Panthers at Flyers
THE STORY: The Philadelphia Flyers appear to have it all together, despite the fact that they keep losing key cogs in the process. Offseason acquisition Ilya Bryzgalov has led the Flyers to three straight victories - and both will look to up the ante when the Florida Panthers pay a visit to the City of Brotherly Love on Thursday. Florida has seen its lead in the Southeast Division shrink to two points over the upstart Winnipeg Jets.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSFL, CSP
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (31-22-12): Florida snapped a two-game losing skid by rallying from an early two-goal deficit for a 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday. The Panthers surrendered the first two goals for the fifth time in six contests (2-2-1) and sixth in eight games (2-3-1). RW Mikael Samuelsson, who netted the eventual game-winning goal versus the Senators, has two tallies and an assist in a pair of contests against the Flyers this season. G Jose Theodore fell to 14-9-1 in his career versus Philadelphia after stopping 32 of 35 shots in a 3-2 loss on Nov. 13.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (37-21-7): Although Philadelphia is winning, it lost the services of veteran RW Jaromir Jagr (hip) and RW Jakub Voracek (mouth) during its 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. GM Paul Holmgren said Wednesday that Jagr "probably" won't play against the Panthers. Voracek is questionable for the contest after he said he passed a concussion exam on Wednesday. The pair joins an already crowded trainer's room which is currently being occupied by All-Star Kimmo Timonen (lower body), fellow D Andrej Meszaros (lower body) and promising LW James van Riemsdyk (broken foot).
OVERTIME:
1. Former Flyers RWs Kris Versteeg (lower body) and Scottie Upshall (sports hernia) will be sidelined for at least the rest of the week, Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said.
2. Bryzgalov has posted a 6-2-1 mark with a 2.15 goals-against average in his last 10 games. The Russian has also fared well versus Florida, securing a 3-0-1 career mark.