Flyers (35-32-8) vs. Senators (41-25-8)
7 p.m. on TCN, CSNPhilly.com and the NBC Sports App; Pregame Live at 6:30
The Flyers return home from a difficult four-game road trip still alive in the wild-card hunt and set to face the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Let's get you set with five things to know for the matchup:
1. Pointing up
The Flyers faintly remain in the playoff picture.
A 2-2 road trip with wins against two of the top six NHL teams places the Flyers six points out of the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot heading into Tuesday evening.
The Bruins sit in that spot with 84 points, followed by the Lightning (83), Islanders (82), Hurricanes (80) and Flyers (78).
That's quite a hill to climb for the orange and black.
NHL
The Flyers have seven regular-season games left, six of which come against the Metropolitan Division. Their record against the divisional clubs still on the schedule is 6-9-1. And according to sportsclubstats.com, the Flyers have a 0.2 percent chance of making the postseason.
Tonight, the Bruins (vs. Predators) and Hurricanes (vs. Red Wings) are at home while the Lightning and Islanders are idle. The Maple Leafs, only a point ahead of the Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division, host the Panthers.
2. Anything left?
True to their unpredictable nature, the Flyers went from being shut out by the Blue Jackets to putting up six goals on the defending champion Penguins in a blowout win.
Thirteen different Flyers registered at least a point in the victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday night.
The outburst makes you wonder where this type of offense was when the Flyers really needed it?
To give you a glimpse inside their inconsistency, consider this: The Flyers are 2-4-0 with 13 combined goals in games after they score five or more. In other words, the second the Flyers make some noise, they can quickly go quiet.
We'll see what the Flyers have against the Senators, who are fighting for the Atlantic Division title, allow the NHL's ninth-fewest goals per game (2.55) and are 21-14-0 on the road.
3. Senators' say
Ottawa wins by playing a methodical, gritty, tight-checking game.
The Senators won't light up the scoreboard, but they're second in the league in blocked shots (1,240) and third in hits (1,951).
Nothing comes easy against Ottawa, which wants to control and grind its way to wins. That style has made the Senators accustomed to close contests as they've won 31 games by two goals or fewer.
This is the third and final meeting between the Flyers and Senators. Both previous games went past regulation, with the Flyers losing at home, 3-2, in a shootout, but winning in Ottawa, 3-2, in overtime.
4. Keep an eye on ...
Flyers: Travis Konecny is worth watching after averaging 10:01 of ice time over his last three games and recently playing with the fourth line. The 20-year-old still made an impact last time out despite a team-low 8:02 of ice time. Will the minutes' crunch continue?
Senators: Mike Hoffman is on a six-game point streak (one goal, six assists) and has been a point-per-game player over his last 18 contests (four goals, 14 assists). The winger is also a team-best plus-15 and boasts five goals in eight career matchups with the Flyers.
5. This and that
• Steve Mason has started 12 of the last 14 games, a stretch in which he's 7-4-1 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .926 save percentage. In 15 career games against the Senators, Mason is 9-4-2 with a 2.10 goals-against average and .930 save percentage.
• Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson is 22-10-2 with a 2.32 goals-against average and .927 save percentage. The 35-year-old has spent time away from the team this season to be alongside his wife, Nicholle, who is battling cancer.
• The Flyers have not won back-to-back games since Feb. 28-March 2.
• Jordan Weal has six points (four goals, two assists) in his last 10 games.
• The Senators are without key defenseman Marc Methot, who suffered a gruesome finger injury last week thanks to a slash by Sidney Crosby.