The Philadelphia Flyers' terrible start has not left their fans without hope of reaching the play-offs. However, their next away game takes them to one of the Eastern Conference favourites. The Tampa Bay Lightning are highly motivated — they cannot afford to ease off given the fierce competition in the Atlantic Division.
Tampa Bay Lightning
After a poor performance away to the New York Rangers (1:5), the Tampa Bay Lightning comfortably beat the Washington Capitals at home (3:1). Their main strength is their depth in the lower lines. Jake Guentzel recorded three points (1+2) against the Capitals, while the Lightning allowed just 21 shots on Andrei Vasilevskiy's goal over 60 minutes. Even without Yanni Gourde and Dominic James, Jon Cooper's coaching staff have options for the lower lines.
Philadelphia Flyers
Serious concerns about the Philadelphia Flyers emerged in pre-season, when they suffered three regulation defeats in four games. They opened the regular season with a dreadful derby thrashing by the Pittsburgh Penguins (0:7), but then picked up points against the New Jersey Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes (both 2:3 defeats in OT). Their first-choice goaltender Dan Vladar will return to the starting line-up, but no improvement is expected in attack.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Philadelphia Flyers Prediction
Last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Philadelphia Flyers three times in regulation (3:0, 7:2 and 5:1). The Flyers will take no risks in Florida — Rick Tocchet will concede possession to the Lightning, so we should not expect many chances in front of the visitors' goal.
