Red Wings at Flyers
The Detroit Red Wings look to shake out of a mild slump when they start a difficult four-game road trip against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon. The Red Wings have dropped three of four games while allowing 15 goals in that span. “Over the course of a season you’re not going to be perfect all the time,” captain Henrik Zetterberg told reporters. “We’re in one of those periods right now where it’s not going our way and we just have to get stronger from it and get through it.”
The Red Wings are six points out of first place in the Atlantic Division and five ahead of fourth-place Boston while Philadelphia’s 2-4-3 run over the last nine games has stalled its run. The Flyers suffered a 1-0 shootout loss at St. Louis on Thursday to extend its winless streak to four (0-2-2), managing only five goals combined. The teams split a pair of games earlier in the season, each winning on its home ice.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (37-18-11): Detroit also visits Pittsburgh, Florida and Tampa Bay on its trip before playing eight of the next 10 at home. The Red Wings were on a solid 5-1-1 run before surrendering five goals each to Calgary and Boston, with defenseman Niklas Kronwall telling reporters that “We have to take care of the puck in all aspects.” Pavel Datsyuk has collected four points in the last three games and Zetterberg boasts seven in five to tie for the team’s scoring lead with 56.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (28-27-14): Philadelphia’s three top scorers have struggled of late as Jakub Voracek owns only one tally in 11 games, captain Claude Giroux is mired in a seven-game goal drought and Wayne Simmonds has none in the last four. Voracek has collected six assists during his mini-slump, but the Flyers have dropped 10 points behind Boston for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. Steve Mason is 2-3-3 in eight straight starts despite allowing three or fewer goals in seven of them.
OVERTIME
1. Detroit led the league in power-play percentage (25.2) though Thursday while Philadelphia stood fourth (22.0), but is 1-of-19 the last seven games.
2. Philadelphia D Michael Del Zotto is expected to miss his fourth straight game with an upper-body injury.
3. Detroit LW Tomas Tatar leads the team in goals (25), but has produced just one over the last 10 games - and none in the past five.