Jets at Flyers
THE STORY: In order to have a successful second half to the season, the Philadelphia Flyers will have to exercise a few demons. The first challenge comes Tuesday when the Flyers host the Winnipeg Jets. This will be the third of four meetings this season with the Jets winning the first two. The first was the notorious 9-8 victory in Philadelphia in a game that featured 15 goal scorers and all four goaltenders seeing action. In the latest, the Jets skated to a 6-4 victory at home. Bryan Little scored two goals and Blake Wheeler collected a pair of assists. Rookie Matt Read and Scott Hartnell each scored two goals for the Flyers, who got three assists from Claude Giroux.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN-Jets (Winnipeg), CS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE JETS (22-22-6): It is crunch time for Winnipeg, which sits 10th in the Eastern Conference, five points behind the coveted eighth and final playoff spot. The Jets, who have lost two straight and are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games, trail the Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs who are tied with 55 points and are seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. Winnipeg is coming off a 3-0 loss in New York to the Rangers and is 3-8-1 in January. “We hit a dry spell and it’s a little bit frustrating,” coach Claude Noel said.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (29-14-5): Philadelphia, 6-3-1 in its last 10 games, is coming off its first shootout win of the season – 3-2 over the Panthers in Florida. Brayden Schenn and Jakub Voracek scored in regulation while Giroux scored the lone shootout goal. Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves and stopped all three shooters in the shootout to improve to 11-4-1 on the season. The Flyers are second in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the East. Winnipeg is the first of three home contests for the Flyers, who are 11-7-3 in Philadelphia.
OVERTIME:
1. Winnipeg’s Nik Antropov has three goals and three assists in his last six games.
2. Injuries are an issue for both teams – James Van Riemsdyk and Danny Briere are out indefinitely for the Flyers with concussions, while Dustin Byfuglien (knee) and Evander Kane (concussion) are out for the Jets.
3. Six of Wheeler’s nine goals this season have come on the power play.