Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Pittsburgh Penguins (26-12-6, 58 points) and Philadelphia Flyers (18-22-7, 43 points) face-off for the second of four meetings this season live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The game can be live streamed for free here. Pittsburgh fans can hear all of the action WXDX 105.9 while Philadelphia fans can do the same on 97.5 The Fanatic.
Pittsburgh has lost two straight games heading into play while Philadelphia has dropped three of its last four matches and opens up a five-game homestand that will be interrupted by the All-Star break.
The Penguins are in second place in the Metropolitan Division and sit five points behind the first place New York Islanders while the Flyers are in sixth place in the division and trail the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference by 11 points.
The first time these two teams met, Philadelphia topped Pittsburgh 5-3 back on Oct. 22.
The Penguins are coming in off of a 6-3 loss to the Islanders on Friday that was followed up by a 5-2 defeat to the New York Rangers on Sunday.
"How you deal with it and how you respond is really key. We need a big response this week," coach Mike Johnston said after the Rangers game, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "We've got two really tough games [against the Flyers and home against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday]. You look down the stretch, every game is a tough game. Every team is battling for playoff position, battling for playoff spots."
Sidney Crosby picked up a goal in the latest win to bring his Pittsburgh-leading point total to 51 points, which ranks third in the NHL. Crosby has found the twine 15 times this season and is second in the league with 36 assists.
Evgeni Malkin is second on the Penguins and tied for fourth in the NHL with 50 points off of 19 markers and 31 helpers thus far this season.
The Flyers skate for the second straight day after a 7-4 matinee loss to the New York Islanders on Monday.
"I don't think our record shows how good of a team we are," Claude Giroux said after the game via NHL.com. "If we start playing like we can play we're going to start winning games."
Giroux ranks second on Philadelphia with 50 points and 35 assists this season, which ranks him tied for fourth and in sole possession of third place in those categories, respectfully.
Jakub Voracek has been a force for the Flyers this season, pacing the entire NHL with 55 points and 38 assists while lighting the lamp 17 times.
In net, Philadelphia is likely to turn to Ray Emery and he is 7-9-1 with a 3.37 goals-against average and a .886 save percentage this season. 33-year-old rookie Rob Zepp could also get the nod after struggling against New York Monday.
Pittsburgh is likely to counter with Marc-Andre Fleury in the crease and he is 22-9-4 thus far with a 2.33 GAA and a .921 save percentage while pacing the league with six shutouts.
It's the battle of Pennsylvania when the puck drops on the Penguins and Flyers tonight live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
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