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Can Flyers, Penguins be good trade partners?

The Flyers are in sell mode, especially on defense, while the Pittsburgh Penguins have three injured defensemen. Could the bitter rivals look past their on-ice differences and make a trade before the deadline at 3 p.m. Wednesday?

The Flyers are in sell mode, especially on defense, while the Pittsburgh Penguins have three injured defensemen.

Could the bitter rivals look past their on-ice differences and make a trade before the deadline at 3 p.m. Wednesday?

The clock is ticking.

Flyers defensemen Mark Streit, Michael Del Zotto, and Nick Schultz are prospective unrestricted free agents on July 1 who are available. Ditto goalies Michal Neuvirth and Steve Mason, among others.

The Flyers could use forward prospects and/or draft picks.

Pittsburgh acquired defenseman Ron Hainsey from Carolina on Thursday, but the Penguins are still missing injured defensemen Kris Letang, Trevor Daley, and Olli Maatta and would like to add depth as they try to defend their Stanley Cup championship.

In addition, Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz returned to the lineup Saturday but has been battling concussion problems.

The Penguins have reportedly shown interest in St. Louis defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, but Streit would obviously cost them a lot less.

It is worth noting that Flyers general manager Ron Hextall has close ties with Jim Rutherford, the Penguins' GM. Hextall's father, Bryan Jr., and Rutherford were teammates with Pittsburgh. Hextall has known Rutherford since the early 1970s.

By the way, Colorado will play Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center and will bring two forwards who are drawing lots of trade interest around the league: Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog.

Manning hearing

Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning will have a hearing Monday for his high, open-ice hit on Pittsburgh rookie winger Jake Guentzel in the second period Saturday, the NHL's department of player safety announced.

Guentzel remained in the game and finished with two assists in Pittsburgh's 4-2 win.

No penalty was called on the play, but that doesn't mean Manning won't be suspended.

Even if Manning is spared a suspension, he could be benched Tuesday because the Flyers might want to showcase Del Zotto before the trade deadline.

Breakaways

In NHL history, the 22 outdoor games have averaged 54,924 fans per game. . . . Neuvirth, who struggled in the loss at Heinz Field, has started six straight games and nine of the last 10. The Flyers are 3-5-1 in those nine starts. . . . Radko Gudas had 10 hits Saturday and Andrew MacDonald blocked four shots. . . . Claude Giroux won 61 percent of his faceoffs, while Sidney Crosby won 38 percent.