Five games are scheduled for Tuesday night in the NHL.
The lone 7 p.m. start features the
Pittsburgh Penguins and the
Philadelphia Flyers at the Wachovia Center.
Thirty minutes later the
Tampa Bay Lightning will play the
Montreal Canadiens, and the
Calgary Flames start a three-game Southeast swing at the
Florida Panthers.
Later, the resurgent
St. Louis Blues will play host to the
Edmonton Oilers.
Capping the night, the defensive-oriented
Minnesota Wild face off against the
San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion.
Here are some things to keep an eye on:
* The Penguins are coming back to Pennsylvania; but they still are on the road. Pittsburgh is completing its four-game road trip - which included stops in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver – in the City of Brotherly Love. Pittsburgh has won its last four games, which has elevated the Penguins into the Atlantic Division title race.
* After winning their first six home games, the Flyers have lost their last five, which has kept Philadelphia from first place in the Atlantic Division. The Flyers are three points behind the first-place
New Jersey Devils, but Philadelphia has three games in hand on New Jersey and the second-place
New York Rangers.
* The Canadiens are 1-2 since goaltender
Cristobal Huet went down with a groin injury Dec. 3. Highly-touted rookie
Carey Price was replaced on Saturday night by
Jaroslav Halak after allowing four goals on 30 shots against the
Carolina Hurricanes.
* Montreal is 5-6-3 at home, but its road record of 9-5-1 has kept the club’s playoff hopes afloat.
* Tampa Bay center
Vincent Lecavalier has a League-leading 45 points in 30 games. He had a four-game point-scoring streak stopped Monday night in the Lightning’s 6-1 loss to Toronto.
* The Flames look to get to .500 on the road, where they are 5-6-1. Calgary got off to a good start on its six-game road trip with a 3-2 victory Sunday against the
Chicago Blackhawks.
* The Flames are 2-0-2 in December and goalie
Miikka Kiprusoff has allowed five goals on 94 shots during the last three games.
* The Panthers trail the second-place Lightning and
Atlanta Thrashers by two points in the Southeast Division.
* The Oilers will attempt to stop a three-game losing streak. Edmonton did come away with a point in its 5-4 overtime loss to the
Dallas Stars on Monday night.
* The Blues have gone 43-28-10 since Andy Murray took the coaching duties last season.
* St. Louis has only allowed more than three goals just twice this season and sits in second place in the Central Division. The Blues have 33 points, one point ahead of the third-place
Columbus Blue Jackets and three ahead of the
Nashville Predators and
Chicago Blackhawks.
* Blues defenseman
Bryce Salvador leads the club with a plus-13 rating.
*
Brad Boyes has flourished in his first full season in St. Louis. Boyes leads the Blues with 17 goals and is second on the club with 24 points.
* Minnesota is in the midst of a five-game road trip. During the trip, the Wild were shut out by the
Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena, 5-0, Friday and defeated the Blue Jackets, 2-1, at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.
* Wild forward
Aaron Voros, who has played in 14 games, has five goals on 25 shots.
* San Jose goalie
Evgeni Nabokov had his four-game winning streak snapped Saturday in a 7-1 loss to the
Buffalo Sabres. Nabokov was replaced with rookie
Dimitri Patzold after giving up four goals on 25 shots. The appearance was Patzold’s third of the season.
* The Sharks have a 4-6-2 record at HP Pavilion, but have an 11-3-2 record on the road. San Jose trails the Pacific Division-leading
Dallas Stars by two points but has played three fewer games. The Sharks are tied with the
Anaheim Ducks for second place in the division, but San Jose has played four fewer games.