Lightning at Flyers
The talented “Triplets” line of Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov is beginning to find its form for the surging Tampa Bay Lightning. The trio has recorded a total of seven goals in the last three games and looks to remain hot as the Lightning try to extend their franchise-record winning streak to 10 games when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.
Palat and Johnson each have scored three times in the last three victories and Kucherov has recorded a goal and three assists in that span. “I think at the beginning of the year, we were all battling different things and weren’t necessarily in sync,” Johnson told reporters. “It took some time to get back in the groove of things. We’re starting to hit our stride.” The Flyers, who visit Tampa Bay on Friday, hope to cool off the Lightning and keep climbing toward a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Captain Claude Giroux has registered six points in his last four contests for Philadelphia, which trails Detroit by four points for the last playoff spot with a game in hand after going 4-1-0 in its last five contests.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Tampa Bay), CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (39-22-4): Alex Killorn scored the game-winner in the 4-3 overtime victory over Carolina on Saturday and has collected three goals in his last five contests while on a line with captain Steven Stamkos (team-high 29 goals) and Ryan Callahan. Andrej Sustr (undisclosed) and Braydon Coburn (lower body) are day-to-day, so the Lightning recalled fellow defenseman Slater Koekkoek to add depth. Ben Bishop has won six straight games, allowing a total of nine goals, while backup Andrei Vasilevskiy is 9-1-0 in his last 10 decisions.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (30-23-11): Former Lightning defenseman Radko Gudas produced a career-high four points and in the 6-0 victory over Columbus on Saturday as Philadelphia rebounded from a disappointing loss to Edmonton. Giroux leads the team with 55 points while the Flyers still are awaiting the return of Jakub Voracek (48), who has missed four games with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, a Florida native, has notched one point in his last six games after registering at least one in the previous 15.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia D Mark Streit, who has recorded five points in his last five games, is slated to make his 700th NHL appearance Monday.
2. Tampa Bay D Anton Stralman has registered four assists and a plus-7 rating in his last five contests.
3. The Lightning have won seven of the last eight meetings, including a 3-2 overtime triumph at home in the season opener on Oct. 8.