PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Flyers forward Vincent Lecavalier had been hoping to be shifted back to his natural center position. He'll get his wish Friday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but not quite the way he wanted.

Lecavalier will center the Flyers' fourth line, flanked by left wing Zac Rinaldo and right wing Adam Hall.

Two days after a 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers, their second straight, the Flyers switched three of their four forward lines.

Lecavalier had been playing left wing on the second line, centered by Brayden Schenn. Coach Craig Berube easily could have flipped Lecavalier and Schenn but opted to move Lecavalier completely.

"I didn't want to move [Schenn] out of that position right now," Berube said. "It wasn't working where it was, so I put him in the middle there. That's where we're going to start right now."

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Flyers will end one of their more impressive recent homestands Monday against the Los Angeles Kings.

They won their first three games, beating the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues; when you add in their sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins the previous weekend, that's five straight wins against top-level opposition.

The focus Monday is to finish this stretch as strongly as possible.

"It's really big," Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. "We've been playing good teams and L.A. is up there [in the standings]. The way they play, they play a physical game defensively. I think if we're not responsible defensively they're going to score a lot of goals on us. We have to make sure we're responsible like we've been the last few games.

PHILADELPHIA -- The St. Louis Blues will have their second chance to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs when they play the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.

The Blues can get in by picking up at least one point against the Flyers. They also can get in if the Ottawa Senators beat the Dallas Stars in any fashion or the Boston Bruins beat the Phoenix Coyotes in any fashion later Saturday.

Defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo, a healthy scratch the past five games, will return to the lineup Saturday for St. Louis. Colaiacovo's last played March 9, when he had a goal in 12:21 of ice time against the Minnesota Wild.

PHILADELPHIA -- Looking for a way to enliven his team's offense, Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff will use rookie right wing Alex Chiasson on the top line alongside center Tyler Seguin and left wing Jamie Benn on Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Chiasson has 12 goals and 29 points in 65 games, but two of those goals have come in the past four games.

"He competes, he drives to the net hard, he's standing in front," Seguin said of Chiasson. "Playing against teams like Philly, you need to be competing, you need to be battling, you need to be getting into the dirty areas, and Chiasson does that."

It won't be the first time Ruff has put Chiasson with Seguin and Benn.

"We've tried a couple times throughout the year," Chiasson said, "and to be honest it hasn't worked really well. Let's hope that [Thursday] maybe something changes.

PHILADELPHIA -- It's been nearly four years since his Stanley Cup-winning goal here at Wells Fargo Center, but for Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane there's still something magical about coming to Philadelphia.

"Kind of cool to be back and remember what happened," Kane said after the Blackhawks' morning skate, which featured a toned-down re-creation of his goal celebration after he scored in overtime of Game 6 of the 2010 Cup Final. "It was a long time ago, but feels like it was just yesterday."

PHILADELPHIA -- The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without forward Chris Kunitz when they open a home-and-home weekend set against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at Wells Fargo Center.

Kunitz sat out practice after sustaining a lower-body injury in the third period of the Penguins' 2-0 win Tuesday against the Washington Capitals. He skated Friday but was ruled unavailable Saturday.

Replacing Kunitz will be Taylor Pyatt, who will skate alongside center Sidney Crosby and right wing Lee Stempniak.

The Penguins also are without forward James Neal, who this week was ruled out indefinitely because of a concussion.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled forward Chris VandeVelde from Adirondack of the American Hockey League, and he'll play Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils.

VandeVelde will replace Zac Rinaldo on the fourth line, where he'll play left wing alongside center Michael Raffl and right wing Adam Hall. He is also likely to see time on the penalty kill. The Flyers announced Rinaldo is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

In 17 NHL games this season, VandeVelde has one assist, a minus-3 rating and eight shots on goal. In 39 AHL games, he has nine goals and 14 assists.

PHILADELPHIA -- For New Jersey Devils coach Peter DeBoer, no player needed the break during the 2014 Sochi Olympics more than center Adam Henrique.

Whatever Henrique did certainly is paying dividends now. He has at least a goal in all six games since play resumed, an NHL-best nine goals since the break ended, and his 11 points are tied with Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen for most in the League.

Henrique's six-game goal streak has tied a Devils record, and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, he's the first Devils player since John MacLean in December 1988 to score at least nine goals in a six-game span.

"I think we probably overplayed some people, including him, the first half of the year, dealing with injuries and some things," DeBoer said. "I think he got a little bit fatigued. I think the break helped him as much or more than anybody recharge and come back with a little more jump, which has helped."

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday traded defenseman Andrej Meszaros to the Boston Bruins for a conditional third-round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft.

The pick would become a second-round selection if the Bruins reach the Eastern Conference Final and Meszaros plays two-thirds of their Stanley Cup Playoff games, or if he is re-signed before the draft. Meszaros can become an unrestricted free agent after the season. If the Bruins fail to reach the conference final and Meszaros signs after the draft, the Flyers will get the Bruins' fourth-round pick in 2015.

Meszaros, who can become an unrestricted free agent after the season, became expendable when the Flyers acquired defenseman Andrew MacDonald from the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals each will welcome a new face into the lineup when they take the ice Wednesday at Wells Fargo Center (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN2).

Defenseman Andrew MacDonald, acquired by the Flyers on Tuesday from the New York Islanders, will make his debut. Forward Dustin Penner, picked up Tuesday in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks, also will play.

Philadelphia coach Craig Berube said MacDonald would start the game paired with Luke Schenn at even strength and could see time at the point on the second power play.

"He adds skating, puck moving," Berube said. "He's a good two-way defenseman. ... Gets back to pucks quick, moves the puck, gets up the ice and he defends well."