Lightning at Flyers preview

LIGHTNING (45-11-4) at FLYERS (28-24-7)
7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, SUN, NHL.TV

Hedman, the 2017-18 Norris Trophy winner as the best defenseman in the NHL, sustained a lower-body injury during the first period of the Lightning's 5-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Monday. The Lightning won their sixth consecutive game and are 8-0-2 this month. Coach Jon Cooper said he's day to day.
Tampa Bay has 94 points, 15 more than any team in the League.
Goalie Carter Hart is expected to start his third straight game for the Flyers, who are 12-1-1 in their past 14. Philadelphia is six points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

Players to watch

Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov had two goals and three assists against the Blue Jackets and leads the NHL with 99 points (29 goals, 70 assists).
Flyers forward Sean Couturier has six points (one goal, five assists) during a three-game point streak, and 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in his past 10 games.

They said it

"Not a lot of secrets in this League. His point total has increased every single year. You see the players out against him every single night, he's always facing the best D's. [Kucherov] is on the map in this League and now he's separated himself as an elite player in the best league in the world and he's fun to watch." -- Lightning coach Jon Cooper on forward Nikita Kucherov
"Huge measuring stick. They've won [six] in a row, most points in the League, probably the best offense in the League, one of the best goalies in the League. Lot of things for us to measure ourselves up against." -- Flyers coach Scott Gordon

Lightning projected lineup

Ondrej Palat -- Steven Stamkos -- Tyler Johnson
Yanni Gourde -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn -- Anthony Cirelli -- J.T. Miller
Adam Erne -- Cedric Paquette -- Mathieu Joseph
Anton Stralman -- Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak
Braydon Coburn -- Mikhail Sergachev
Louis Domingue
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Scratched:Danick Martel, Ryan Callahan, Jan Rutta
Injured:Victor Hedman (lower body)

Flyers projected lineup

James van Riemsdyk -- Claude Giroux -- Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom -- Sean Couturier -- Jakub Voracek
Scott Laughton -- Nolan Patrick -- Wayne Simmonds
Michael Raffl --
Phil Varone
--
Justin Bailey
Ivan Provorov -- Travis Sanheim
Shayne Gostisbehere -- Andrew MacDonald
Robert Hagg -- Radko Gudas
Carter Hart
Brian Elliott
Scratched:Philippe Myers](https://www.nhl.com/player/philippe-myers-8479026), Cam Talbot, Mike McKenna
Injured:Michal Neuvirth (lower body)

Status report

Stralman will replace Hedman after being scratched Monday, and Rutta was recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League. ... Elliott was recalled from his conditioning stint in the American Hockey League and activated from injured reserve. He has been out since Nov. 15 with a lower-body injury. Myers will be scratched after making his NHL debut as the seventh defensemen against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. Talbot, acquired in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, could have his visa finalized in time to join the Flyers for their game against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday.

Stat pack

Stamkos has 11 points (five goals, six assists) during a six-game point streak. Point has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) during a six-game point streak. ... Hart is 10-1-0 with a 2.53 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in his past 11 games. Voracek has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in the past 10 games.