Panthers at Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers ventured from being unceremoniously shut out by one of the teams with the fewest points in the league to erupting for seven goals against one of the clubs with the most. The Flyers hope to have more offense in the tank on Monday when they host the Florida Panthers.
"Go figure it out. We were able to put seven up tonight and we weren't able to put up one the last game. That's the beauty of the game," Philadelphia coach Alain Vigneault told reporters of Saturday's 7-2 romp over Washington, which came two days after a 5-0 setback to New Jersey. Sean Couturier boosted his club-leading totals in assists (34) and points (49) after recording his second three-point performance in four games this month in the win versus the Capitals. While Philadelphia has fared well when considered the home team (18-5-4), Florida begins a modest two-game trek on the heels of a three-game skid (0-2-1) following a 3-2 setback to Pittsburgh on Saturday. "Everybody should be held accountable in their own individual game," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville told the media. “Assessing it, the bottom line is you win in this league by how you compete. Get back to work."
TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: FS Florida, NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (29-19-6): Mike Hoffman has turned it on in the new calendar year, erupting for 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) while finding the scoresheet in 13 of his last 15 games. The 30-year-old, who collected a goal and an assist against the Penguins, also tallied in Florida's 5-2 win over Philadelphia on Nov. 19. Evgenii Dadonov, who has a club-best 23 goals, notched a pair of assists in the first meeting with the Flyers while Jonathan Huberdeau - who leads the team in assists (49) and points (68) - scored a goal midway through that contest.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (30-18-7): While Philadelphia prevented Alex Ovechkin from reaching a celebrated milestone, the club saw its long-time captain reach two of his own as Claude Giroux recorded his 250th career goal and 800th point in the lopsided win over Washington. "It's great, but with where I am in my career right now, that kind of stuff isn't a priority," the 32-year-old Giroux told the Philadelphia Inquirer after his three-point performance (one goal, two assists) on Saturday. "But if you're getting points, there's a good chance your team is going to have a chance to win." Giroux, who was selected 22nd overall in the 2006 NHL Draft, became the third member of that class to reach 800 points (Washington's Nicklas Backstrom, Arizona's Phil Kessel).
OVERTIME
1. Florida G Sergei Bobrovsky, who is expected to play in his 500th NHL game on Monday, sports a 15-3-1 record with two shutouts against his former team (Philadelphia).
2. Flyers RW Jakub Voracek has five points (two goals, three assists) in his last six games.
3. Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, who had a goal and an assist in the first meeting with Philadelphia, returned from a three-game absence due to a lower-body injury on Saturday.