Penguins at Flyers
The Pittsburgh Penguins are knocking on the door of the Metropolitan Division's penthouse on the strength of a six-game point streak (5-0-1) while the Philadelphia Flyers nearly have knocked themselves out of the race for the final wild-card in the Eastern Conference with losses in 11 of their last 16 contests (5-9-2). Captain Sidney Crosby and the Penguins look to continue their dominance of the fading Flyers on Wednesday when the Keystone State rivals reconvene at the Wells Fargo Center in snowy Philadelphia.
Crosby netted his NHL-leading 35th goal in Monday's 4-3 shootout loss to white-hot Calgary and added an assist to increase his point total to seven (one goal, six assists) in his last six games since Conor Sheary returned from injury. Crosby has ravaged Philadelphia during his decorated career (36 goals, 48 assists in 57 games) and this season has been no different, as the two-time Hart Trophy winner tallied twice in Pittsburgh's 5-4 victory on Oct. 29 and also scored at Heinz Field to highlight a 4-2 triumph on Feb. 25. While the Penguins are keeping the heat on first-place Washington in the Metropolitan, the division-rival Flyers dropped their third straight with a 5-3 setback to Columbus on Monday - damaging their already diminishing chances of a second straight postseason berth. "You turn a page and move forward, that's just how it is," Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol said. "... The bottom line is you make a choice, and that choice right now is that we have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get ready for a game here on Wednesday night."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TVAS, NHL.TV
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (43-16-9): Like Crosby, fellow former Hart Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin has enjoyed a surge since the return of Sheary as he recorded his seventh goal and 10th point in the last six games on Monday. The 30-year-old Russian tallied twice in the first encounter versus Philadelphia before adding an assist in the second, increasing his point total to 63 (24 goals, 39 assists) in 49 career meetings. As for Sheary, the 24-year-old sparkplug scored and set up a goal on Monday for his fourth multi-point performance in the last five games.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (31-29-8): Travis Konecny recorded his first two-goal performance on Monday, but the rookie's night was soured after he found himself in the penalty box on the Blue Jackets' go-ahead goal in the third period. "It's kind of the only thing on my mind right now. I kind of let the game get to me," the 20-year-old Konecny told Philly.com. "... It was a stupid penalty by me and honestly I put the game in my hands there. It's unacceptable." Fellow forward Brayden Schenn, who ended the Flyers' 1-for-19 funk with the man advantage by netting his NHL-best 15th power-play goal, has notched an assist in both encounters this season against Pittsburgh.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia captain Claude Giroux, who has scored and set up a goal versus Pittsburgh this season, has one tally and three assists on his current four-game point streak.
2. Penguins D Mark Streit was taken to the hospital after sustaining a lower-body injury against the Flames, leaving his availability in doubt for Wednesday's tilt versus his former team.
3. The Flyers have yielded seven power-play goals in the last five games overall and two to the Penguins this season.