5 Reasons to watch Red Wings-Flyers

The Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers will play for the first time in more than a year when they face off at Wells Fargo Center in this week's Wednesday Night Rivalry game (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV).
Despite winning six in a row before a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, the Flyers (14-12-7) are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes (14-12-7) for last place in the tightly packed Metropolitan Division. The Red Wings (13-13-7) have struggled after a fast start, but they come to Philadelphia after their second straight win, 6-3 at the New York Islanders on Wednesday.

The Flyers have won eight of their past 12 games against the Red Wings, including two of three last season.
Here are 5 reasons to tune in:

Brian Elliott

Philadelphia's goaltender was the NHL's Second Star last week after getting the Third Star of the previous week. He started all six victories during the winning streak and has allowed 13 goals in his past seven starts. Elliott is one of the League's streakiest goaltenders. He won 11 straight decisions and was 12-0-1 in a 13-game stretch for the Calgary Flames from Feb. 23 to March 27 of last season. When he's on, he can make up for a lot of his teammates' mistakes.

Jakub Voracek

When the Flyers score a goal, there's a pretty good chance Voracek is involved. Voracek has 41 points (eight goals, 33 assists) for a team that has scored 92 goals, meaning he has been directly involved in 44.6 percent of the Flyers' goals. His 33 assists are the most in the League.

Red Wings turnaround

The Red Wings' season hit its low point when they lost 10-1 at the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 2. They're 3-1-2 since then and have back-to-back wins against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Islanders. The win against the Islanders was especially impressive. They were outplayed badly in the second period and fell behind 3-2, but tied the game before intermission and dominated the third period, outshooting New York 12-5 and scoring three times for the win.

Shorthanded danger

The Red Wings' speed makes them one of the NHL's most dangerous teams on the penalty kill. Detroit shares the League lead in shorthanded goals with the Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers and San Jose Sharks (6). The Red Wings have scored while shorthanded in two of their past three games and had opportunities to make it three in a row against the Islanders. The Flyers have to be careful and not make mistakes handling the puck on the power play.

Extra time

Don't be surprised if the game isn't decided in 60 minutes. All three games between the Red Wings and Flyers last season went past regulation with Philadelphia winning two. But each team has struggled past regulation this season. The Flyers are 2-5 in overtime and have lost their two shootouts. The Red Wings are 0-6 in overtime but 2-1 in the tiebreaker.