BLUE JACKETS (30-25-5) at FLYERS (31-19-10) 7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, NBCSP, FS-O, NHL.TV
Flyers forward Travis Konecny will be a game-time decision after leaving the morning skate early. He was hit in the left foot by a shot during the first period against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. The Flyers have won three straight games and have points in nine in a row (7-0-2). They're third in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins and three behind the first-place Washington Capitals. The Blue Jackets could be without forward Josh Anderson, who missed the morning skate. They have a one-point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Players to watch
Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin is one point from 200 in the NHL. He has six points (three goals, there assists) in his past seven games. Flyers forward Michael Raffl could move onto the top line if Konecny can't play. He has two points (one goal, one assist) in his past 13 games but has played on the top line in the past.
They said it
"Feel like our last 10, 12 games, we're getting chances. We haven't been winning some games that I think we had good chances in. … It's frustrating but we have to keep going." -- Blue Jackets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois "I'm sure he's going to be excited to show off his stuff for us. He's going to play hard tonight and we're going to do the same. Show him it's easy to play for us." -- Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, on playing in front of goaltender Petr Mrazek
Gerbe, who was recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League on Wednesday, likely will make his season debut. It would be his first NHL game since April 9, 2016. … If Konecny can't play, Leier would return to the lineup after being scratched the past seven games.
Stat pack
Dubois has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past nine games. … Couturier, who is one goal shy of 100 in the NHL, has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his past 11 games. Giroux has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his past seven games.
