NHL: 5 things to know for Tuesday night

The Calgary Flames, who are clinging to a playoff spot, battle the Flyers in Philadelphia without the injured Mark Giordano and Curtis Glencross, who’s expected to play his first game with Washington. Meanwhile, Toronto tries to avoid a 17th straight road loss.

Here are five things to know for Tuesday night's NHL games:

Life without Giordano

Defenceman Mark Giordano will miss the Flames' visit to Philadelphia and all other remaining games this season after tearing his biceps tendon. Giordano, who was in the Norris Trophy discussion for the NHL's top defenceman, is tied for the lead in Flames scoring with 48 points. Calgary is also without forwards Curtis Glencross and Sven Baertschi, who were sent to Washington and Vancouver, respectively, before Monday’s trade deadline.

The undermanned Flyers, who will be without defencemen Kimmo Timonen (traded to Chicago), Braydon Coburn (traded to Tampa Bay) and Nicklas Grossmann (upper-body injury), have won three straight against the Flames.

Glencross to make Capitals debut

Former Calgary Flames forward Curtis Glencross will make his Washington Capitals debut at Columbus against the winless-in-six Blue Jackets. At Monday’s practice, the 32-year-old skated on the second line on the left side beside Troy Brouwer and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Later, he was skating alongside Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin on the top line. A pending unrestricted free agent who waived his no-trade clause to join Washington, Glencross had nine goals and 28 points in 53 games with Calgary this season.

Leafs try to snap road woes

The Toronto Maple Leafs, who are winless in 16 straight road games, tradedOlli Jokinen and Korbinian Holzer leading into Tuesday’s date against the Panthers in Florida. Florida is the third stop on a four-game trip for the Leafs, who have gone 162 minutes and seven seconds without scoring on the road after being blanked in Montreal and Washington on the weekend.

This game has huge playoff implications for the Panthers, who have won the first two games of the season series with the Maple Leafs to extend their overall winning streak in the series to four. Florida, which is two points behind Boston for the second wild-card spot in the East, has won consecutive games since acquiring 43-year-old forward Jaromir Jagr.

Masked men duel in Minny

Many eyes will be on the much-anticipated showdown between Ottawa’s Andrew Hammond and Minnesota’s Devan Dubnyk. Hammond, who shone in the absence of the injured Craig Anderson (he’s since returned) and Robin Lehner, was named the NHL's first star of the week on Monday after pitching two shutouts in three starts for a 0.67 GAA and .978 save percentage. Dubnyk, who was acquired in a mid-January trade from Arizona, was the first star of the month for February, posting an 11-2-1 record with three shutouts, a 1.64 GAA and .939 save percentage.

Minnesota has won two straight to grab the second wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference, and will have a different look up front with newly acquired forwards Sean Bergenheim and Chris Stewart, the latter believed to be a longtime trade target of Ottawa.

Markstrom gets nod over Lack

Jacob Markstrom will get the start in goal for Vancouver against the visiting San Jose Sharks. Eddie Lack, who is expected to get the bulk of the starts with No. 1 netminder Ryan Miller out at least another month with a sprained knee, has allowed 10 goals in his last two appearances. Markstrom, once regarded as the best goalie not playing in the NHL, had a 1.95 GAA and .932 save percentage this season with the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League. Forward Sven Baertschi, acquired from Calgary on Monday, could be in the lineup, but not Cory Conacher, who has reported to Utica.

Newly acquired Sharks forward Ben Smith had a goal and an assist Monday night as the Sharks snapped an eight-game losing streak at home with a 4-0 win over Montreal. San Jose is still in fifth in the Pacific Division, but is even points-wise with Calgary and Los Angeles, as all three teams have 70.

Elsewhere, the Edmonton Oilers will be without the traded Jeff Petry on the blue-line when they host the winless-in-three Los Angeles Kings, who are tied in points with Calgary for third place in the Pacific Division.