Penguins at Flyers
After a scintillating 13-3-2 run had the Philadelphia Flyers sitting pretty for a potential postseason berth, Dave Hakstol's charges fell on the wrong side of the playoff picture following a third straight setback - to the league's worst club, no less. Locked in a three-team battle for the final two spots, Philadelphia remains in control of its own destiny headed into Saturday's home game versus the white-hot Pittsburgh Penguins.
Despite trailing both Detroit and Boston by one point, the Flyers can secure a playoff berth with victories over the Penguins and New York Islanders (on Sunday) - although perhaps one win is all that's needed should the Red Wings and/or Bruins lose in regulation earlier on Saturday. "If you would've told us two months ago (that) we'd be in this position, we'd take it," captain Claude Giroux told Philly.com on the heels of Thursday's 4-3 setback to Toronto. Pittsburgh has won a season-best eight in a row and 14 of 15 en route to clinching second place in the Metropolitan and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Penguins, however, could rest some of their studs on Saturday as opposed to putting their best foot forward toward completing a four-game season sweep of their Keystone State rivals.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBC
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (48-25-8): Captain Sidney Crosby and defenseman Kris Letang are each riding eight-game point streaks, with the former scoring five goals and setting up four others while the latter has two tallies and 10 assists in that run. Crosby, who scored in overtime in a 4-3 win over Washington on Thursday, has also recorded five points (two goals, three assists) in the season series versus the Flyers. As for Letang, he has scored a goal, set up two others and is a plus-5 in the three contests with Philadelphia.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (39-27-13): Hakstol may have a dilemma on his hands as he could send workhorse goaltender Steve Mason to the crease for his 12th consecutive start and 17th in 18 outings on Saturday or have a presumably healthy Michal Neuvirth in goal after a 23-day absence. The 27-year-old Mason has struggled versus Pittsburgh this season, posting an 0-3-0 mark with a 4.03 goals-against average and .897 save percentage. Neuvirth, who had been sidelined with a knee injury, served as Mason's backup on Thursday - allowing Philadelphia to shuffle fellow netminder Anthony Stolarz back to Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh C Matt Cullen, who had two goals on Thursday, has recorded 16 (eight goals, eight assists) of his 32 points this season against Metropolitan Division representatives.
2. Philadelphia is 0-for-10 on the power play during its three-game losing skid.
3. The Penguins, who have won a franchise-best eight in a row on the road, are vying for their first season sweep of the Flyers since 2006-07.