to be honest with the guys you're closest to." The Flames, who haven't entertained a lead while being outscored 23-5 during their skid, posted their fifth win in six encounters with Philadelphia following a 3-1 home victory on Oct. 15. The Flames have struggled mightily on the road as their 4-9-1 record attests, and they'll face a Flyers team that sports a 6-1-3 mark when designated as the home team. Philadelphia snapped a four-game skid (0-2-2) of its own as captain Claude Giroux recorded his 11th career four-point performance (two goals, two assists) in Thursday's 5-3 win over Carolina after being limited to just one point in his previous six games combined.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Calgary), NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE FLAMES (10-2-3): Johnny Gaudreau, who has just one assist and a minus-11 rating during Calgary's six-game winless skid, kept a positive outlook when addressing the Flames' icy stretch. "Each guy look in the mirror, figure out what you can do better to help this team win, and we'll be able to get out of this thing," the 26-year-old New Jersey native told the Calgary Sun. "Everyone steps it up a little bit more, everyone pushes a little bit more, starting in practice and follows into games, and we'll be alright." Gaudreau collected 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in his first dozen contests against the Flyers before being held off the scoresheet in the meeting last month.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (11-7-4): Giroux wasn't alone in helping Philadelphia snap its skid, as linemates Travis Konecny and rookie Morgan Frost played a role in the first four goals against the Hurricanes. Konecny set up three goals to boost his team-leading totals in assists (15) and points (23) while the 20-year-old Frost scored for the second time in as many NHL games before setting up Giroux with a nifty across-the crease pass for the go-ahead tally in the third period. "It's been only two games, but any time you get chemistry with someone that quick, usually it's going to go well," the 31-year-old Giroux said of Frost. "I think it's important we build on this -- as a line, and as a team."
OVERTIME
1. Frost is attempting to become the first player to score a goal in his first three NHL career games since Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin in 2006-07, per the NHL.
2. Flames G David Rittich has turned aside 57 of 61 shots to win all three of his career appearances against the Flyers.
3. Philadelphia C Kevin Hayes, who snapped a 12-game goalless stretch on Thursday, will square off against his former Boston College teammate in Gaudreau.