Ottawa 7th Atlantic25-34-7-5
Philadelphia 2nd Metropolitan41-21-2-5
TSN5, TVA, NBCSP

Ottawa @ Philadelphia preview

Wells Fargo Center

Last Meeting ( Nov 15, 2019 ) Philadelphia 1, Ottawa 2


The Philadelphia Flyers look to overcome a brief misstep and get back on the fast track Saturday afternoon when they conclude a three-game homestand against the Ottawa Senators. The Flyers saw their five-game winning streak, seven-game point run (6-0-1) and an impressive 11-game home point streak (7-0-4) come to a halt in a 3-1 setback to Arizona on Thursday night.

"I think we get a 10 for effort, we worked extremely hard. ... We get a seven for execution," Philadelphia coach Alain Vigneault said after the team sustained its second regulation loss on home ice this season (9-2-4) and first since a 4-1 setback to Dallas on Oct. 19. The Flyers were felled by their inability to convert on three power-play opportunities in that game, and their 0-for-5 effort -- including a fruitless four-minute session with the man advantage -- led to their undoing in a 2-1 setback in Ottawa on Nov. 15. Tyler Ennis scored in that contest and tallied in his second straight game to go along with two assists on Wednesday as the Senators snapped a five-game skid with a 5-2 victory in Edmonton. Ottawa, which concludes its five-game road trip in Philadelphia, sports a 5-11-1 mark away from Canadian Tire Centre.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, TVAS, TSN5 (Ottawa), NBCS Philadelphia

ABOUT THE SENATORS (12-16-1): Anders Nilsson turned in a brilliant 26-save performance against Philadelphia last month, but he hasn't been as fortunate of late. The 29-year-old Swede followed up a seven-goal performance in a rout by Minnesota on Nov. 29 by yielding four tallies on 15 shots in a 5-2 setback versus Vancouver on Tuesday. Jean-Gabriel Pageau has scored in two of his last three games to boost his team-leading totals in goals (15) and points (21).

ABOUT THE FLYERS (16-8-5): Veteran forward Jakub Voracek set up defenseman Matt Niskanen's goal on Thursday to boost his team-leading point total at home to 15 (three goals, 12 assists). Speaking of sterling displays at home, Carter Hart has given the Philadelphia faithful some memorable performances this season with a 7-1-2 record, one shutout, a 1.48 goals-against average and .944 save percentage. The 21-year-old Hart has yielded just one goal during each contest of his three-start winning streak heading into Saturday's tilt with Ottawa, against which he turned aside 17 shots to take the hard-luck defeat last month.

OVERTIME

1. Ottawa C Chris Tierney set up a goal in the first encounter with Philadelphia and has six assists in his last eight games overall.

2. Flyers captain Claude Giroux will skate in his 850th career game on Saturday.

3. Ottawa reached out to Belleville on Friday and recalled F Jonathan Davidsson, who has two goals and two assists in 11 games with the American Hockey League team.

PREDICTION: Flyers 3, Senators 2

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