Flyers at Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are getting healthy at the right time and are serving notice that they will be a tough out in the Stanley Cup playoffs - if they get there. Vancouver tries to increase its precarious hold on second place in the Pacific Division when it hosts the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, and with players such as defenseman Kevin Bieksa and center Brad Richardson back in the lineup, a healthy competition for playing time has emerged. "That’s huge to have on a team - that automatic sense that you better play hard or you’ll be out of the lineup,” Daniel Sedin told the Vancouver Sun.
The Canucks are 13 points behind Anaheim, one ahead of both Calgary and Los Angeles in the Pacific, after improving to 2-1-0 on their five-game homestand with a 4-1 victory over Toronto on Saturday. Philadelphia trails Boston by nine points for the final wild-card berth in the East after falling to Ottawa 2-1 on Sunday in a shootout, dropping to 1-2-3 in its last six games in the opener of a four-game road trip. "We let a point go, but we did a lot of good things against a good team," captain Claude Giroux told reporters.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, SNET Pacific (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (29-27-15): Philadelphia will be without forward Matt Read, who returned home Monday to be with his wife for the birth of their child, and defenseman Michael Del Zotto (upper-body injury), who is expected to return to the lineup Thursday in Calgary. The Flyers' much-maligned penalty-killing unit - second-worst in the NHL at 76.9 and better only than Buffalo - has played well lately, allowing one goal in 11 short-handed situations over its last four games. Jakub Voracek, who scored Sunday and has two goals in his last six contests, is fifth in the NHL with 69 points and boasts a team-leading 48 assists.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (39-25-4): While Bieksa and Richardson returned to the lineup Saturday, Alex Burrows did not play after aggravating a groin injury which forced him to miss six games at the end of February and early March, but said he will play Tuesday. "I feel pretty good, so I’m ready for the stretch run,” Burrows told the team official website. “The days were nice to get, especially with how the boys played getting a big win. Things are always nicer after a win like that.” Daniel and twin brother Henrik Sedin haven't record a point in three games - matching their longest stretch of the season.
OVERTIME
1. Pat Quinn, who died Nov. 23 at age 71 after a long illness, will be honored in a pre-game ceremony. Quinn coached Philadelphia and Vancouver to the Stanley Cup final in 1980 and 1994, respectively, and guided Canada to its first goal medal in 50 years at the 2002 Winter OIympics.
2. The Canucks are 20-9-1 versus the Eastern Conference, including 11-3-0 at home.
3. Vancouver won the first of two meetings this season 4-0 in Philadelphia on Jan. 15 with captain Henrik Sedin contributing a goal and an assist.