2. PANTHERS ON THE PROWL
Like the Flyers, Florida comes into tonight's game with a 2-2-0 mark and return to action from a two-day break… In their previous outing, the Cats dropped a 3-2 contest to the Penguins at Pittsburgh, and have now lost both of their games this year on the road… Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck have recorded points in all four games this season for the Panthers… Should he get the start in net, Roberto Luongo is one win away from passing Curtis Joseph (454) for sole possession of fourth all-time in career NHL wins.
3. SHOOT TO SCORE
Tonight's game pits an opposite in terms of shots on the board - the Panthers lead the NHL in average shots per-game, coming in at an even 42 per-game, while the Flyers are ranked third in the NHL at allowing the fewest shots on net at 27.8 on a per-game basis… Both teams rank in the top 5 early in this season in goals per-game as well… The Panthers are fifth, averaging 4.00 GPG, while the Flyers are second in the NHL at 4.20 GPG… Florida has scored 15 of their 16 goals all in the second and third period.
4. PLAYING IT CLOSE TO THE VEST
The Panthers were the only team the Flyers swept the season series against last season, going a perfect 3-0-0, but both games at the Wells Fargo Center were decided past regulation and all three were low scoring affairs… The last four meetings between these teams in Philadelphia have all been decided by one goal with three of the four decided past regulation play.
5. PLAYERS TO WATCH:
FLYERS (C: #14 - Sean Couturier)
Sean Couturier is off to the best start of his NHL career with three goals and six points in the first five games… He also leads the club in plus-minus with a +8 rating, which is also ranked third among all NHL skaters… Couturier is also seeing an increase in ice-time while playing the top-line center role - he leads the forwards in average shifts per-game at 26.4, while ranking second (only to Simmonds) in average TOI at 18:50 among forwards.
PANTHERS (D: #5 - Aaron Ekblad)
Ekblad returns to the building where he was selected #1 overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft… Since then he has picked up a Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie and leads all players in that draft year in games played (231) and as a defenseman, ranks fourth in overall points (100)… He comes into tonight riding a three-game point streak with four points (2g-2a) in that span, while also recording a goal in each of his last two games… Ekblad has also been on the ice for 10 of Florida's 16 goals.
