Flyers (27-24-7) at Canucks (26-27-6)
10 p.m. on CSN/CSNPhilly.com and NBC Sports App; Pregame Live at 9:30
The Flyers' three-game trip through Western Canada ends tonight in Vancouver against the Canucks, as the orange and black will look to salvage one win on this disastrous road trip.
Vancouver enters the game on the backend of a back-to-back. The Canucks beat Calgary, 2-1, in overtime Saturday at Rogers Arena. The Flyers beat Vancouver, 5-4, in a shootout on Jan. 12.
Let's take a closer look at game No. 59 for the orange and black.
1. Captain concern
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Since their 10-game winning streak, from Nov. 27 to Dec. 14, the Flyers' season outlook has undergone a drastic shift toward a higher draft pick.
The Flyers are 8-14-4 in 26 games since the winning streak, and 2-5-1 in their last eight games. They're 2-10-2 in their last 14 road games, and have lost their last eight games in Western Canada. They remain just two points out of the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot, but earning a playoff appearance appears to be just a wishful thought.
Philadelphia Flyers
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Not much is going well right now for the Flyers. Neither Michal Neuvirth or Steve Mason has taken grasp of the No. 1 job. Neuvirth has started six of the Flyers' last seven games and seven of their last nine, but Mason is expected to get the starting nod tonight.
They can't score. They're averaging 1.46 goals in their last 13 games, scoring 19 goals over that span and they've been shut out three times. Claude Giroux's regression continues, as he has just two goals in his past 23 games. Giroux is on pace for 59 points, which would be the fewest he's had in an 82-game season since 2009-10. (He finished the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season with 48 points in 48 games.)
"For whatever the reason, in the last month, he's just gone in the wrong direction," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said of Giroux on Saturday. "That's not just [the] individual. That's a team item, and we've gotta push that in the right direction."
As the captain has gone, the Flyers have, too.
2. Weal bad luck
Just as when it appears Jordan Weal had finally turned a corner in the NHL - albeit it in a very small sample size - an injury strikes. Weal will miss tonight's game with an upper-body injury. The Flyers said Saturday the forward will be reevaluated Monday.
Dale Weise draws back into the lineup against Vancouver, and will take Weal's place on the Flyers' second line alongside center Sean Couturier and right winger Jake Voracek. Weise checks back in after sitting the last two games and seven of the last 12 as a healthy scratch.
Weal impressed in two games and a period before suffering his injury Thursday in Edmonton. He's averaged 11:50 of ice time, playing a career-high 15:31 Wednesday in Calgary, a game he had six shots on goal. Through three games, Weal has an 83.0 corsi for percentage, which is remarkably high but an extremely small sample. He was more confident along the boards and with the puck, hungrier than at any point last season with the Flyers.
It was only a matter of time before the 24-year-old was going to pick up his first career NHL point. Now, he's sidelined at least one game. If it's not a long-term injury, Weal's play in the two-plus games should be enough to warrant inserting him back in when he's healthy.
"He added something every game," Hakstol said of Weal on Saturday. "Obviously, it was two games and a period, but he's dynamic. He hadn't been here [this season], but he had the puck quite a bit. He looked like a player that was confidently on the top of his game, and I didn't think any of that was lost in the transition from Lehigh to our team."
3. Mediocre matchup
The Canucks are not exactly a team oozing with confidence, either. With Saturday's OT win over the Flames, the Canucks are now 4-8-0 in their last 12 games. They are four points behind Calgary now for the West's second wild-card spot, and gave up a valuable point to the Flames on Saturday by blowing a 1-0 lead with six seconds left in regulation.
Vancouver sits in the bottom 10 in goals for (2.3, 28th), goals against (2.8, 20th), power play (14.9, 27th) and penalty kill (79.1, 24th). It's a team that doesn't score a ton of goals, but also doesn't give up many, either. It's the epitome of a below-average team from a talent perspective - sound familiar? - that can grind its way to competitiveness.
With how the Flyers have been playing over their last two months and how this current Canucks team competes, it's safe to say tonight's game will be one filled with little scoring, a much different tune than the first matchup.
4. Keep an eye on …
Flyers: There is not a single Flyer worth watching right now. I suggest making one of those origami fortune teller games with a list of Flyers, play it and whoever you get, watch him.
Canucks: Vancouver's leading scorer is no longer one of the Sedin twins. Instead, it's 21-year-old Bo Horvat, who has 18 goals and 39 points in 58 games. Horvat, the ninth overall pick in 2013, made his first NHL All-Star Game this season. In the previous meeting with the Flyers, he picked up an assist.
5. This and that
• Mason started the Flyers' last game against the Canucks on Jan. 12, but was pulled after allowing four goals on 24 shots through two periods. Mason is expected to start tonight.
• With Ryan Miller starting in Saturday, Jacob Markstrom (10-11-3, 2.63, .910) could start tonight for Vancouver. If he does start, he would be the sixth backup goalie the Flyers have faced in their last 14 games - remember, the Flyers have 19 goals in their last 13 games.
• The Flyers' power play is five for its last 45 dating back 13 games.
• Friendly reminder: Shayne Gostisbehere's goal drought is now at 31 games.
