By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
A four-game homestand culminates on Saturday afternoon for the Flyers, who have gone 2-0-1 in the previous three games. The Flyers (8-7-3) have points in six of their eight games in November, a trend they look to continue.
The Tampa Bay Lightning (11-6-1) come into Philadelphia to round out a trying week. The Lightning are riding a three-game winning streak and a 6-2-1 month of November, but with that came the news that captain Steven Stamkos would be out for at least four months after needing surgery on his meniscus.
The opening faceoff of Flyers-Lightning is set for 1 p.m.
| Flyers Leaders | GP | G | A | P | Lightning Leaders | GP | G | A | P |
| Jake Voracek | 18 | 7 | 10 | 17 | Nikita Kucherov | 17 | 9 | 13 | 22 |
| Claude Giroux | 18 | 4 | 13 | 17 | Victor Hedman | 18 | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 18 | 9 | 7 | 16 | Valtteri Filppula | 17 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| Brayden Schenn | 15 | 3 | 8 | 11 | Alex Killorn | 18 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| Mark Streit | 18 | 4 | 7 | 11 | Tyler Johnson | 18 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 86 Nikita Kucherov |
| Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, -1 | Last 5 Games: 5 G, 2 A, 7 P, +7 |
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 35 Steve Mason | 88 Andrei Vasilevskiy |
| 4-5-3, 3.13 GAA, .889 SV% | 4-1-1, 1.66 GAA, .945 SV% |
Steve Mason makes his third straight start coming off of arguably his best game of the season against Winnipeg on Thursday. Mason made 30 saves in Thursday's win. Mason also started all three games against the Lightning last season, going 2-0-1 with a 1.99 GAA and .913 save percentage.
While it seemed like Ben Bishop was the likely choice in goal for Tampa, Andrei Vasilevskiy led the Lightning onto the ice for warmups and is starting Saturday's game. Vasilevskiy makes his first start since a shutout of the Islanders on Monday.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Scratches: Roman Lyubimov, Nick Schultz, Andrew MacDonald, Boyd Gordon, Michal Neuvirth
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 10 Brayden Schenn | 28 Claude Giroux | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 11 Travis Konecny | 14 Sean Couturier | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 12 Michael Raffl | 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 24 Matt Read |
| 76 Chris VandeVelde | 25 Nick Cousins | 22 Dale Weise |
| Defense | ||
| 15 Michael Del Zotto | 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | |
| 23 Brandon Manning | 3 Radko Gudas | |
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 32 Mark Streit | |
| Goalie | ||
| 35 Steve Mason |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (2nd, 5th at home), Lightning (3rd, 5th on road)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (24th, 17th at home), Lightning (13th, T-14th on road)
- Recent History vs. Lightning
- Oct. 9, 2015 - The Lightning defeated the Flyers, 3-2, in overtime in the season opener in Tampa. After a scoreless first period, Jason Garrison opened the scoring for the Lightning at 1:25 of the season. The Flyers responded with goals by Matt Read and Brayden Schenn to take the lead, by Ryan Callahan scored with 1:38 left in the period to tie the game. The third came and went scoreless and that forced the first ever 3-on-3 overtime in NHL history. A wild overtime, which included a penalty shot for Scott Laughton (the Flyers second of the game), came to a close when Garrison scored on a breakaway to give Tampa the win.
- March 7, 2016 – The Flyers claimed a 4-2 win over the Lightning at Wells Fargo Center. Tampa went ahead with a first-period goal by Ondrej Palat, a goal that held up until the late stages of the second. With the Flyers peppering Andrei Vasilevskiy, they finally scored as Shayne Gostisbehere picked up a loose puck in front with 3:09 left in the second to tie the game. In the third, Gostisbehere struck again on the power play. Brayden Schenn added a goal with six minutes remaining to provide insurance, but Tampa quickly came back with a goal by Vladislav Namestnikov to cut the lead to one. Wayne Simmonds would score into an empty net to ice the game.
- March 11, 2016 – Just four days later, the Flyers would again defeat the Lightning, 3-1, in Tampa. Sam Gagner scored on the power play in the first. Two second-period goals by Matt Read and Brayden Schenn opened up a three-goal lead for the Flyers. Steve Mason did the rest, making 18 saves in the game, allowing the only Tampa goal to Brian Boyle with 2:42 left in the third.
- A Look Back in Flyers History - May 20, 2004, the Flyers needed a win in Game 6 of the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals to keep their season alive. The Lightning opened the scoring at 1:28 with a goal from Vincent Lecavalier. But goals by Simon Gagne and Keith Primeau put the Flyers ahead after one. Lecavalier scored again 45 seconds into the second to tie the game. Sami Kapanan scored at 12:42 to put the Flyers ahead again. Two goals in 2:18 by Ruslan Fedotenko tied the game and put Tampa ahead after two. That score held up into the late stages of the third when Primeau played hero, scoring the tying goal with 1:49 to play. That forced overtime and after a grueling overtime period, the Flyers emerged victorious as Gagne scored his second of the game at 18:18 to send the series to a deciding Game 7 in Tampa.
- Flyers leaders vs. Lightning
- Claude Giroux - 26 games, 3 goals, 22 assists, 25 points
- Brayden Schenn - 14 games, 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points
- Jake Voracek - 17 games, 4 goals, 8 assists, 12 points
- Steve Mason - 8 games, 3-3-2, 2.60 GAA, .883 Sv%
- Milestone Watch
- Claude Giroux needs two points to move into 10th all-time in Flyers history, passing Simon Gagne.
Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
