Flyers ready for streaking Lightning

The Philadelphia Flyers will be looking for their second straight victory when they host the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

The Flyers returned from a disappointing 1-4-1 road trip to defeat the league-best Washington Capitals 3-2 on Wednesday. The three-game homestand continues with a visit from another difficult opponent in the Lightning.

Momentum gained from the triumph over the Capitals was stunted a bit, however, with news that valuable defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere will be out for at least three weeks following arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

Defenseman Justin Braun also is sidelined with a groin injury, so the Flyers recalled Mark Friedman from the Phantoms of the American Hockey League before the win over the Capitals.

"It was fun. I was really excited and still kind of in shock and very, very thankful," Friedman told Inquirer.com.

The Flyers killed off all five power plays against the high-flying Capitals -- a major improvement.

Tampa Bay has been clicking on the power play at nearly 30 percent. As of Thursday night, it was tied with the Edmonton Oilers atop the league.

"I thought our execution was a little bit better," Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault said of the penalty kill. "We got a couple big saves at the right time and that's probably the most important part of the PK."

The one-goal victory over the Capitals gave the Flyers a boost of confidence, which looked a bit shaky following the tough road trip.

"We've struggled lately, but we know we have a good team," center Sean Couturier said. "(Wednesday) we proved we can win against the top teams."

The Lightning will be searching for their 10th straight victory after winning 4-0 against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.

Nikita Kucherov scored a pair of goals and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 shots.

"We're having fun," Kucherov said. "We're a tight group and we need to stay loose."

With one more victory, the Lightning will tie the franchise record of 10 straight wins in Feb. 2019.

"I think the guys are kind of feeling it right now," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "When you get on these rolls, everyone is feeling good about themselves."

Vasilevskiy, 11-1-1 over his last 13 starts, posted his 19th career shutout. It was also his first shutout since Feb. 16, a span of 48 games.

"It's been a while," Vasilevskiy said. "I thought we played very well, all 60 minutes. We had some games in the past when I could've had shutouts but we gave up a late goal. Tonight I thought we played perfectly and the whole team deserves this."

Lightning center Brayden Point continued his stellar play with an assist. Point has six assists and 10 points overall in a seven-game point streak.

Steven Stamkos added two assists against Arizona and the second helper was the 400th of his career.

The Lightning are clicking on all levels.

"I think tonight might've been our best overall performance of the year in terms of just playing the right way all over the ice," Stamkos said.

--Field Level Media