1. OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS
The Flyers come into tonight having earned points in three straight games, going 2-0-1, and are one point back of third place and three points back of second place in the Metropolitan Division... The Rangers have dropped two straight, five of their last seven games and three straight road games entering tonight, and are 10 points back of the final wild card position... Since the New Year began the Flyers are in the Top 7 of best records in the NHL with a 21-11-4 mark, while the Rangers are tied for the second-worst record in the NHL at 12-20-3.
2. NOT THE SAME RANGERS
Tonight is the third time the Flyers face the Rangers in the season series with the team's splitting wins on each other's home ice… But this is the first since Feb. 18 and the Rangers will have a much different look to them... They are without five key players - JT Miller, Rick Nash, Michael Grabner, Nick Holden and captain Ryan McDonagh, who have all been traded since they last met... Those five players accounted for five goals and seven points through two games of the season series against the Flyers.
3. SPECIAL FACTORS
The Flyers have not allowed a goal on the penalty kill in each of their last four games, going a perfect 8-for-8... The Rangers are one of only two teams in the NHL (Winnipeg) to have their power-play ranked in the Top 7 (21.9%) and penalty-kill ranked in the Top 7 (82.8%)... In the season series, the Rangers have killed off all four power-plays by the Flyers and have gone 50% on their own power play, but have had only two opportunities.
4. THEY'RE GOING STREAKING
Several players come into tonight with point streaks on the line... Sean Couturier has recorded points in five straight games, posting seven points (1g-6a), while Jake Voracek has points in three straight (2g-2a)... Claude Giroux has a 10-game point streak on home ice where he has posted 14 points (6g-8a)... For the Rangers, Jesper Fast has points in six in-a-row with a goal and five assists, while Mika Zibanejad (6g-3a) and rookie defenseman Neal Pionk (7a) each have points in five straight games.
5. PLAYERS TO WATCH:
FLYERS (D: #9 - Ivan Provorov)
Provorov will appear in 157 consecutive games to start his NHL career tonight, which passes Chris Therien for the franchise record for most consecutive games played by a Flyers to start their NHL career... He leads the Flyers in ice-time, averaging 24:14 this season and has more than doubled his goals from last season with 13 goals... He has 34 points and is a plus-11 so far this season, compared to last season when he had 30 points and a minus-7 rating.
RANGERS (C: #93 - Mika Zibanejad)
Zibanejad comes into tonight with a five-game point streak where he has tallied six goals and nine points... Since the NHL trade deadline, he has produced eight goals and 12 points in nine games - his eight goals since Feb. 28 rank third in the NHL and lead all players in the Eastern Conference... The 24-year-old sixth overall pick in 2011 appeared in his 400th NHL game in his last contest and his 25 goals this season is a new career high, but he only has three goals in 17 games played against the Flyers in his career.
