The Philadelphia Flyers will continue through a gauntlet of tough games tonight as they face the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh.
With the Metro getting tighter as the playoffs lurk, these stretch of games have proven difficult for the Flyers. Squeaking out a 4-3 win over a superbly talented Toronto Maple Leafs team, however, hopefully should provide a confidence boost tonight for the Flyers, who still are holding onto third place in the division.
The Canes Are Hot
The Hurricanes have won eight of their last 10 games and currently sit in second place in the Metropolitan, only two points behind the New York Rangers. It’ll be a slugfest the rest of the way between the Metro’s heavyweights.
When looking at the Hurricanes roster this season, it’s no shock to see Sebastian Aho leading the team in points at 75. In only 66 games, Aho has recorded 48 assists and 27 goals. The Carolina star has been producing very well during these past 10 games for the Hurricanes, tallying 14 points. When Aho is on the ice, he’s threat to score or create a goal every time. Aho is tied for 12th in the NHL in +/- with a +26, 11 higher than the next Hurricane, Teuvo Teräväinen.
Another Hurricane that has been on fire as of late is winger Seth Jarvis. Jarvis has scored a goal in four straight games, including a two-goal game against the Islanders. Just when you think the roster couldn’t get any better, add in former Penguin Jake Guentzel to the mix. Acquired at the trade deadline, Guentzel has scored in back-to-back games for the Canes and has 4 points against the Flyers this season from his last days with the Penguins. In his last five games he has recorded eight points total.
Also, Frederik Andersen will get the start in net for the Hurricanes, not Pyotr Kochetkov. He is 8-1-0 in 10 games played with a 2.17 GAA and .917 SV%.
It’s been a very hot stretch for the Hurricanes as they look to take over first place in the Metro. Hopefully tonight the Flyers can extinguish their four-game winning streak.
Coots Sits for Second Straight Game
Sean Couturier will be a healthy scratch once more tonight against the Hurricanes. After being scratched against the Leafs, head coach John Tortorella declined to comment on Coots. He once again offered no details today. If the Flyers pull off a win in Raleigh tonight, it’ll be interesting to see if we get a Coots-benching hat trick.
Flyers Look to Build Off Win Against Leafs
As mentioned, the Flyers are in the midst of a tough stretch of games. They have lost to the Bruins and Maple Leafs before getting revenge on Toronto in a 4-3 win. On paper, the grueling schedule started against Boston. However, in their last 10 games, the Flyers have five wins. That simply won’t cut it when you’re competing to stay in playoff picture.
The saving grace during these 10 games was that the teams below the Flyers were not playing all that great hockey either. But don’t look away now, because the Washington Capitals are very much in the hunt, nipping at the Flyers’ heels.
Who Needs to Step Up?
The Flyers are going to need their top players performing at a high level during this stretch if they hope to knock off some of the league’s best. Now, Travis Konecny has not been bad on the ice, but he has not scored in six games. He has recorded four assists during that stretch but the Flyers need him to start racking up goals again.
Flyer to Watch
In his last four games, Owen Tippett has three goals and seven points. He looks extremely fast on the ice and is once again finding the back of the net. Tippett has shown he can get hot and go on a nice streak. I think this continues tonight. Another player to look out for might be Joel Farabee.
Sam Ersson is another Flyer that may have a big game tonight, and well, the Flyers very much need him too. Ersson has been rock solid all season but when he has a bad game, it tends to get ugly. He got his revenge against Toronto, recording the win and 27 saves, after letting up 3 goals on 12 shots the first time around. After rebounding, hopefully some confidence was regained and he’ll be ready for another tough matchup against the likes of Jarvis and Guentzel.
PHI Record: 35-26-8, 78 pts, 3rd in Metropolitan
CAR Record: 43-20-6, 85 pts, 2nd in Metropolitan
When: 7:00pm ET
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC
Broadcast Info: NBC Sports Philadelphia, 97.5 The Fanatic
Last Game PHI: 3/19/24, 4-3 W vs Toronto
Last Game CAR: 3/19/24, 4-1 W at NY Islanders
PHI Goalie: Samuel Ersson (20-14-5, .898 SV%, 2.68 GAA, 3 SO)
CAR Goalie: Frederik Andersen (8-1-0, .917 SV%, 2.17 GAA, 1 SO)
PHI Projected Lineup
#74 Owen Tippett – #48 Morgan Frost – #11 Travis Konecny
#86 Joel Farabee – #21 Scott Laughton – #10 Bobby Brink
#71 Tyson Foerster – #25 Ryan Poehling – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#44 Nicolas Deslauriers – #27 Noah Cates – #62 Olle Lycksell
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#50 Adam Ginning – #23 Ronnie Attard
#5 Egor Zamula – #77 Erik Johnson
#33 Samuel Ersson
#32 Felix Sandström
Scratches: #14 Sean Couturier, #15 Denis Gurianov, #18 Marc Staal, #89 Cam Atkinson
Injuries: #9 Jamie Drysdale, #24 Nick Seeler, #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
CAR Projected Lineup
#59 Jake Guentzel – #20 Sebastian Aho – #24 Seth Jarvis
#37 Andrei Svechnikov – #92 Evgeny Kuznetsov – #88 Martin Nečas
#48 Jordan Martinook – #11 Jordan Staal – #23 Stefan Noesen
#28 Brendan Lemieux – #82 Jesperi Kotkaniemi
#74 Jaccob Slavin – #8 Brent Burns
#76 Brady Skjei – #22 Brett Pesce
#9 Dmitry Orlov – #5 Jalen Chatfield
#77 Tony DeAngelo
#31 Frederik Andersen
#41 Spencer Martin
Scratches: #52 Pyotr Kochetkov
Injuries: #18 Jack Drury, #71 Jesper Fast, #86 Teuvo Teräväinen
News and Notes
– The Flyers have lost their last six games against Metropolitan Division teams.
– The Hurricanes have currently won seven consecutive games following road wins.
– Moneyline: PHI +205, CAR -255
– The Flyers are 1-2-0 against the Hurricanes this season. This is the final meeting of the year between these teams.
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