NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Sunday night’s matchup between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.
It’s time to put up for shut up for the Philadelphia Flyers, who only need wins and a lot of help from those around them down the stretch here.
Complicating matters is the potential absence of Claude Giroux from the game. Flyers coach Scott Gordon said Sunday that Giroux is battling an illness. Philly has lost two in a row, including a 7-6 heartbreaker against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday when they coughed up a 5-2 second-period lead. The Flyers had been rolling prior to that, winning six of their past eight.
They’re now eight points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wildcard in the Eastern Conference.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is 6-2-0 in their past eight games but enter Sunday coming off a 5-1 loss against the St. Louis Blues 24 hours earlier, a defeat that ended their three-game winning streak.
The Penguins are sitting in the third spot in the Metropolitan, two points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes and four points back of the Washington Capitals for first place. [WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 6:30 P.M. ET – NBCSN]
What: Philadelphia Flyers at Pittsburgh Penguins Where: PPG Paints Arena When: Sunday, March 17, 6:30 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN Live stream: You can watch the Flyers-Penguins stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
FLYERS Claude Giroux -- Nolan Patrick -- Travis Konecny Oskar Lindblom -- Sean Couturier -- Jakub Voracek James van Riemsdyk -- Scott Laughton -- Michael Raffl Phil Varone -- Corban Knight -- Ryan Hartman Ivan Provorov -- Travis Sanheim Shayne Gostisbehere -- Philippe Myers Robert Hagg -- Radko Gudas
Starting goalie: Carter Hart
PENGUINS Jared McCann - Sidney Crosby - Jake Guentzel Teddy Blueger - Evgeni Malkin - Phil Kessel Dominik Simon - Nick Bjugstad - Patric Hornqvist Joseph Blandisi - Matt Cullen - Garrett Wilson
Jack Johnson - Justin Schultz Brian Dumoulin - Zach Trotman Marcus Pettersson - Erik Gudbranson
Starting goalie: Matt Murray
Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (play-by-play) and Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will have the call from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. Pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. ET with NHL Live, hosted by Liam McHugh alongside Mike Milbury and Keith Jones.
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck