Welcome to Top Shelf TV, a preview of the week’s national NHL TV schedule. We comb through what’s airing on NBC, NBCSN, and NHL Network to tell you which games are worth your time and which ones to skip.
We’re not going to lie: it’s a rough schedule this week. There aren’t any clear must watch games on the national NHL TV schedule.
There are still tons of stars and some fun to be had though, so read on for our previews. The action starts tonight, so let’s hop to it!
Monday (Dec. 18)
Los Angeles Kings at Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT on NHL Network)
The Good: Expect a knock-down, drag-out defensive game here. Lead by a resurgent Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles enters the week second in the NHL in 5-on-5 team save percentage. Although the American netminder has struggled in his last few starts, he’s no easy out.
The Flyers have been even better, entering tonight first in the NHL in 5-on-5 team save percentage. Brian Elliot has been a star of the week in each of the past two weeks.
Have you ever seen a Ghost fly? #DALvsPHI pic.twitter.com/KDlUxZfnlb
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 17, 2017
The Bad: The Flyers special teams are a mess. Despite quality goaltending at even strength, Flyers goalies are an abysmal .833 on the penalty kill.
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The Flyers are riding a six game win streak right now, but that comes on the heels of a 10 game losing streak. They remain in the Eastern Conference playoff picture due to increased parity in the Metro and the loser point; they took home five points from OT losses during that streak.
What we’re saying is: the loser point is bad and the NHL should feel bad.
The Kings are closing a four-game road swing tonight, and they’ve lost all three so far. Some would look at that as an opportunity to salvage some points. We look at that as tired legs ready to head back West.
The Verdict: Hard maybe. These are two potential playoff teams, but Philadelphia has been pretty streaky and the game is an early start on the West Coast.