Flyers at Panthers
A humiliating 7-0 loss to the Washington Capitals may have been the best thing to happen to the Philadelphia Flyers this season. The resurgent Flyers look to extend their winning streak to four games Monday night as they visit the struggling Florida Panthers. Philadelphia has outscored its opponents 14-5 over the course of the streak, and will look to capitalize against a Panthers team languishing near the bottom of the East standings.
Since losing by a touchdown to the Capitals at the beginning of November, the Flyers have turned the corner - going 7-1-2 to move within striking distance of a top-8 berth in the conference. Strong goaltending and unyielding defense - two things the franchise hasn't exactly been known for in recent years - have led the charge, limiting opponents to just 13 goals over the past 10 games. That doesn't bode well for Florida, which has just 53 goals through its first 23 games.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSP (Philadelphia), FSFL (Florida)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (10-10-2): The biggest turnaround for Philadelphia has been its play at even-strength. The Flyers have outscored foes by a whopping 17-3 margin in that situation during a seven-game points streak, after being trounced 28-14 while going 4-10-1 prior to the outburst. "The confidence level is very, very high right now," winger Jakub Voracek told the Philadelphia Inquirer prior to the Flyers' 5-2 triumph over the New York Islanders on Saturday night. "Everybody is being responsible defensively, and I think that's why we're playing so well right now."
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (6-13-5): Money was tight for the Panthers heading into the season, which made it difficult to add enough talent to augment the existing group of journeymen and unproven young players. General manager Dale Tallon did well to upgrade the back end, signing veteran netminder Tim Thomas and blue-liner Tom Gilbert among others. "Gilbert has been real solid," Tallon told the Miami Herald following Friday's 4-3 shootout loss to Calgary. "Thomas has kept us in a lot of games. It is what it is. We did the best we could at the time."
OVERTIME
1. The teams split four meetings last season, with the road team prevailing three times.
2. Thomas is 13-4-2 with a 2.28 goals-against average and two shutouts in 19 career games against the Flyers.
3. The Panthers rank dead last in the NHL with a 9.3-percent success rate on the power play.