Lightning at Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are beginning to turn their season around with better work on the defensive end and that will be tested when the Tampa Bay Lightning visit on Tuesday. The Flyers are 3-0-2 during a solid five-game run and surrendered only six goals combined in the last four contests. Tampa Bay has won five straight and eight of nine against Philadelphia, but will likely be without No. 1 goalie Ben Bishop after he suffered a lower-body injury in Monday’s 4-2 loss at Pittsburgh.
The Flyers must contain Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, who has registered 16 goals in 21 career games against the Flyers. Philadelphia defeated New Jersey (4-1) and Carolina (5-1) to start a four-game homestand while allowing 44 shots on goal combined. “Overall we have just kind of simplified things and started to play simple hockey,” Flyers right wing Jakub Voracek told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We work really hard, and we’re focusing on defense, and we just have to keep rolling.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Tampa Bay), CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (19-10-3): Tampa Bay has lost four of its last five games and Evgeni Nabokov is expected to make the start Tuesday. Tampa Bay, which stands second in the league in scoring at 3.31 per contest, managed 10 goals total the last five games with Stamkos contributing one. Defenseman Radko Gudas (illness) is day-to-day after sitting the last two games while left wing Ondrej Palat (lower-body injury) has missed the last three and could return soon.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (11-13-5): Philadelphia has recorded at least one power-play goal in seven straight games to move among the league leaders at 24 percent, but is near the bottom in penalty killing (74.0). Wayne Simmonds has scored seven of his team-high 13 goals with the man advantage and captain Claude Giroux has six along with a team-best 16 points. Voracek continues to perk along with seven points in the last seven games to lead the Flyers with 37 and stand near the top of the league.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia C Scott Laughton scored his first NHL goal Saturday against Carolina in his 18th career game.
2. The Lightning are 0-10-0 when trailing after two periods this season and 1-3-0 when behind after 20 minutes.
3. Flyers F Vincent Lecavalier, a former Lightning captain, missed the last game with a lower-body injury after being a healthy scratch the previous five contests.