Penguins at Flyers
The Pittsburgh Penguins look to keep pace in the top-heavy Metropolitan Division when they visit the Keystone State-rival Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. The Penguins have dropped two in a row to fall five points behind the first-place New York Islanders, and their five-game winless skid versus Philadelphia is cause for concern for captain Sidney Crosby and company. The reigning Hart Trophy winner has recorded four goals and as many assists in his last four games, but lopsided losses to the Islanders and New York Rangers over the weekend have dropped Pittsburgh to 4-6-2 in its last 12 contests.
Philadelphia hardly is brimming with confidence after yielding a season high in goals en route to a 7-4 loss to the Islanders on Monday afternoon. Slow starts continue to be the common theme for the Flyers, who have yielded the first goal in 11 of their last 13 contests - resulting in a 4-8-1 record. Former Islanders defenseman Mark Streit scored for the second straight contest on Monday and also tallied in Philadelphia's 5-3 road victory over the Penguins on Oct. 22.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, RSN, TVA, ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (26-12-6): David Perron hasn't missed a beat since being acquired from Edmonton, collecting five goals and two assists in six games while scoring in three straight contests for the first time since Nov. 16-21, 2013. Defenseman Kris Letang isn't doing too shabby in his own right, recording one goal and six assists during his four-game point streak. Evgeni Malkin, who notched an assist in his first meeting with the Flyers, has collected 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) in 23 games in the City of Brotherly Love.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (18-22-7): With Braydon Coburn expected to miss another three weeks due to a lower-body injury, Philadelphia's defense corps absorbed yet another hit on Monday as defensemen Nick Schultz and Carlo Colaiacovo suffered upper-body ailments. Schultz has been ruled out of Tuesday's tilt and Colaiacovo is questionable, according to general manager Ron Hextall. Down to just four blue-liners, the Flyers recalled Brandon Manning and Oliver Lauridsen from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh is 5-for-11 with the man advantage in its last four games while Philadelphia has yielded four power-play goals in its last three.
2. Flyers All-Star RW Jakub Voracek notched a pair of assists on Monday to push his league-leading point total to 55. He also set up a pair of goals in the first meeting.
3. Penguins LW Chris Kunitz resides one point shy of 500 for his career.