 was our best player.'' Aleksander Barkov and Jussi Jokinen scored for Florida, which completed a six-game road trip with five losses although the Panthers picked up points in three of those defeats by losing in overtime. Interim coach Tom Rowe was pleased with Florida's effort against the Flyers.'' It was amazing how we came at them,'' he said. ''A lot of good stuff happened. I told the guys after the game that as frustrating as it is and as mad as some of you may be, there are too many positives here to get down.'' Mason turned aside Florida's best chance in overtime when he denied Aaron Ekblad's slap shot from close range. Simmonds notched his 28th multigoal game and second in two games when he deflected Claude Giroux's wrist shot past James Reimer for a 2-1 lead with 9:52 remaining in the second period. It was Simmonds' NHL-leading eighth power-play goal and snapped Florida's streak of penalty kills at 18.'' I'm playing with great linemates, great teammates,'' Simmonds said. ''It's definitely not all me.'' Mason kept Philadelphia ahead with his best save of the night six minutes into the third period when he robbed Jokinen with a sprawling glove save on a rebound chance from in close.'' I went down to my right there and made a desperation attempt to get anything on it,'' Mason said. ''Fortunately, I was able to get the glove on it.'' Jokinen finally beat Mason, tying the game at 2 with 4:46 remaining in the third with a wrist shot from just in front of the goal that went past Mason's glove.'' Overall, we played well,'' Jokinen said. ''If we keep playing like we've been playing, we'll get lots of points.'' Barkov put the Panthers ahead 1-0 with 4:20 remaining in the first period when he shot from just right of the Flyers goalie, giving the Panthers center nine points in his last 10 games. Simmonds tied it 1 1/2 minutes later with a wrist shot from the high slot, a soft goal that got past backup goalie Reimer's glove. The score masked a dominant first period for the Panthers, who outshot Philadelphia 15-6 and might've gone to the break ahead if not for Mason's stellar play. Reimer finished with 22 saves. Florida defenseman Keith Yandle played in his 578th game a night after leaving in the first period with a lower-body injury. Yandle has the 10th longest games played streak ever, but it was thought to be in jeopardy after Rowe said Monday night that he expected Yandle to be out for a while.'' (Monday) night I thought he'd be out for a couple of weeks, but that shows you how tough he is mentally and physically,'' Rowe said. ''It's great for the young kids to see that. It was a game where he could've mailed it in easily and nobody would've said a word, but that's the kind of teammate he is.'' NOTES: Philadelphia improved to 6-3 in overtime while Florida dropped to 7-4. ... The Panthers were without C Jonathan Marchessault (lower body), who leads the club in goals (10) and points (19), for the second straight game. ... The teams wrap up their three-game season series on March 2 in Philadelphia. ... Flyers D Radko Gudas (illness) missed his third straight game. ... Flyers RW Matt Read (upper body) missed the first game of what's expected to be a monthlong absence. He was replaced by Taylor Leier, who was called up from Lehigh Valley of the AHL for his first NHL game of the season and seventh of his career. ... Florida, which lost 4-3 in overtime Monday night at Boston, dropped to 2-2 on the second game of a back-to-back. ... Philadelphia's winning streak is its best since seven straight victories Dec. 2-15, 2011. UP NEXTPanthers: Begin a two-game homestand Thursday night against Pittsburgh. Flyers: Play the middle contest of a three-game homestand against Edmonton on Thursday night.)
Time: 07:00 P.M. EST Venue: Wells Fargo Center PHILADELPHIA -- Thanks to the stellar play of goaltender Steve Mason, the Philadelphia Flyers enter Tuesday night's game against the banged-up Florida Panthers on a five-game winning streak, their longest since March 15-22, 2014 when Craig Berube was behind the bench. After struggling through the first month of the season, Mason has won four in a row, sporting a much-improved 1.71 goals-against average and .945 save percentage." His play over the last stretch has been outstanding and he's been a strong anchor for us," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol told CSNPhilly.com. "His confidence kind of goes hand-in-hand with our team's confidence. They both feed off one another. You can see that throughout our entire game." As a result the Flyers (14-10-3, 31 points) have moved within four points of the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers (17-8-1, 35 points). Conversely, the injury-depleted Panthers are struggling to stay afloat under general manager-turned coach Tom Rowe. Florida dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Bruins in Boston Monday night and lost veteran defenseman Keith Yandle to a lower body injury. Hard-nosed defenseman Dylan McIlrath, acquired from the Rangers last month, is expected to take Yandle's place in the lineup against the Flyers. The Panthers already are without leading scorer Jonathan Marchessault, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Marchessault leads the Panthers with 19 points in 25 games. They are still waiting for forward Jonathan Huberdeau (Achilles' tendon) and defenseman Alex Petrovic (ankle surgery) to return from serious injuries. The Panthers received goals from Jaromir Jagr, Aleksander Barkov and Jason Demers in their loss to the Bruins but have struggled to score goals lately and are 1-1-2 since Rowe replaced popular head coach Gerard Gallant. The Panthers have scored just four regulation goals in their last four games and 12 goals in their last eight. Second-line center Vincent Trochek hasn't scored in 15 games, second-line right wing Reilly Smith has one goal in 13 contests and Jussi Jokinen has one goal in 16 games." Last year I had 60 points, so you feel you can do that again, be consistent," Jokinen told the Sun Sentinel. "Offensively, it hasn't been the start I wanted. I know it's going to come. Whether you're Sidney Crosby, Jussi Jokinen or a first-year player, you're going to struggle." Rowe mixed up his forward lines in Boston on Monday, putting Trocheck with Jagr and Denis Malgin. With back-to-back games, look for Roberto Luongo to be given a rest on Tuesday night in favor of backup James Reimer, who is 8-3-4 with a 3.05 GAA and an .896 save percentage this season. The Flyers are expected to turn to Mason, who has the benefit of playing behind the NHL's third-ranked offense with 84 goals. During their five-game winning streak, forward Jakub Voracek has one goal and five assists, Wayne Simmonds and captain Claude Giroux each have five points, and Brayden Schenn and Chris VandeVelde each have four points. Defensemen Ivan Provorov and Michael Del Zotto also have combined for four goals. Simmonds scored a pair of goals in the Flyers' 4-2 win in Nashville on Sunday." He is doing what he does every night," Hakstol said. "If there is a better guy in the league in that front, whether it's on the power play or five on five, I don't know who that is." The Flyers will be without forward Matt Read, who will be sidelined four weeks with an upper-body injury. Read has six goals and four assists in 27 games. He was injured when he was checked into his own net on Sunday. Philadelphia recalled forward Taylor Leier from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League and sent down forward Scott Laughton.
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