Stars at Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers look to win eight in a row for the first time in 14 years on Saturday afternoon when they conclude a three-game homestand versus the Dallas Stars. Coach Dave Hakstol's charges have scored and allowed goals at an alarming pace this season -- with an NHL third-best 3.21 per game on offense and league third-worst 3.10 on defense -- Thursday's wild 6-5 victory over Edmonton provided a snapshot of the Flyers' fortunes at both ends of the ice.
"Right now, the team's just rolling and we're winning," said captain Claude Giroux, who scored two goals and set up another versus the Oilers and is a plus-10 during the team's winning streak. "It's not one guy on the ice, it's five guys, and now it's working, so we've got to keep going." Dallas' traditional high-octane offense has struggled to get into gear this season (16th-ranked 2.57 goals per game), but coach Lindy Ruff gave his club a shot in the arm by pairing captain Jamie Benn with fellow superstar Tyler Seguin and veteran Jason Spezza on Thursday. "I'll keep anything together that works," Ruff said after the trio collected eight points in a 5-2 win over Nashville. "It's good to see all those guys get a goal."
TV: 1 p.m. ET, SN1, FSN Southwest (Dallas), CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE STARS (11-11-6): Seguin isn't shy about shooting the puck and the 24-year-old is starting to be rewarded with three power-play goals in his last four games and seven points (three goals, four assists) in his last six overall. Seguin admitted to having "fun" on Thursday and could continue to be entertained on Saturday afternoon versus Philadelphia, against which he has recorded 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 16 career encounters. The offense is always a welcome sight in Dallas, which - like Philadelphia - is yielding goals at a staggering clip (league-high 3.18 per contest).
ABOUT THE FLYERS (16-10-3): Jakub Voracek is doing his best to keep pace with Giroux, scoring a goal and setting up three others on Thursday to increase his point total to 11 (three goals, eight assists) in the past seven games. The 27-year-old Voracek has done the majority of his damage at home, with nine of his 10 goals and 19 of his team co-leading 28 points being recorded in the City of Brotherly Love. The offensive outbursts have been welcome by Steve Mason, who has yielded 14 goals en route to winning six straight contests - although he could give way to fellow netminder Anthony Stolarz with Philadelphia visiting Detroit on Sunday.
OVERTIME
1. Dallas owns an 0-3-2 mark versus Eastern Conference representatives.
2. Philadelphia D Shayne Gostisbehere has notched a power-play assist in three straight games.
3. Dallas activated veteran Jiri Hudler (illness) from injured reserve on Friday and assigned fellow F Jason Dickinson to Texas of the American Hockey League.