2. WHAT ARE YOU BRUIN'?
The Bruins have dropped two of their last three games, but have won three straight road games coming into tonight... In addition, the B's have been one of the NHL's hottest teams by going 6-1-1 in their last eight, as well as 9-3-1 in their last 13 games over the last month of play... The Bruins have given up the second-fewest goals in the NHL (119), trailing only the NY Islanders (117) and are third in goals-against on a per-game basis, allowing an average of 2.59 GAA.
3. SOMEBODY CALL A DOCTOR
Entering tonight, the Flyers have had seven goaltenders appear in a game, which ties an NHL record, and have had 71 man-games lost due to goaltender injuries... The Bruins have had 123 man-games lost due to injured defensemen entering tonight, and have dressed 12 defensemen so far this season, which is tied for the most of any team this season (DAL, EDM & OTT)... By comparison, the Flyers have dressed just seven defensemen all season long, which is the least among any NHL team this season.
4. WHEN LAST WE MET
The last two times these teams met have featured a pair of goals from the captains... Tonight is the second of a three-game season series with the B's earning a 3-0 win at Boston with a pair of goals from Zdeno Chara in the first meeting back in October... It's the first and only meeting at the Wells Fargo Center this year - the last time these two teams met in Philly, the Flyers earned a 4-3 OT win on a pair of goals, including a highlight-reel OT winner, from Claude Giroux... Despite the win, the Flyers have currently dropped five of their last six against Boston... Tonight's game matches two of the most penalized teams in the NHL against each other - the Bruins are ranked 30th at an average of 10 PIMs per-game while the Flyers are 29th with 9.9 PIMs per-game.
5. PLAYERS TO WATCH:
FLYERS (LW: #25 - James van Riemsdyk)
With goals in three straight games, van Riemsdyk will be looking for a new career-high with goals in four straight tonight... He has also had multi-point games with five goals and seven points in his last three contests... van Riemsdyk also leads the Flyers over the course of their last 20 games (since Dec. 8) in goal-scoring, posting 10 of his 11 total goals in that stretch.
BRUINS (LW: #63 - Brad Marchand)
Marchand leads the team in assists (32) and is second in points (49)... His +185 plus/minus rating since the 2010-11 season leads all NHL players as well as in shorthanded goals (23) and shorthanded points (35)... Marchand went scoreless in the first game of the series this year, but has still posted five goals and nine points in his last seven games against the Flyers... Overall, he has 11 goals and 22 points in 29 games against Philadelphia.
