Flyers at Lightning
The Philadelphia Flyers enjoyed four days off before facing a critical six-game stretch that begins with a visit to the Sunshine State to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday. The Flyers have won five of six, including a 4-2 triumph Monday against the Lightning, to move within three points of Pittsburgh for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with one game in hand.
After Philadelphia attempts to snap an eight-game losing streak at Tampa Bay, it visits Florida, hosts Detroit, goes to Chicago, hosts Pittsburgh and visits the New York Islanders in succession. “This is what players play for, to be in a meaningful position,” Flyers goaltender Steve Mason told reporters. “There are only a few weeks left in the regular season, and we’ve put ourselves in a position to kind of control our own fate, and that’s a fun spot to be in, for sure.” The Lightning have dropped two straight (0-1-1) after winning nine in a row and are comfortably in a playoff spot for now. Tampa Bay could also get top-four defensemen Braydon Coburn (lower body) and Anton Stralman (illness) back in the lineup.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (31-23-11): Mason, who beat Tampa Bay on Monday with 16 saves as the Flyers held a 40-18 edge in shots, is expected in net Friday and Michal Neuvirth is likely to get the start at Florida on Saturday. Second-leading scorer Jakub Voracek (lower body), who has missed five games, could return next week and many have stepped up to pick up the slack. Captain Claude Giroux (team-best 57 points) has two goals and nine assists over the last seven games and Brayden Schenn boasts 16 points in the past 13 contests.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (39-23-5): Tampa Bay’s inconsistent power play is going through another rough stretch after an 0-for-4 effort in a 1-0 overtime loss to Boston on Tuesday, and is scoreless in 12 opportunities over the last five games. Captain Steven Stamkos has cooled off after a red-hot stretch, remaining one shy of his fifth season with at least 30 goals and is two points behind leading scorer Nikita Kucherov (54). Ben Bishop will likely be in net after going 6-1-0 in the last seven games and surrendering only 10 goals in that span.
OVERTIME
1. Tampa Bay LW Ondrej Palat has recorded four of his 11 goals in the past four games.
2. Philadelphia D Shayne Gostisbehere, a Florida native, scored his 13th and 14th goals of the season against the Lightning on Monday.
3. The Flyers have points in three straight games (2-0-1) after losing six in a row overall to Tampa Bay.