Flyers at Predators
The Nashville Predators are uncertain of the status of captain Shea Weber as they prepare to host the resurgent Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Weber is listed as day-to-day after taking a puck in the face during Thursday's loss to Edmonton, and a decision on the star defenseman's status will not be made until Saturday. "Obviously, if we lose our captain, it's always hard, and we hope he's OK and hopefully he gets back soon," fellow blue-liner Roman Josi said.
Philadelphia rebounded from back-to-back losses with a 2-1 home victory over Winnipeg on Friday and hopes to carry the momentum into the opener of a six-game road trip. The Flyers started the season with one win in their first eight games, but they have moved up the standings on the heels of a 7-2-1 run over their last 10 games. Philadelphia had scored a power-play goal in eight consecutive games, a streak that finally came to an end in Friday's win over the Jets.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN (Philadelphia), FSN Tennessee (Nashville)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (11-12-2): While Philadelphia went 0-for-4 with the man advantage, it shut down Winnipeg on six power-play chances and even threw in a short-handed tally by Sean Couturier for good measure. "Our penalty-killers did a great job,” coach Craig Berube said. “Couturier did very good. He does the job for us. Killling penalties, checking, scoring short-handed. He did really well with it." Philadelphia captain Claude Giroux was held off the scoresheet Friday, snapping his six-game point streak.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (13-11-2): Matt Cullen is in his first season with Nashville and is poised to reach a milestone when he plays in the 1,100th game of his career Saturday. Cullen, who spent the previous three seasons with the Minnesota Wild, got off to a slow start with the Predators and had recorded only four points through his first 19 games. He has picked up the pace over the past two weeks, accumulating three goals and six assists in his last seven games to move into a tie for third on the team with 13 points.
OVERTIME
1. Six of the 16 meetings between the Predators and Flyers have gone beyond regulation.
2. Nashville has not allowed a goal in its last 19 short-handed situations.
3. Flyers LW Scott Hartnell has scored all five of his goals in the last 12 games after failing to register a point in his first nine.