Aiming to go up three games to zero in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series, Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers take on Dan Muse’s Pittsburgh Penguins at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Wednesday evening.

Game time is 7:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised locally on NBC Sports Philadelphia and nationally on TNT, TRUTV and HBO MAX.

On Monday, Dan Vladar notched his first career playoff shutout as the Flyers skated to a 3-0 victory in Game Two of the series. Rookie winger Porter Martone (2nd goal of the playoffs) opened the scoring in the second period. The Flyers later got goals from Garnet Hathaway (SHG, 1st) and Luke Glendening (ENG, 1st).

The Flyers had a complete off day on Tuesday. On the injury front, Emil Andrae remains day-to-day with an upper body injury. Tocchet said during a Tuesday remote press conference that Cam York is dealing with an upper-body issue but he will play through it. Numerous players on both teams are playing banged up. Such is the nature of playoff hockey.

Here are the RAV4 Things to watch in Game Three.

1. Exits and entries

In Game Two, the Penguins were slow to adjust to the Flyers’ neutral zone 1-2-2. Even with three first period power plays, the Flyers limited Pittsburgh the paltry two shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes.

The second period started with a little more push from Pittsburgh but the game reverted to Philly’s control. By the end of the frame, the Flyers had a 2-0 lead. A strong forechecking shift by the Flyers’ fourth line carried over into Martone’s goal on the next shift.

The third period — for the first time in the six periods played to date — was actually controlled by the Penguins in a desperation push. Vladar kept the Penguins at bay. Pittsburgh grew frustrated, and started to take foolish after-the-whistle penalties near the end of the game. Meanwhile, the Glendening empty netter from a Sean Couturier feed iced the win.

Heading into Game Three, the Penguins will look to build off things they started to establish over the majority of the third period. Pittsburgh tried some things — a cross-corner dump-in for example that resulted in a prime scoring chance after the Pens won the retrieval — they had not been doing over Game One and the first 40 minutes of Game Two.

2. Discipline and special teams

This is an evergreen area for each and every playoff game. There has yet to be a power play goal for either team through two games, which works to Philly’s benefit.

In Game One, special teams play was a wash. The Flyers were 0-for-3 on the power play but 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. The PK, in fact, proved to be a momentum booster for Philly.

In Game Two, the Flyers went 0-for-5 on the power play. They were 5-for-5 on the penalty kill with a shorthanded goal scored. 

3. Marty McFlyer

Martone, 19, made Flyers history by scoring the game winning goals in both Game 1 and Game 2 of the series. Over his first 11 games in the NHL (nine regular season, two playoff games), he’s scored six goals and added six assists for 12 points.

Over the course his short time with the team, Martone has shown multiple facets of his offensive abilities: the simultaneous ability to find soft ice or to battle his way to the net, dynamic shooting ability from distance, playmaking vision and passing ability, heaviness on the puck and the determination to make second-effort plays if stopped initially.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old teammate Matvei Michkov closed the regular season with a very strong stretch drive. He led the club in scoring after the Olympic break. However, Michkov has struggled in the first two playoff games of his NHL career (particularly in Game 2). He still has some adjustments to make to the pace and checking style that elevates playoff hockey a notch above even the NHL stretch drive.

If both Martone and Michkov can thrive in Game Three, however, the Flyers will be in excellent shape to generate whatever they may need on the attacking side to win their third game of the series.

4.  Odd-man rushes

Through two games, odd-man rushes have been virtually non-existent for Pittsburgh. The Flyers, meanwhile, have had multiple 2-on-1s and several breakaways (even a shorthanded 2-on-0) but turning those into goals has been the issue. 

In Game Three, keep an eye not only on how many 2-on-1 or breakaway chances the respective sides generate but also on comparative abilities to turn a 3-on-2 (typically not especially dangerous) into a mini 2-on-1 and a prime scoring chance. That was something Pittsburgh did very well in the regular season; especially with a trailer joining the play.