By Allison Ward
The Flyers have two goals Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center:
Continuing their recent winning ways and honoring former Flyer Peter Forsberg.
Wayne Simmonds (photo above) looks to keep scoring and the Flyers attempt to snap a five-game losing streak to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who could be without No. 1 goaltender Ben Bishop.
Simmonds has scored five goals and added an assist during Philly’s 3-0-2 stretch after he managed just one goal while the team struggled to a 1-8-1 mark in its previous 10 games.
“I don’t think a lot of guys were shooting the puck,” Simmonds said. “Everyone is starting to shoot the puck now. And when you get shots on net, you’re going to get second and third opportunities. That’s when you’re going to score.”
Philly (11-13-5) only needed 23 shots to beat Carolina 5-1 on Saturday, as Simmonds scored on his only attempt while setting up Jakub Voracek’s tally.
The Flyers have allowed one goal in each of their last three wins, but their 2.86 average on the season ranks 23rd.
“We’ve been playing a lot better defensively and a lot more guys are starting to contribute offensively and it’s definitely helping,” Simmonds said.
Voracek is also helping, accumulating four points in three games to give him 37. He’s tied with Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin, one back of Tyler Seguin of Dallas for the league lead.
Voracek and Simmonds have combined for six goals and two assists in the past three meetings against the Lightning (19-10-3), but the Flyers have lost all of them as part of a 1-8-0 stretch in the series.
They each had a goal in a 4-3 loss at Tampa Bay on Oct. 30, but may not have to contend with Bishop this time.
Bishop suffered a lower-body injury that forced him to leave Monday’s 4-2 loss at Pittsburgh after the first period.
A finalist for the Vezina Trophy last season, Bishop is 0-3-0 with a 3.40 goals-against average in his last four games after winning the previous five with a 1.60 GAA and one shutout.
If he’s unable to go, the Lightning would turn to Evgeni Nabokov, who stopped 18 of 21 shots in relief against the Penguins.
He’s 6-1-0 with a tie in nine career games in Philly, making 33 saves in a 4-3 shootout win for the New York Islanders on March 28, 2013.
The Lightning, however, may be more concerned with their recent scoring issues. They’re second in the league with 3.31 goals per game, but have totaled 10 while dropping four of five, including the first two of this five-game trip.
“We’re playing some good teams now and it’s not good enough to be able to compete in games, so we have to look ourselves in the mirror,” center Steven Stamkos said.
