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NHL on NBCSN: Pens, Flyers battle for Metro Division positioning on Rivalry Night

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Patrick Smith

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2017-18 season continues on Wednesday, as the Philadelphia Flyers will host the Pittsburgh Penguins on rivalry night at 8 p.m. ET. You can watch the game online by clicking here.

The second and third place teams in the Metropolitan Division will square off tonight with a lot on the line. A Penguins win would move them ahead of Washington for first place. A Flyers win would tie them with the Caps and move them ahead of the Pens.

Yea, it’s pretty tight at the top.

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The Penguins are coming off a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Monday night. They’ve now won back-to-back games since being shelled 8-4 by the Boston Bruins earlier this month.

Despite coming away with a couple of victories, they aren’t satisfied with the way they’ve been playing of late.
“We were certainly pleased with the result we got (Monday),” head coach Mike Sullivan said onTuesday, per the Pittsburgh Tribune. “But certainly not satisfied with the type of game we played. And that was the message to our team (Tuesday) morning – let’s not be fooled by the score.

“It’s about attention to detail, it’s about commitment to playing the game the right way. I know that this group is capable of playing that way, and when this group does, we get consistent results.”

As for the Flyers, they dropped a 4-1 decision to the Florida Panthers on Sunday. All-in-all, they’ve lost three straight games (one in a shootout).

The good news, is that Wayne Simmonds will be back in the lineup tonight. The 29-year-old missed each of the last seven games because of an upper-body injury, so getting him back will be huge. He’s expected to skate on a line with Valtteri Filppula and Jordan Weal.
“We’ll have a solid third line, I think,” Simmonds said, per the Courier-Post. “Obviously it will help spread things out and alleviate some pressure off the top two. We just need to have a more balanced team and I think that will help going into the playoff stretch.”

Here’s a fun fact for those of you watching from home: Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks will be part of NBCSN’s broadcast tonight. He’ll join Pierre McGuire, who is positioned between the benches, throughout the first period.

“I’m most excited about sitting in the bull pin with the guys and getting to feel that energy,” Kendricks said, per Philly.com. “It’s going to be so dope. I’m getting excited just thinking about it.”

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.