Oilers at Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are faced with a formidable task if they wish to match their longest winning streak in nearly five years. Winners of six in a row, the Flyers will do their best to slow down the high-flying Connor McDavid and the visiting Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
"That's quite a challenge, but we'll definitely watch some video today and maybe pick up on some of his tendencies," veteran defenseman Andrew MacDonald told Philly.com on Wednesday. "I think collectively, as a five-man group, there's got to be really good gaps all over the ice." NHL First Star of the Week Steve Mason has done well in cleaning up loose ends during the team's winning streak, turning aside 42 shots in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime victory over Florida to improve to 5-0-0 with a 1.74 goals-against average and .947 save percentage during the stretch. Mason will be put to the test by the 19-year-old McDavid, who increased his league-leading point total to 36 with two assists in Edmonton's 4-3 overtime loss in Buffalo on Tuesday. Linemate Leon Draisaitl scored his fourth goal in four games and matched McDavid for the team lead with 11 tallies on the season, with eight coming on the road.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet (Edmonton), CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE OILERS (14-10-4): Milan Lucic is a tough guy by any standard, but the burly forward admitted that Edmonton's stretch of 18 games in 32 days likely will take a toll on the club. "It definitely is a grind. Usually you don't feel a grind like this until February or March," Lucic said. "... It sounds like a lot and it is a lot. Your body does take a toll mentally and physically, but you've got to take it one game at a time, one period at a time." Cam Talbot yielded four goals on Tuesday but looks to bounce back versus Philadelphia, against which he posted three shutout victories in five career meetings.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (15-10-3): Wayne Simmonds highlighted his second straight two-goal performance and 28th career on Tuesday by recording his league-best eighth power-play goal. "I'm playing with great linemates, great teammates. It's definitely not all me," said the 28-year-old Simmonds, who saw captain Claude Giroux pick up his 10th assist with the man advantage to tie McDavid - among others - for the league lead in that category. The Flyers have scored three power-play goals in the last two games to increase their total to an NHL-best 24 this season.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia's winning streak is its longest since it posted seven consecutive victories from Dec. 2-15, 2011.
2. Edmonton followed an 0-for-12 stretch on the power play in the final three games of November with a blistering 6-for-13 stretch this month.
3. The Flyers will honor some of the top goaltenders in franchise history on Thursday with Bernie Parent, Ron Hextall, Pete Peeters and Brian Boucher in attendance. The fiancee of the late Pelle Lindbergh, Kerstin Pietsch-Somnell, also is expected to be on hand.