Penguins at Flyers preview

PENGUINS (38-25-4) at FLYERS (34-21-11)
8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS, NHL.TV

The Penguins, looking for their third straight victory following a three-game losing streak, are second in the division, one point behind the first-place Washington Capitals. Pittsburgh is 13-4-1 in its past 18 games.
The Flyers, who have lost three straight games (0-2-1) following a six-game winning streak, is third in the division, one point behind the Penguins and two points behind the Capitals. Philadelphia is 10-2-2 in its past 14 games and would tie Washington for first place with a win in regulation Wednesday.

Players to watch

Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin has 33 points (16 goals, 17 assists) in his past 17 games.
Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds will play after missing seven games with an upper-body injury. Since joining Philadelphia in 2011-12, he has 22 points (13 goals, nine assists) in 27 games against Pittsburgh.

They said it

"I still feel like even in years where there's different situations, both teams are always at their best, there's always something extra in those games. With what's on the line tonight and important points and divisional stuff, it's to be expected it'll pick up a little bit more." -- Penguins center Sidney Crosby on the rivalry with the Flyers
"It's a big game for us. Those divisional games, we need to make sure we play our best hockey. Right now [the Penguins] are one of the hottest teams in the League. We know that they're coming in with a lot of confidence. For us, it's build that intensity and play our game." -- Flyers forward Claude Giroux

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Patric Hornqvist
Carl Hagelin -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust
Dominik Simon -- Derick Brassard -- Phil Kessel
Tom Kuhnhackl -- Riley Sheahan -- Conor Sheary
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Olli Maatta -- Chad Ruhwedel
Jamie Oleksiak -- Justin Schultz
Tristan Jarry
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Carter Rowney, Matt Hunwick
Injured: Matt Murray (concussion), Zach Aston-Reese (upper body)

Flyers projected lineup

Claude Giroux -- Sean Couturier -- Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom -- Nolan Patrick -- Jakub Voracek
Jordan Weal -- Valtteri Filppula -- Wayne Simmonds
Jori Lehtera -- Scott Laughton -- Michael Raffl
Ivan Provorov -- Shayne Gostisbehere
Andrew MacDonald -- Robert Hagg
Brandon Manning -- Radko Gudas
Petr Mrazek
Alex Lyon
Scratched:Matt Read, Dale Weise, Taylor Leier, Johnny Oduya
Injured:Brian Elliott (lower body), Michal Neuvirth (lower body)

Status report

Each team held an optional morning skate. … Jarry will make his third consecutive start. … MacDonald practiced for the second straight day and is expected to play after missing the 4-1 loss against the Florida Panthers on Sunday with an upper-body injury. … Mrazek will start his seventh straight game, with Lyon expected to play against the Boston Bruins on Thursday.

Stat pack

Kessel, who will play in his 900th NHL game Wednesday, has 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists) in his past 25 games. … Giroux has 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in his past 13 games.