1. HOME SWEET HOME
The Flyers return home after spending four of their first five away from the Wells Fargo Center... They will now play three of their next four games on home ice... Last season, the Flyers dropped all three games in Western Canada and bounced back to win their first game at home... The Flyers have won four of their last six in their first home game after facing all three Western Canada teams and an even better record when returning home from facing at least one Western Canada team on a lengthy trip, posting a 10-2-1-0 record since 2001-02.
2. FALLING STARS
This will be the third game in four nights for the Stars, who also play the fourth and final game of a seven-game road trip against the Eastern Conference... Dallas comes into tonight with only one win on the year and are winless in their last five games, being outscored 29 to 17... The Stars are tied for the NHL lead in one-goal games - six of their first eight games were decided by one goal... They also lead the NHL for most losses by one goal (5) including overtime/shootout losses.
3. EAST MEETS WEST... AGAIN
The Flyers are tied for the least amount of games played this season (5), while the Stars are tied for the most amount of games played (9)... While the Flyers have played four of their first five games away from the Wells Fargo Center, the Stars have also played a majority of their games on the road - six of their first nine games to start the season... Both teams have played the least amount of games against opponents in their own conference (Flyers: 1, Stars: 2)...It's the fifth game against the Western Conference for the Flyers and the eighth game against an opponent from the Eastern Conference for the Stars.
4. THERE'S HISTORY THERE
The Flyers have a three-game winning streak in Philadelphia against the Stars, and have also won seven of their last eight games on home ice against Dallas... Since relocating to Dallas (1993-94), the Flyers have only lost in regulation three times to the Stars on home ice, posting a 9-3-6-1 record... Eight of the 19 games have been decided past regulation play, including six ties, and 13 of the 19 have been decided by one goal or less (including ties).
5. PLAYERS TO WATCH
FLYERS (LW: #23 - Oskar Lindblom)
Lindblom has had the hottest start to his young career, posting three goals, which is tied for the team lead, and four points... He is averaging nearly three minutes more of ice time per-game (17:04) than in his first two seasons (14:10)... Two of his three goals this season have come on the power play, which match his total from all 81 games last season.
STARS (D: #4 - Miro Heiskanen)
The second-year defenseman leads the Stars defense in points, and ranks second overall on the team with five points (2g-3a) in nine games - all five of his points have come at even strength... He also averages 24:24 of ice time, which is over a full minute more than his rookie season.
