Coyotes at Flyers preview
Philadelphia seeks sixth consecutive win; Arizona eyes eighth victory in 13
by Adam Kimelman @NHLAdamK / NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor
COYOTES (16-9-4) at FLYERS (16-7-5)
7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV
The Game
The Philadelphia Flyers look to extend their winning streak to a season-long six games when they host the Arizona Coyotes at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday.
The Flyers have won five consecutive games and are 6-0-1 in their past seven, outscoring opponents 28-13 during their point streak. They also are 7-0-4 in their past 11 home games.
The Coyotes, 7-3-2 in their past 12 games, trail the first-place Edmonton Oilers by one point in the Pacific Division.
Players to watch
Coyotes forward Christian Dvorak has five points (two goals, three assists) to tie a personal NHL-best four-game point streak.
Flyers center Kevin Hayes has four points (two goals, two assists) in a four-game point streak.
They said it
"They're the No. 1 face-off team. They're in the dot as good as any team. ... If you're getting six, seven more possessions, or for us three or four more possessions in your own end, that means a lot in the game over 82 games. So I think on the dot, that's the struggles that we're going to have against them because I think they're the best face-off team in the League." -- Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet on Philadelphia, which leads the NHL with a 54.1 face-off winning percentage
"I'm still going to, in my mind anyway, continue have a four-line rotation because Scott Laughton can play in the middle, Kevin Hayes, [Claude Giroux] can play in the middle, I think I'll be able to put one of those guys in every fourth time and continue with that four-line rotation that gives us good pace, good tempo, and that's what we're going to need tonight." -- Flyers coach Alain Vigneault on using 11 forwards and seven defensemen
Coyotes projected lineup
Clayton Keller -- Derek Stepan -- Vinnie Hinostroza
Christian Dvorak -- Nick Schmaltz -- Conor Garland
Lawson Crouse -- Carl Soderberg -- Phil Kessel
Michael Grabner -- Brad Richardson -- Christian Fischer
Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Jason Demers
Jakob Chychrun -- Alex Goligoski
Jordan Oesterle -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Darcy Kuemper
Antti Raanta
Scratched: Aaron Ness, Barrett Hayton, Michael Chaput
Injured: Niklas Hjalmarsson (lower body)
Flyers projected lineup
Claude Giroux -- Morgan Frost -- Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom -- Sean Couturier -- Jakub Voracek
Scott Laughton -- Kevin Hayes -- Joel Farabee
James van Riemsdyk -- Tyler Pitlick
Ivan Provorov -- Matt Niskanen
Travis Sanheim -- Justin Braun
Shayne Gostisbehere -- Philippe Myers
Robert Hagg
Brian Elliott
Carter Hart
Scratched: Chris Stewart, Mikhail Vorobyev
Injured: Nolan Patrick (migraine disorder), Michael Raffl (finger)
Status report
Each team held an optional morning skate. ... Patrick, who has not played this season, skated for the fourth straight day and seventh time in the past eight days. ... Vorobyev, a center, was recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Wednesday when Raffl was placed on long-term injured reserve but will not play.
Stat pack
Goligoski has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past six games. … Stepan needs one assist for 300 in the NHL. ... Giroux has 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 16 games against Arizona. … Voracek has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past six games.