For approximately the last month, the Philadelphia Flyers and Nashville Predators have been among the NHL’s best teams.
The visiting Flyers will set out to equal their season high with a fifth straight victory Tuesday night against the Predators, who aim for a fifth win in six games.
From Nov. 10 through Sunday’s play, Philadelphia and Nashville are tied with Edmonton and Florida for the most wins in the league (10).
The Flyers lost five of six from Oct. 28-Nov. 7 but are 10-3-1 since. They have earned at least one point in five straight contests and outscored their opponents 15-7 while 4-0-0 going this month.
Travis Konecny posted his second consecutive two-goal game, Travis Sanheim and Owen Tippett each had a goal with an assist and Carter Hart stopped 36 shots during Philadelphia’s impressive 5-2 win on Saturday at Colorado, one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
“We knew it was a great test for us,” said Konecny, who has recorded six points in the last three games.
“I think it’s great for our group, and it gives us the belief that we’re a hard team to play against, as well. So, that’s kind of the way we look at it.”
Hart has been solid while stopping 92 of 96 shots in winning all three of his December starts. Meanwhile, Flyers backup Samuel Ersson is 5-2-1 with a 2.82 goals-against average as a starter this season.
Last season, Hart made 31 saves in Philadelphia’s 3-1 victory at Nashville on Oct. 22, 2022.
The Predators dropped four in a row from Nov. 7-14 but are 10-3-0 since then. They have allowed 10 goals during their current 4-1-0 stretch.
Colton Sissons scored two early goals and Juuse Saros made 36 saves as Nashville overcame the Canadiens’ late push and held on for Sunday’s 2-1 victory at Montreal.
“We’re starting to understand how to win these kinds of games, when maybe we lose a little momentum,” Predators coach Andrew Burnette said. “Earlier in the year we probably would have caved a little bit.
“So I think we’ve been able to grow as a team.”
The versatile and invaluable Sissons has been a key contributor during Nashville’s sustained success for nearly a month, posting four goals and five assists in the last 13 games.
“He’s one of those guys who just does everything for the team,” Nashville captain Roman Josi said of Sissons.
“He does all the little things and the hard things that don’t necessarily show up on the score sheet. So every time we have a guy like him chip in offensively and get rewarded for everything he does, it’s always a lot of fun.”
Saros has a 1.47 GAA and a .955 save percentage while going 4-0-0 in December. In front of him, Josi has registered three goals with seven assists in the last nine games.
Philadelphia’s Joel Farabee has a goal in each of the last two games. He’s scored three with four assists in four career contests against the Predators.
–Field Level Media
