Red Wings hope for rare win in Philly

PHILADELPHIA -- The Detroit Red Wings don't like being reminded they have not won a regular season game in Philadelphia in nearly 20 years.

"When you guys keep reminding us it's hard not to think about it," Red Wings left winger Henrik Zetterberg said about his team's 0-11-0 record in Philadelphia since Jan. 25, 1997.

"But obviously, we know what it is. We haven't won there in a while and we have another chance (Wednesday) and another chance next week (when the Red Wings return to Philly).

"We can't really focus on that. We haven't been at our best the last two games and we want to get back to that. We need to get a little more urgency. We've been a little sloppy and we can execute a little better."

To get an idea how long it's been since the Red Wings skated out of Philadelphia with a win, goaltender Mike Vernon beat Ron Hextall and Garth Snow, who are now the general managers of the Flyers and Islanders.

After winning six in a row, the Red Wings (6-4-0) are coming off back-to-back losses to Boston and Florida and have managed just two goals in the defeats. They have been outshot by an average of 32-28 this season and have placed an emphasis on puck possession.

"That's one thing we have to get a little better at," said Zetterberg, who has no goals and four assists in 10 games. "I think when you take care of the puck better and win battles and complete passes you keep the puck and we haven't done that lately."

The Flyers (4-5-1) are coming off Sunday night's 4-3 win in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes but have been playing fire wagon hockey to start the season. They rank third in the NHL in goals scored, but second in goals allowed. The Flyers and their opponents have combined to average 7.3 goals per game, well above the average of six goals.

The Flyers' goaltending has been inconsistent all season. Steve Mason (2-4-1, 3.46 goals-against average, .878 save percentage) and Michael Neuvirth (2-1-0, 3.84 GAA, .861 SP) have struggled in the first 10 games of the season.

"Neuvy and I have our own things to clean up before we worry about what's going on (in front of us)," Mason told the South Jersey Courier-Post. "I think as a whole, we need to get cleaner getting out of our own zone. We've created our own problems a lot of times where it kind of bites us in the butt and causes a goal to happen. First and foremost, gotta worry about stopping the puck, and if Neuvy and I stop the puck at a better rate, our in-zone play will be better as well."

The Red Wings claimed forward Martin Frk off waivers Tuesday and assigned him to AHL Grand Rapids. Flyers forward Michael Raffl is eligible to come off injured reserve on Wednesday. If he does, look for center Boyd Gordon to go on injured reserve with an upper body injury expected to keep him sidelined one week.