Canucks at Flyers
The positive vibes accumulated during a 10-game winning streak are all but gone for the Philadelphia Flyers, who have dropped nine of their last 11 (2-6-3) to loosen their tenuous grasp on the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. With just 18 goals scored in that span, the Flyers look to provide workhorse goaltender Steve Mason with some offensive support on Thursday when they host the Vancouver Canucks.
"That win streak seems like a long time ago right now," Mason told Philly.com on the heels of making his 24th start in 27 contests in a lackluster 4-1 loss to Buffalo on Tuesday. Philadelphia saw its road losing skid extend to seven games (0-5-2) with four of its next five contests slated away from home following its date versus Vancouver. As for the Canucks, they have answered a season-high six-game winning streak with back-to-back losses to begin their three-game road trip. Defenseman Alex Edler, who will be play in his 650th career contest on Thursday, is riding a three-game assist streak after setting up Brandon Sutter's goal in a 2-1 overtime loss to Nashville on Tuesday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (20-19-4): Special teams have plagued Vancouver throughout the season, although an 0-for-3 performance on the power play versus the Predators while allowing a short-handed goal weighed heavily on coach Willie Desjardins. "I thought at the start of the year we were going to win on the power play, but it just hasn't gone so far," Desjardins said of the Canucks' 27th-ranked effort (13.7 percent) with the man advantage. Vancouver is just 2-for-17 on the power play since New Year's Eve heading into its tilt with Philadelphia, which has thwarted 8-of-9 short-handed situations during the same span.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (21-16-6): Brayden Schenn scored for the second straight game and recorded his seventh point (four goals, three assists) in as many outings on Tuesday. Sixteen (nine goals, seven assists) of Schenn's 28 points have come via the power play, matching the 25-year-old with captain Claude Giroux for the most on the team with the man advantage. Philadelphia's power play has shown a modicum of improvement as it is 3-for-13 in the last five games after a dismal 1-for-21 stretch in the previous eight.
OVERTIME
1. Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin, who has 21 points (three goals, 18 assists) in 17 career meetings with Philadelphia, has been held off the scoresheet in four straight games overall to remain four points shy of reaching 1,000.
2. Mason turned aside all 36 shots he faced in his last encounter with the Canucks in a 2-0 win on Dec. 17, 2015.
3. Sutter has answered a six-game run of being held off the scoresheet by collecting two goals and an assist in his last five contests.