'Wednesday Night Hockey': 5 Storylines

The Boston Bruins will try to continue their mastery of the Philadelphia Flyers when they face off at Wells Fargo Center in the first game of a "Wednesday Night Hockey" doubleheader (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN). Boston is 6-0-2 in its past eight games against the Flyers and 12-1-3 since the start of the 2013-14 season.

In the second game, the San Jose Sharks, who are in a three-way battle for first place in the Pacific Division, visit the Arizona Coyotes (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN). San Jose has won seven in a row, the longest active winning streak in the NHL.
Here are 5 storylines to watch:

Bruins defense healthy at last

The Bruins are battling the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens for second place in the Atlantic Division; the reward would be home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That the Bruins (26-15-5) are within a point of the Maple Leafs and even with the Canadiens is an accomplishment considering that all six of their regular defensemen were in the lineup for the first time on Saturday, when they won 3-2 at Toronto.

Boston's top line

Boston's line of center Patrice Bergeron and forwards Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak continues to be among the NHL's best; the only thing that slowed them this season was a rib and sternoclavicular injury that kept Bergeron out for 16 games. The most dangerous scorer on the line is Pastrnak, who leads the Bruins with 26 goals and 54 points in 46 games. Marchand is first in assists (32) in 45 games, and Bergeron has 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists) in 30 games. They remain among the best in the NHL at putting up points, driving play and limiting the opposition's scoring chances.

Flyers goaltending

The Flyers (17-23-6) tied the NHL record for most goalies used in a season with seven when Mike McKenna started against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 8. Rookie Carter Hart, the likely starter Wednesday, became their sixth goalie this season when he made his NHL debut on Dec. 18. The Flyers had hoped to have Hart spend his first pro season with Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League, but injuries and inconsistency forced them to promote the 20-year-old. Hart, Philadelphia's second-round pick (No. 48) in the 2016 NHL Draft, is 4-5-1 with a 2.69 goals-against average and .913 save percentage -- excellent numbers considering he's playing on a team that allows 3.57 goals per game, the fourth-most in the NHL.

Sharks go for eighth straight win

It took the Sharks about two months to mesh, but they've been one of the NHL's hottest teams since early December. San Jose's 5-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at SAP Center on Tuesday was their seventh in a row and moved the Sharks (28-13-7) within one point of the Calgary Flames for first place in the Pacific Division, as well as putting them three points ahead of the third-place Vegas Golden Knights. San Jose brings a 14-2-2 record in its past 18 games to Gila River Arena -- a stretch that has coincided with defenseman Erik Karlsson growing more comfortable with his new teammates after being acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators on Sept. 13. All signs are pointing up for San Jose; the Sharks are third in the NHL in scoring (173 goals in 48 games), and goaltender Martin Jones has settled in after an up-and-down start to win his past eight decisions.

Coyotes need wins to boost playoff hopes

Though Arizona (20-22-3) is 13th among the 15 teams in the Western Conference, the Coyotes are just six points removed from the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They were 3-0-1 in four games before losing 7-1 to the Calgary Flames on Sunday in the finale of a three-game road trip after victories against the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers. The visit from the Sharks and a Friday home game against the Penguins are extremely important for Arizona, which plays its next six games on the road (three before and three after the All-Star break) and doesn't return to Gila River Arena until Feb. 7.