Panthers (12-11-3 27P) at Flyers (14-10-3 31P)
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- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET – LBC GameThread right here at 6:30ish
- WHERE: Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA
- ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Florida, CSN Philadelphia
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM, 640 WMEN
- GOODIES: Panthers Holiday Plan deal (more)
- SOCIALS: #FlaPanthers, #NHLFlyers, #FLAvsPHI, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Broad Street Hockey
- SB NATION: Game Feature Hub
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 2 of 3 (0-1-0)
- ALL-TIME vs PHI (RS): 34W-44L-7T 2OTL 3SOL 244GF 264GA
- ALL-TIME at PHI (RS): 19W-19L-6T 1OTL 0SOL 110GF 116GA
- LAST FIVE vs PHI (RS): 3-2-0 15GF 10GA
- LAST MEETING: PHI 3 at FLA 1 (Todd’s Recap) – 11/22/2016
- NEXT MEETING: Thursday 03/02/2017 in Philly
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Reimer (3-4-1 .896/3.05 0SO), Mason (9-8-3 .904/2.76 0SO)
- TALE OF THE TAPE via Left Wing Lock
- JAGR WATCH: All-time vs PHI (RS): 97GP 47G-73A 120P +31 9GWG
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Philadelphia/
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Scouting Report:
Thanks to the stellar play of goaltender Steve Mason, the Philadelphia Flyers enter Tuesday night’s game against the banged-up Florida Panthers on a five-game winning streak, their longest since March 15-22, 2014 when Craig Berube was behind the bench.
After struggling through the first month of the season, Mason has won four in a row, sporting a much-improved 1.71 goals-against average and .945 save percentage.
“His play over the last stretch has been outstanding and he’s been a strong anchor for us,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol told CSNPhilly.com. “His confidence kind of goes hand-in-hand with our team’s confidence. They both feed off one another. You can see that throughout our entire game.”
As a result the Flyers (14-10-3, 31 points) have moved within four points of the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers (17-8-1, 35 points).
Conversely, the injury-depleted Panthers are struggling to stay afloat under general manager-turned coach Tom Rowe. Florida dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Bruins in Boston Monday night and lost veteran defenseman Keith Yandle to a lower body injury. Hard-nosed defenseman Dylan McIlrath, acquired from the Rangers last month, is expected to take Yandle’s place in the lineup against the Flyers. (More via Yahoo! Sports/AP)
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Last game for the Cats: 4-3 (OT) loss at Boston on Monday. Past five: 1-2-2 (streak: 2L)
Last game for the Flyers: 4-2 road victory over Nashville Sunday. Past five: 5-0-0 (streak: 5W)
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Tuesday in the Atlantic Division (Standings / Panthers Playoff Chances):
- Edmonton (14-10-3 31P) at BUFFALO (9-10-6 24P), 7:00
- MONTREAL (17-6-2 36P) at St. Louis (14-7-4 32P), 8:00
- DETROIT (12-11-3 27P) at Winnipeg (13-13-2 28P), 8:00
- Idle: OTW (32P), BOS (31P), TB (30P), TOR (25P)/
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