Panthers Wrap Up Turbulent Road Trip Against Red-Hot Flyers
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PHILADELPHIA (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – The Florida Panthers will wrap up their road trip with a very tough challenge.
Steve Mason is finding his top form at the right time and the Philadelphia Flyers are responding to his lead during their season-high five-game winning streak.
Mason, named the NHL's First Star of the Week on Monday, is expected to go after his fifth consecutive victory when the Flyers host the road-weary Panthers on Tuesday.
Mason has started 13 of the last 14 games after fellow goaltender Michal Neuvirth went down with an injury and has posted a .945 save percentage over his last four contests.
"His play over the last stretch has been outstanding and he's been a strong anchor for us," Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol told reporters. "His confidence kind of goes hand-in-hand with our team's confidence. They both feed off one another. You can see that throughout our entire game."
The Panthers battled back three times to tie before losing 4-3 in overtime at Boston on Monday and are 1-2-2 on a six-game road trip during which coach Gerard Gallant was fired after the first contest.
Jonathan Marchessault, Florida's leading scorer, is day-to-day after missing Monday's game with a lower-body ailment while defenseman Keith Yandle also suffered a lower-body injury against Boston and is not expected to play Tuesday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Florida, CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (12-11-3): Aleksander Barkov is starting to warm up after recording a goal for the second time in three games on Monday – his eighth point in the last nine contests.
Linemate Jaromir Jagr also tallied against the Bruins to move within six points of Mark Messier (1,887) for second place on the all-time list.
Reilly Smith, who registered his second 50-point season in 2015-16, posted his third in 13 games on Monday and has notched only nine in 26 contests.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (14-10-3): Philadelphia's top scorers are putting up big numbers during the streak while defensemen Ivan Provorov and Michael Del Zotto each have recorded a pair of goals over the last four games.
Wayne Simmonds, who leads the team with 24 points, has registered eight in the last eight contests while captain Claude Giroux (23) has notched six in a six-game span.
Jakub Voracek, who also has collected 23 points, has posted six in his last five contests after suffering through an eight-game drought.
OVERTIME
- Florida D Jason Demers recorded a goal for the second time in three games Monday, tying the contest with 1:29 left in regulation.
- Philadelphia RW Matt Read (oblique) is expected to miss four weeks after leaving Sunday's 4-2 victory over Nashville.
- The Flyers won 3-1 at Florida on Nov. 22 and are 2-0-1 against the Panthers in their last three meetings.
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