Red Wings at Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are banking that the team's sizzling play and a little home cooking can help close the gap in their pursuit of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. With 13 points in their last eight contests (6-1-1), the Flyers look to cut into the three-point lead of the team they are chasing when they host the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
Philadelphia has won 10 consecutive games when Detroit pays a visit to the City of Brotherly Love, and the Flyers also fared well by posting a 2-1 shootout victory over the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena on Jan. 17. Captain Claude Giroux scored in both regulation and the bonus format in Detroit but was held off the scoresheet in Philadelphia's 3-1 win over Tampa Bay on Friday and a 5-4 shootout loss to Florida the following night. The Flyers received some unexpected help from 30th-ranked Toronto, which recorded a 1-0 upset of Detroit on Sunday and gave Philadelphia two games in hand over the Red Wings. Petr Mrazek made 26 saves to suffer the hard-luck setback versus the Maple Leafs and has yielded just five goals on 77 shots in his last three games.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, FSN Detroit, CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (34-21-11): Forward Anthony Mantha, who was the 20th overall pick of the 2013 draft, was recalled from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League on Monday and is expected to make his NHL debut versus Philadelphia. A two-time 50-goal scorer in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Mantha will become the 900th player in history to suit up for the Red Wings. The 21-year-old Mantha, who is 6-5, 200-plus pounds, has collected 21 goals in 56 contests this season with the Griffins and hopes to give Detroit's ailing offense (2.48 goals per game) a jolt.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (32-23-12): Injured forward Jakub Voracek is confident that Philadelphia is going to close the gap and overcome either Detroit or Pittsburgh for one of the wild-card spots. "I would say we are the hottest team out of the three," Voracek told the Courier Post after briefly testing his injured left foot with some light skating on Monday. "We are very good and I'm pretty positive they know that we are playing well. The way we are confident right now, we don't have to be worried about it." Five of the Flyers' 15 remaining regular-season games are against the Red Wings and Penguins, who are four points ahead of Philadelphia.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia's Michal Neuvirth could be in line to make the start versus Detroit after turning aside 29 shots in the previous meeting. Fellow G Steve Mason likely would get the nod against Chicago on Wednesday.
2. Detroit has lost eight of its last 10 road games (2-6-2).
3. The Flyers are 8-for-32 on the power play in their last eight contests and have permitted just three tallies while short-handed in the last 10.