Preview: Flyers Look to Avoid Season Sweep to Hurricanes

The Philadelphia Flyers (28-31-8) host the Carolina Hurricanes (40-22-4) tonight at 7:00pm/ET.

This matchup will be the finale of a seven-game homestand. So far, the Flyers are 1-5-0 through this stretch at the Wells Fargo Center. For the most part, they’ve competed against postseason-bound teams. Yet, at the end of an ugly homestand, there’s a chance to salvage back-to-back wins versus, at the time of play, teams who rank in the top ten of the NHL Standings.

Philadelphia got back into the win column versus the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are on a three-game losing streak. The Flyers got a hold of the Lightning as they limped into the Wells Fargo Center. Tonight, the Hurricanes visit on a six-game winning streak.

Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Carolina (-170) is the favorite. In two prior meetings against Philadelphia this season, the Hurricanes are 2-0-0. They’ve outscored the Flyers, 10-5, in the two contests. Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body) and Garnet Hathaway (upper body) remain out of the lineup. Sam Ersson will start.

When: 3/15/2025; 7:00pm/ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center; Philadelphia, PA
Broadcast Info: NBC Sports Philadelphia; Flyers Radio 24/7
Last Game PHI: 3/13/2025; 4-3 W/SO; vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Last Game CAR: 3/14/2025; 4-2 W; vs. Detroit Red Wings

Philadelphia Flyers

Ersson (19-12-4, 2.96GAA, 88.8%SV) stood tall in the shootout versus Tampa Bay. That victory improved Ersson to 1-2-1 in his last five starts, all sub 90%SV. He’s been inconsistent. Some looked at his performance with Sweden at the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Faceoff to boost confidence. Since the regular season resumed, February 25th versus the Pittsburgh Penguins remains his only quality start.

“Sam’s [Ersson] struggles have nothing to do with how much he’s played. Sam has been inconsistent. Our goaltending has been inconsistent. [From] the end of December into the full month of January, early February, he put together a really good package of games. That’s what we’re looking for. With Sam, as we move forward, we’re hoping it’s going to be a tandem. We’re not going to ask Sam to play fifty-five, sixty games if he’s the guy. It’s going to be a tandem. We’re still evaluating. He’s been inconsistent. Sometimes, you watch him play and you think he’s got it, but then he falls off and it happens to a lot of goalies. That’s why some goalies just don’t play, and are out of the National Hockey League. So we continue to evaluate and we’re going to continue to do the same thing these last fifteen games or so.” – John Tortorella; 3/15/2025

Matvei Michkov (20G, 27A; 55.3%CF) scored one of the shootout goals for Philadelphia in contribution to the winning effort. His point production has cooled down, generating tension in the NHL Calder Memorial Trophy race. Macklin Celebrini is the highest-scoring rookie forward, and Lane Hutson leads all rookies in points (51). Quenching a three-game scoring drought puts Michkov back in the chase.

Emil Andrae (+2, 37BLK, 31HIT, 12TK:32GV; 54.3%FF) had a quiet night. He struggled to contain the puck on the powerplay, which is another point of evaluation. Andrae must redeem himself on the powerplay; it’ll be a step toward claiming a spot on defense next season because John Tortorella is actively searching for another blue liner to quarterback the second unit, keeping Jamie Drysdale on the top shift.

Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers

#71 Tyson Foerster – #27 Noah Cates – #11 Travis Konecny
#74 Owen Tippett – #14 Sean Couturier – #39 Matvei Michkov
#15 Olle Lycksell – #25 Ryan Poehling – #10 Bobby Brink
#44 Nicolas Deslauriers – #18 Rodrigo Ābols – #22 Jakob Pelletier

#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#24 Nick Seeler – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#36 Emil Andrae – #5 Egor Zamula

#33 Sam Ersson
(#82 Ivan Fedotov)

Projected Lineup: Carolina Hurricanes

#53 Jackson Blake – #20 Sebastian Aho – #24 Seth Jarvis
#71 Taylor Hall – #82 Jesperi Kotkaniemi – #98 Jack Roslovic
#48 Jordan Martinook – #11 Jordan Staal – #22 Logan Stankoven
#50 Eric Robinson – #77 Mark Jankowski – #27 Tyson Jost

#74 Jaccob Slavin – #8 Brent Burns
#4 Shayne Gostisbehere – #5 Jalen Chatfield
#26 Sean Walker – #56 Scott Morrow

#52 Pyotr Kochetkov
(#31 Frederik Andersen)