Flyers at Canucks
The fading Philadelphia Flyers attempt to halt a three-game road slide and salvage the finale of their three-game trip when they visit the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. Philadelphia began the trek with losses in Calgary and Edmonton and has dropped five of its last six overall (1-4-1) to fall to sixth place in the race for the two wild cards in the Eastern Conference.
The Flyers, whose 6-3 setback against the Oilers on Thursday marked the first time in six games they scored more than two goals, are only three points behind Boston for the second wild-card spot but have three teams between themselves and the Bruins. Vancouver is looking to post consecutive wins for the first time in a month after edging the Flames 2-1 in overtime Saturday. Defenseman Chris Tanev scored his first goal of the season 34 seconds into the extra session as the Canucks climbed within four points of Calgary for the second wild card in the West. Vancouver has not posted back-to-back victories since wrapping up a three-game homestand with triumphs over Nashville and Florida on Jan. 17 and 20, respectively.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, RSN360 (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (27-24-7): Jordan Weal will miss Sunday's game after suffering an upper-body injury in the loss at Edmonton and will be examined when the team returns to Philadelphia. Weal's lineup spot will be filled by Dale Weise, who has gone seven games without a point. The 28-year-old Weise has recorded only two goals in 46 contests during his first season in Philadelphia, scoring on back-to-back nights in the Sunshine State on Nov. 22 against Florida and Nov. 23 at Tampa Bay.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (26-27-6): Bo Horvat was kept off the scoresheet Saturday, ending his three-game point streak during which he registered three goals and two assists. The 19-year-old leads Vancouver with 39 points — four more than captain Henrik Sedin, who has recorded only three over his last 10 contests. Sven Baertschi is two goals away from matching the career high of 15 he set last season and two points shy of eclipsing the mark of 28 he recorded in 2015-16.
OVERTIME
1. Canucks RW Alex Burrows is seven goals and nine assists away from the 200 mark in each category.
2. Flyers RW Matt Read will be playing in his 400th NHL game and needs three assists for 100 in his career.
3. Baertschi leads Vancouver with five game-winning goals in 50 contests after recording just one in his first 130 NHL games.