Flyers at Wild
The Minnesota Wild put forth a quick-strike performance to get back on track following a season-high five-game skid while the Philadelphia Flyers just can't find the right path on the road. With just two wins in their last nine contests, the Wild look to secure a postseason berth for the fifth consecutive season on Thursday with a victory over the Flyers.
"We've been playing pretty good hockey, just not ending up in the win column, so it was nice to end up on that side (Tuesday)," said veteran forward Zach Parise, who ran his assist streak to three games after setting up a pair of goals in a 3-2 triumph over San Jose. The 32-year-old has flustered the Flyers throughout his career with 38 points (19 goals, 19 assists) in 44 encounters, but sat out Minnesota's 3-2 loss in Philadelphia on Nov. 12 with a lower-body injury. While the Wild's bounce-back effort moved them within six points of first-place Chicago with a game in hand, the Flyers' struggles on the road have pushed the team eight points behind Boston for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia suffered its fourth straight loss away from the City of Brotherly Love and fell to 4-15-3 in its last 22 road games with a 3-2 setback in Winnipeg on Tuesday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN Wisconsin, FSN North (Minnesota), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE FLYERS (33-31-8): Steve Mason played well in relief of Michal Neuvirth in the first encounter versus Minnesota, stopping 19 of 20 shots to pick up the win. The 28-year-old hasn't fared as well of late by permitting at least three goals in four of his last five outings (2-3-0), and frustration appears to be coming to the forefront. "We need a better effort," Mason said of Philadelphia, which has dropped five of seven to put their bid of a second straight postseason berth in jeopardy. "We keep playing like this and we'll be mathematically eliminated before you know it. We've got to stop this win-one-lose-one (habit). We have to have some growth on the team here."
ABOUT THE WILD (44-22-6): Devan Dubnyk hopes to have put a painful stretch in his rear-view mirror after recording his career-high 37th victory on Tuesday, matching Niklas Backstrom's franchise record for wins in a season. "It's been waiting for a while. It felt like a long month," the 30-year-old Dubnyk told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune after ending a five-game skid and 1-7-0 mark, during which he allowed 22 goals on 176 shots. Dubnyk, whose win total trails Columbus' Sergei Bobrovsky, fell to 2-4-1 in his career versus Philadelphia with a 2.72 goals-against average despite making 33 saves in the first encounter this season.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia C Brayden Schenn has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in eight career meetings with Minnesota and has five (three goals, two assists) in his last five games overall.
2. The Wild have not yielded a power-play goal in 11 straight home contests while the Flyers have surrendered at least one in eight of their past nine overall.
3. Philadelphia captain Claude Giroux has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his last eight games.