PHILADELPHIA -- Somehow, this city seems fundamentally different since the last time the Penguins visited here on Jan. 2.
For one, the stench of the New Year's Day Mummers Parade has since dissipated along Broad Street. Secondly, the Eagles have won the Super Bowl, ending a 57-year championship dry spell.
That leaves the Flyers with Philadelphia's longest title drought at 42 years.
Coincidently or not, after Nick Foles' heroics against the Patriots, the Flyers responded by going 10-0-1 to solidify their spot in the Eastern Conference playoff field. But following that run, the Flyers have now dropped three in a row (0-2-1) and look to get back on the winning track tonight against their cross-state rivals.
Good luck with that.
The Penguins have won the first two games in the season series, including a 5-1 victory at the Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 2. In that game, they were led by fourth-liners Riley Sheahan, Tom Kuhnhackl (below) and the since-departed Ryan Reaves, who put up two points each:
1. May the best power play win.
In a departure from Philadelphia teams of the past, the current Flyers do not rack up a lot of penalties. They are the 17th-least penalized team. Instead they prefer to see their opponents in the box.
The Penguins have the NHL's top-ranked power play at 26.4 percent, but Philadelphia's 14th-ranked unit (20.6) is potent, if not a little unusual.
On the flanks, the Flyers will have right-handed shooting Claude Giroux on the left dot and left-handed Jakub Voracek on the right. Typically, they will pass back and forth searching for one-time opportunities. Failing that, they have Wayne Simmonds -- one of the league's better net-front presences -- to tip in shots or collect the rebound. Simmonds is expected to return after missing the last seven games with an upper body injury.
"You have to be careful there with them, got to make sure we don't take too many penalties," Kuhnhackl said. "I'm sure we can kill one or two like we have the past couple games, but the more (penalties) we take, the more danger of giving up a goal."
Tristan Jarry, expected to make his third straight start, will have to be strong laterally to stop the Flyers' power play. Giroux might not be the "best player in the world" as he was for a few weeks in the spring of 2012, but Philadelphia's captain has enjoyed a strong comeback season and is fourth in the league scoring race with 78 points, while Voracek leads the NHL with 57 assists, 27 of them coming with the man advantage. Shayne Gostisbehere, who quarterbacks the power play, is ninth in power play assists with 20.
2. The kid is all right.
In their 51-year history, the Flyers have drafted first overall just once -- Mel Bridgman in 1978 -- and have had the No. 2 overall pick just twice.
Unfortunately for the Flyers, in those two instances -- 2007 and 2017 -- there was no Hall of Fame talent to be had at No. 2. There was no Evgeni Malkin (2004), no Drew Doughty (2008), no Chris Pronger (1993) nor a Brendan Shanahan (1987) available.
In 2007, the Flyers had the NHL's worst record but lost the draft lottery to the Blackhawks, who picked Patrick Kane. The Flyers ended up selecting James van Riemsdyk, who has since had a very good, but hardly great, career. Naturally, Kane led Chicago to the 2010 Stanley Cup over Philadelphia, scoring the Cup-winning goal in overtime of Game 6.
Last summer, the Flyers selected Nolan Patrick, a center from Brandon of the WHL. Patrick has had to overcome his share of injuries but has come on strong of late. In the last nine games, he has five goals and two assists. In 57 games this season he has 20 points (10 goals).
Patrick felt he was playing well before his production spiked.
"When you start scoring, everyone thinks you're playing well," he said.
Patrick is expected to center a second line with Voracek on the right side and Oscar Lindblom on the left. Like the Penguins, the Flyers have tried to spread out their offense with Giroux, Voracek and Simmonds on separate lines.
"A little bit of pressure, obviously," Patrick said of coming into the league. "Coming here, I didn't step on as a top guy right way. G, Jake, Simmy, Coots (Sean Couturier), some great players here that are the key to our offense. I kind of started myself in a supporting role."
3. Same old Flyers.
Philadelphia's biggest problem remains much the same as it has for the past 30 years: They simply lack an elite goalie.
Last summer, the Flyers signed veteran Brian Elliott to a two-year, $5.5 million contract in free agency. The 32-year-old had been decent until suffering a core muscle injury in a shootout -- yes, you can get injured in a shootout -- at the Coyotes on Feb. 13. He is expected to miss another two weeks. Elliott's backup, Michal Neuvirth, then suffered a lower body injury five days later and is out indefinitely.
That forced Ron Hextall to go dumpster-diving for a veteran goalie, and enter Petr Mrazek, who was acquired from the Red Wings on Feb. 19 for conditional draft picks. In six starts with the Flyers, Mrazek is 3-2-1 with an .893 save percentage. In six career games against the Penguins, the 26-year-old Mrazek is 2-4 with an .890 save percentage and 4.02 goals-against average.
Given Mrazek's numbers, you have to like the Penguins' chances.