If the Flyers want to win the Metropolitan Division, this game will go a long way in their first-place hopes.
On Wednesday night, the Flyers (38-20-7) visit the division-leading Capitals (40-19-6) for a big showdown.
Let's get into the essentials:
• When: 7 p.m. ET
• Where: Capital One Arena
• Broadcast: NBC Sports Network
• Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app
• With 83 points, the Flyers have their most through 65 games of a season since 2010-11, when the club was 40-19-6 with 86 points.
That team — which featured a 23-year-old Claude Giroux and 21-year-old James van Riemsdyk, and names like Danny Briere, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards — finished 47-23-12 with 106 points and a playoff series victory.
The 106 points remain the franchise's most during a regular season since 2002-03. The 2019-20 Flyers are projected to finish with 103 to 104 points.
• Riding a 16-5-1 stretch since Jan. 8, a span in which they have two wins over Washington, the Flyers are only three points back of the Capitals.
On a season-best six-game winning streak, the Flyers hold second place in the Metropolitan Division with 17 games to go. What's particularly telling is that the Flyers now have a better shot at winning the division (20 percent chance) than earning a wild-card spot (16 percent chance), according to Hockey-Reference.com.
Washington, which has won three of its last four games, owns a 65.3 percent chance to win the Metro.
• Some major signs of growth this season for the Flyers:
NHL
They are 2-0-1 against the Capitals, outscoring them 11-6. Last season, the Flyers went 0-4-0 vs. Washington and were outscored 18-9.
The Flyers are 14-4-4 within the division after going 10-16-2 against Metropolitan opponents last season.
Projected lineup
Forwards
Claude Giroux-Sean Couturier-Jakub Voracek
Scott Laughton-Kevin Hayes-Travis Konecny
James van Riemsdyk-Derek Grant-Tyler Pitlick
Michael Raffl-Nate Thompson-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Defensemen
Ivan Provorov-Matt Niskanen
Travis Sanheim-Philippe Myers
Robert Hagg-Justin Braun
Goalies
Brian Elliott
Carter Hart
Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.