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Flyers visit Lightning in battle of first-place teams

Feb 1, 2011 - 4:21 PM (Sports Network) - The Flyers and Lightning certainly looked like two high- scoring teams the last time they met.

Tampa Bay takes aim at a season-best sixth straight victory this evening as it continues its record-tying homestand versus Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia in a battle of first-place clubs at St. Pete Times Forum.

The Flyers and Lightning will meet for the third time this season and first since a wild 8-7 Tampa Bay victory at Philadelphia back on Nov. 18. The Bolts erased three two-goal deficits in the victory thanks to a hat trick and two assists from Steven Stamkos and a career-high five helpers by fellow All-Star Martin St. Louis.

The Lightning have now won two straight since dropping five in a row to the Flyers, but have still lost three straight and four of five at home to Philadelphia.

The 15-goal meeting isn't a huge surprise given the amount of offensive talent on both clubs. Philadelphia comes out of the All-Star break having scored an NHL-high 173 goals, while Tampa is tied for eighth with 149.

Stamkos leads the NHL with 38 goals and 67 points and has tallied six times in his last three games versus the Flyers. St. Louis, meanwhile, is second in the league with 40 assists and has eight helpers in his last three versus Philly.

"My success has a lot to do with him," Stamkos told Tampa Bay's website of St. Louis over All-Star weekend. "We feed off each other, so it's definitely nice to be able to share that experience with him."

Both Stamkos and St. Louis were members of Team Lidstrom in Sunday's All-Star Game with Philadelphia's Danny Briere, while his teammate Claude Giroux skated with Team Staal. Briere had a pair of goals and both Stamkos and St. Louis scored in an 11-10 victory, while Giroux had a goal and an assist in defeat.

Stamkos also has seven goals and 10 points in his last seven games overall, a big reason the Lightning carry a season high-tying five-game winning streak out of the break. They haven't won six in a row since an eight-game win streak from Feb. 23-March 6, 2004.

Tampa's current win streak features a victory in the first two contests of a 12-game homestand, including a 2-0 victory over Toronto on Tuesday. The Bolts won't play on the road again until Feb. 27 and the only other team in league history to have a stay of equal length was the California Seals in 1975.

Dwayne Roloson made 26 saves for his third shutout of the season last week and all three have come since he was acquired from the Islanders. The netminder has gone 7-3-0 with a 2.25 goals-against average in 10 games since the trade, but is just 3-7-0 with a 3.14 GAA lifetime against the Flyers.

The Lightning are four points up on the Capitals for first place in the Southeast Division, while the Flyers lead the Eastern Conference with 71 points, five more than second-place Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division. Philadelphia is tied with Vancouver for the most points in the NHL.

The Flyers have won two straight and six of their last seven to close January with a 10-2-0 mark. They beat the Canadiens, 5-2, in their last trip to the ice, getting two goals by Giroux.

"When you look at our lineup, it's impressive," said Dan Carcillo following the win over Montreal. "When a team looks at our defense, it is intimidating to play us. The biggest thing we have found this year is consistency."

Giroux is tied for the club lead with 47 points and has three goals and eight assists on a seven-game point streak, while Briere notched eight goals and 16 points in 12 games last month. He is tops on the club with 26 goals.

The Flyers, who have won three straight and six of their last seven on the road, have been using the tandem of Sergei Bobrovsky and Brian Boucher in net and it is unknown who will start tonight.

Bobrovsky is 21-6-3 with a 2.42 GAA in 32 contests this season, while Boucher is 11-6-2 with a 2.41 GAA in 20 games.

Philadelphia's James van Riemsdyk (groin) and Tampa Bay's Ryan Malone (undisclosed) have sat out their team's last two games with injury and both are questionable for tonight.