The Philadelphia Flyers started the month of February with their sights set firmly on the Eastern Conference-leading Ottawa Senators. But the month of February has been none too kind to the Broad Street Bullies, whose winless streak was extended to nine consecutive games on Thursday night with a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks. The Flyers' precipitous decline has transformed them from aggressive buyers at the trade deadline into possible sellers. Needless to say, tonight's game against the Panthers is likely a critical determining factor for GM Paul Holmgren.

Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers squandered a 4-2 third-period lead over the Boston Bruins, ultimately losing 5-4 in a shootout. If the Panthers don't bounce back with a win over the Flyers tonight, it's all but certain that they'll be sellers in advance of Tuesday's trade deadline, with captain Olli Jokinen the most likely high-profile player to be dealt. Check out this critical pre-deadline match-up between two teams struggling to stay in the playoff hunt, in brilliant 1080i on HDNet, live at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Panthers to Watch

He's known to be one of the NHL's best two-way forwards, but while Finnish pivot Olli Jokinen is leading the Panthers with 59 points in 63 games, he's also posted a very disappointing team-worst minus-13 rating. Jokinen has been the subject of near non-stop trade rumors over the past month, and if the Panthers fail to defeat the Flyers on Saturday night, look for him to be dealt prior to Tuesday's trade deadline.

Power forward Nathan Horton's play has picked up considerably after a rough start, and he's finally starting to make good on the enormous potential that encouraged Florida to select him with the third overall pick in the incredibly deep 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Horton has scored eight goals in 11 February games, and a strong finish from the young power forward just might be enough to propel the on-the-cusp Panthers into the postseason for the first time since the spring of 2000.

Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester has been a bit of an enigma for the Panthers, occasionally looking like a future Norris Trophy candidate, but often disappearing for long stretches at a time. Last season, he broke out with a strong 42-point performance, finishing with an impressive plus-23 rating. But this season, though his 11 goals are just one off his career high, the rest of his numbers have declined precipitously. It's unlikely that the Panthers will be shopping Bouwmeester at the deadline, but this once unthinkable scenario is also not beyond the realm of possibility.

In goal, Tomas Vokoun has been a tremendous stabilizing influence, stopping 92% of the shots he's faced while posting four shutouts. And if the recent trend of the Panthers playing well down the stretch continues, Vokoun will be the difference-maker in their chase for a playoff spot.

Flyers to Watch

The Flyers were recently informed that star winger Simon Gagne (post-concussion syndrome) will not be able to return to the lineup this season, and so it'll be up to his teammates to carry the load. Offseason trade acquisition Joffrey Lupul has been a valuable offensive contributor, as have top centers Mike Richards and Daniel Briere.

However, the real key to the Flyers' playoff hopes are their second- and third-tier forwards. Veteran Mike Knuble has been quite good, tallying 22 goals (second behind Richard) and 40 assists through 61 games. But he'll need to get closer to a point-per-game scoring pace if he's to help make up for Gagne's absence. Another little-talked-about Flyer is R.J. Umberger, a former Canucks prospect who's starting to come into his own in the City of Brotherly Love. Umberger's 43 points are third-most on the Flyers, and with 32 assists, he's demonstrated impressive playmaking ability.

On the blue line, two Sequoias--Derian Hatcher and Braydon Coburn--form one of the NHL's most fearsome defense pairs. Finnish puck-moving rearguard Kimmo Timonen has been quite good, leading all Flyers blueliners with 30 points (in 59 games), but his minus-nine rating leaves a lot to be desired. Randy Jones, the only Flyer unfairly maligned during this season's rash of violent on-ice incidents, has performed well beyond expectations, tallying 25 points in 56 games while posting a very respectable plus-six rating.

In goal, it's literally a toss-up as to whether the Flyers have a better shot at winning with Martin Biron or Antero Niittymaki. But it's worth considering this: If the Flyers consider the Buffalo Sabres to be a worthy rival, they should think long and hard about whether they can win a Cup with the goalie Buffalo gave up for a second round pick (Biron) in order to give Ryan Miller the starting job. Niittymaki won a Calder Cup for the AHL's Philadelphia Phantoms (with Flyers coach John Stevens), and that performance will likely carry some weight with Stevens as the playoffs approach.

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