Penguins at Flyers
THE STORY: The Philadelphia Flyers will look to continue their domination over the Pittsburgh Penguins when they host their Keystone State rival on Saturday afternoon. The Flyers have won the first two of six meetings between the clubs this season - including a 4-2 triumph in Pittsburgh on Dec. 29. Philadelphia also posted a 3-2 home victory earlier in the season. The Flyers are second in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference with 71 points, just two ahead of the Penguins.
TV: 1 p.m. ET. NHLN-US (HD), ROOT (HD), CSN-Philadelphia
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (32-20-5): The secret to Pittsburgh’s success doesn’t lie solely with NHL points leader and All-Star Evgeni Malkin. Special teams can make or break a team and they are certainly helping the Penguins. With a top 10 power play that clicks at almost 20 percent, Pittsburgh has had little trouble scoring. The Penguins' penalty kill is even better, ranking third in the league at 88.2 percent, Pittsburgh has killed off all 17 shorthanded situations this month. The Penguins have held their opposition without a power-play goal in 39 of their 57 games this season.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (32-18-7): Philadelphia, which is 4-4-2 in its last 10 games, is coming off a 7-2 home win over the Buffalo Sabres. Claude Giroux had five assists and fellow All-Star Scott Hartnell netted his team-leading 27th goal of the season and added three helpers. Wayne Simmonds and Max Talbot had a pair of goals apiece. Ilya Bryzgalov made 27 saves to improve to 20-11-6. The Flyers are 14-9-5 at home this season.
OVERTIME:
1. Newly acquired defenseman Nicklas Grossman was paired with Andrej Meszaros in his first practice with the Flyers.
2. Malkin has five goals and five assists in his last five games.
3. Rookie Erik Gustafsson scored his first career NHL goal on Thursday. On Friday, he was sent to the American Hockey League to make room for Grossman.