The Philadelphia Flyers (8-9-2) host the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:30pm/ET.
These two teams, representing the NHL Metropolitan Division, clashed once already. The Hurricanes won at the Lenovo Center, 6-4.
After that loss on the road, the Flyers went on a five-game point streak. Recently, that point streak snapped versus the Colorado Avalanche. However, Philadelphia has an opportunity to balance out the first quarter of the 2024-2025 season.
Carolina (-230) is favored, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. They enter tonight with an offense ranked 5th (68), a defense ranked 3rd (41), a powerplay ranked 8th (23.7%), and a penalty kill ranked 5th (85%) in the NHL. The Flyers possess an offense ranked 22nd (53), a defense ranked 26th (66), a powerplay ranked 19th (17.7%), and a penalty kill ranked 4th (86.4%) in the NHL. If Philadelphia hopes to win, they need a perfect performance on the ice.
When: 7:30pm/ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center; Philadelphia, PA
Broadcast Info: TNT/NBC Sports Philadelphia; 93.3 WMMR
Last Game PHI: 11/18; 3-2 L; vs. Colorado Avalanche
Last Game CAR: 11/17; 4-1 W; vs. St. Louis Blues
Philadelphia Flyers
Ivan Fedotov is the starting goaltender. He is on a three-game win streak, but the Hurricanes represent his most solid opponent since a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on October 23rd. In six starts, Fedotov is 3-3-0 with an 87.1%SV and a 3.64GAA.
“In my mind, and we don’t get too far ahead, it depends how they’re [Fedotov and Kolosov] playing, first of all. If they’re both playing well, they’ll probably both see action.” – John Tortorella; 11/20/2024
Alexei Kolosov will back up Fedotov. Sam Ersson (lower body) is not on injured reserve but is still considered day-to-day.
Helge Grans made his NHL debut two nights ago versus the Avalanche. Lately, recalled skaters are making quite the impression in the defensive unit for the Flyers. There is not any pressure on Grans. He graciously stepped into his role alongside Egor Zamula and looked like he belonged when Colorado visited Philadelphia. Grans, in 16:10, notched a secondary assist when Tyson Foerster scored, created a couple of high-danger scoring chances, landed a hit on Valeri Nichushkin, and blocked two shots.
“He [Grans] played well. Shawsy [Shaw] makes the call. We talk in between periods. We talked in between periods about putting him up with Sanny [Sanheim]. I thought Z [Zamula] was playing pretty well, too, until he got banged up. I leave it to Shawsy during the game. We discussed things in between periods. We wanted to put him with Sanny and watch the game. We just did some video. He’s all over the tape as far as good stuff. [I] hope it continues.” – John Tortorella; 11/20/2024
Grans did not play a perfect game, but in his NHL debut, he was stellar. He served a minor penalty for holding, drawn by Cale Makar, and gave away the puck twice. Unquestionably, that is nitpicking, but versus Carolina, those small details could cost the Flyers. Nonetheless, a freshly minted defenseman in the NHL will need a learning curve.
“The only thing we’ve talked about is just being ready because the two teams he’s [Grans] playing against are two of the fastest teams in the league. Tonight, our challenge is we’re playing against probably a [team] just as fast as Colorado, but they [the Carolina Hurricanes] check. They press. Colorado is a little bit of a different animal that way. Colorado is not like Carolina in that aspect. It’s a different situation for him, and they’re going to press you; they’re going to jump you really quickly, and hard.” – John Tortorella; 11/20/2024
Cam York (upper body), Emil Andrae (mid body), and Jamie Drysdale (upper body) all remain on injured reserve but are considered day-to-day.
Owen Tippett sparked Philadelphia on Monday. The forwards will count on him to buzz around the ice against an elite opponent. Tortorella magnified how the centers need to develop more offense, and the lack of offense developed from the middle affects the attack from the wing. Sean Couturier must be on top of his game, pushing the attack with his line featuring Travis Konecny and Tippett. Tippett, in 15:30, scored, joined in on the rush, drew a minor for roughing on Miles Wood, made four hits, and blocked a shot.
“The responsibility away from the puck, that’s improved. Our structure improved, but I don’t think we develop enough. [We’re] going to keep on trying.” – John Tortorella; 11/19/2024
Morgan Frost and Nicolas Deslauriers are healthy scratches.
Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
#74 Owen Tippett – #14 Sean Couturier – #11 Travis Konecny
#86 Joel Farabee – #21 Scott Laughton – #10 Bobby Brink
#90 Anthony Richard – #27 Noah Cates – #39 Matvei Michkov
#71 Tyson Foerster – #25 Ryan Poehling – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#6 Travis Sanheim – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#24 Nick Seeler – #77 Erik Johnson
#5 Egor Zamula – #3 Helge Grans
#82 Ivan Fedotov
(#35 Alexei Kolosov)
Projected Lineup: Carolina Hurricanes
#37 Andrei Svechnikov – #20 Sebastian Aho – #96 Jack Roslovic
#50 Eric Robinson – #82 Jesperi Kotkaniemi – #88 Martin Nečas
#48 Jordan Martinook – #11 Jordan Staal – #28 William Carrier
#27 Tyson Jost – #18 Jack Drury – #53 Jackson Blake
#74 Jaccob Slavin – #8 Brent Burns
#7 Dmitry Orlov – #5 Jalen Chatfield
#4 Shayne Gostisbehere – #26 Sean Walker
#52 Pyotr Kochetkov
(#41 Spencer Martin)
