Flyers-Hurricanes: Game 59 Preview

 

 

 

 

The Philadelphia Flyers (26-21-11) are in Raleigh for the final game of their current road trip to do battle with the Carolina Hurricanes (27-23-10). This is the fourth and final meeting between the two clubs. Game time is 7:00.

 

All three previous games this season have seen Flyers victories. Carolina has managed a point in each game though as all three games were decided in overtime. 

 

Player to Watch
10 Brayden Schenn	53 Jeff Skinner
Last 5 Games: 3G, 3A, 6Pts, +2	Last 5 Games: 2G, 2A, 4Pts, +2

 

Brayden Schenn has been one of the hottest Flyers over the past two weeks. The 24 yr old has points in three of the past four games and multiple points in two of the last three. In the team's overtime win in Toronto, Schenn played center for the injured Claude Giroux. He is likely to play the same spot tonight as Giroux is expected to miss his second game in a row.

Goalie Matchup
30 Michal Neuvirth	30 Cam Ward
13-6-4, 2.17 GAA, .930 SV%	17-12-7, 2.36 GAA, .907 SV%

Michal Neuvirth will be back in net for Philadelphia tonight. Neuvirth picked up the win on Saturday in relief of an injured Steve Mason. 

Cam Ward has not had a typical Cam Ward season. With that being said, he still has them in the playoff hunt. There were some rumors floated about not long ago that the Hurricanes were looking to trade the former Stanley Cup winning netminder especially after the team acquired Eddie Lack. Ward is still in Carolina and is still a legitimate number 1. The Flyers will need their best tonight to pick up the victory.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Claude Giroux, R.J. Umberger, Evgeny Medvedev, Jordan Weal, Micheal Del Zotto

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
189 Sam Gagner	10 Brayden Schenn	17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
76 Chris VandeVelde	78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	25 Ryan White
221 Scott Laughton	52 Nick Cousins	24 Matt Read
Defense
47 Andrew MacDonald	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
32 Mark Streit	55 Nick Schultz
23 Brandon Manning	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
30 Michal Neuvirth

Coach Dave Hakstol has made several changes to lineup tonight. Sean Couturier returns after missing time with an injury, R.J. Umberger and Evgeny Medvedev are both healthy scratches for tonight. 

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (18th, 14th on road), Hurricanes (23rd, 19th at home) 
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (24th, 16th on road), Hurricanes (812th, 7th at home)
• Flyers rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere enters the game with a league leading 15 game point streak.
• Philadelphia is 43-21-7 all time against the Hurricanes

Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Bill Minchin is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow Bill on Twitter @wtfd103074.