Wayne Simmonds isn't wasting any time sitting around watching what the teams ahead of the Flyers in the standings are doing.
But that doesn't mean he hasn't casually glanced at the box scores.
Simmonds is well-aware the Flyers entered Thursday five points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. So with a six-game homestand slated to begin against the Minnesota Wild Thursday night (see game notes), now is the time to buckle down.
"No matter what it is, no matter where we’re playing, we’ve got a lot of points to pick up," he said after Thursday's morning skate. "We’ve got a lot of ground that we’ve gotta move up on. This is a great opportunity to pick up some points, stay in this race.”
The Flyers have been significantly better on home ice this season, earning at least a point in 20 of their 28 games at the Wells Fargo Center (13-8-7). On the road, they've struggled to find consistency, going 13-14-4 thus far.
Their latest road defeat came in a frustrating 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. The Flyers were utterly dominant on the cycle and peppered 'Canes goalie Cam Ward with 37 shots on target.
It was one of those games where the effort was clearly there but they still left the arena empty-handed.
NHL
So what better time to return to Philadelphia, right?
“It helps," Jakub Voracek said. "Usually the first game after you’re on the road when you get home you kinda try to do something differently in the first 20 minutes.
"This is gonna define if you make the playoffs or not. This homestand right here. When I look at the big picture, which I don’t like very often to do, we’ve gotta make at least 10 points out of these next six games.”
While Voracek has set a lofty goal for himself and his teammates on this homestand, head coach Dave Hakstol decided to take a more conservative approach.
Ten out of a possible 12 points? Hakstol is keeping his mindset only on the task at hand.
“You probably can’t do that unless you get two in Game 1 here tonight," he said. "So let’s worry about that first.”
Neuvy in net
Michal Neuvirth gets the call in between the pipes for a second consecutive game.
The move comes as a bit of a surprise after Neuvirth’s lackluster performance in the loss to Carolina. The 27-year-old made an inexcusable turnover on the Hurricanes’ first marker when he came out of the net and directed the puck directly onto the blade of Joakim
Nordstrom, who deposited an effortless shot into the empty cage.
Still, Hakstol is confident Neuvirth will bounce back.
“We’ve gone a lot of nights where we’ve gone back-to-back but, yes, I like the way Neuvy is playing,” he said of his backup netminder. “Bottom line. I like the way Neuvy is playing.”
Neuvirth, who signed a cap-friendly, two-year deal over the summer, has had few blemishes in his first year with the Flyers. He's gone 13-7-4 with three shutouts, a .928 save percentage and 2.21 goals-against average in 26 appearances (23 starts).
Missing G
Flyers captain Claude Giroux will miss a third consecutive game with an upper-body injury but Hakstol isn't overly concerned about his group missing their leading scorer.
“I think our guys have responded very well," he said. "We played well team-wise a real good 60 minutes the other night. We walked away with nothing to show for it points-wise but that doesn’t change the mentality that we played with. Our guys are good. Our guys are fine.”
Added Voracek: "Even when G went down, I think we’ve handled it pretty well so far. Obviously we didn’t win the last game but I think we played good hockey, which is a positive note to jump on.”
Giroux has a team-high 49 points this season. Simmonds knows it's going to be a collective effort to replace his production.
“G is our best player and has been for a long time," Simmonds said. "We’re just trying to fill the void. There’s not one individual that can stand up and take on all the responsibilities that he has but I think, as a group, as a whole, we can definitely plug in there and have success.”
Friendly fire
Chris Porter, who spent training camp with the Flyers before being claimed by Minnesota on Oct. 1, 2015, should be a familiar face for Hakstol.
Hakstol coached Porter at the University of North Dakota and nearly made a spot for him on the Flyers' roster before the regular season began after an impressive camp. Instead, Porter was waived and has spent the entire 2015-16 season with the Wild.
“Chris was a real leader for us," Hakstol said of Porter's time at North Dakota. "Consummate two-way player and a team-first guy. He was a leader and captain for us once he was a veteran.
"Just all-around good hockey player that always played with pace, always found a way to play and have that toughness to always be in the lineup. He always found a way to contribute.”
Porter, a hard-nosed forward, has served in a bottom-six role for most of the season. He has four goals and two assists in 49 games for the Wild.
Projected lineup
Forwards
Gagner-Schenn-Simmonds
Raffl-Couturier-Voracek
Laughton-Cousins-Read
VandeVelde-Bellemare-White
Defensemen
Streit-Schultz
MacDonald-Gostisbehere
Manning-Gudas
Goalies
Starter: Neuvirth
Backup: Mason
Scratches
Umberger, Medvedev
Injured
Giroux, Del Zotto, Weal