Flyers-Hurricanes: Game 38 Preview

Kevin Durso

December 31 2018

(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Flyers first two games out of the holiday break have come with late-game disappointment. First, there was an overtime loss in Tampa after a frantic comeback effort, then after holding Florida off the board for 53 minutes, surrendered two late goals to spoil Carter Hart's best game in goal in his young career.

The Flyers look to get back on track, closing out 2018 with a game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Game time is at 6 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Carolina Hurricanes	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	37	13	31	44	Sebastian Aho	37	15	24	39
Jake Voracek	37	9	20	29	Teuvo Teravainen	37	8	21	29
Sean Couturier	35	14	14	28	Justin Williams	37	7	13	20
Travis Konecny	37	9	12	21	Andrei Svechnikov	37	10	8	18
Wayne Simmonds	37	11	5	16	Micheal Ferland	30	11	6	17

Player to Watch
11 Travis Konecny	20 Sebastian Aho
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 1 A, 1 P, +1	Last 5 Games: 3 G, 2 A, 5 P, +3

If it feels like things have been quiet lately from Travis Konecny, well, it has. The Flyers forward has been held off the scoresheet completely in the last four games and has just two points, both assists, in his last 10 games.

Sebastian Aho has emerged as the Hurricanes top offensive forward this season. He's following up a pair of seasons where he surpassed 20 goals with 15 already in just 37 games, well on his way to setting career marks. In just nine games against the Flyers in his career, Aho already has six goals and 12 points.

Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart	34 Petr Mrazek
4 GP, 2-2-0, 2.28 GAA, .917 SV%	16 GP, 6-8-2, 2.59 GAA, .901 SV%

Carter Hart was on the wrong end of the decision on Saturday night despite making 34 saves on 36 shots, his highest total in four NHL games so far. Hart gets right back between the pipes in Carolina.

Former Flyer goalie Petr Mrazek is expected to get the call in goal for Carolina. It's been an up and down season for him. In some games, he has dominated and held the opposition completely off the board. In others, he has struggled mightily to make the big save when needed. The Flyers should have some familiarity with him from last season's brief stint in the Orange and Black.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nolan Patrick, Brian Elliott, Anthony Stolarz, Corban Knight

Scratches: Jori Lehtera, Christian Folin

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
25 James van Riemsdyk	28 Claude Giroux	11 Travis Konecny
17 Wayne Simmonds	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
21 Scott Laughton	40 Jordan Weal	12 Michael Raffl
23 Oskar Lindblom	44 Phil Varone	22 Dale Weise
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	6 Travis Sanheim
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	8 Robert Hagg
47 Andrew MacDonald	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
79 Carter Hart

Lineup Notes

No changes are expected to the Flyers lineup for Monday's game.

Hurricanes Projected Lineup

Injuries: Jordan Staal

Scratches: Phillip Di Guiseppe, Haydn Fleury,

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
23 Brock McGinn	20 Sebastian Aho	86 Teuvo Teravainen
79 Micheal Ferland	64 Clark Bishop	14 Justin Williams
37 Andrei Svechnikov	71 Lucas Wallmark	48 Jordan Martinook
59 Janne Kuokkanen	49 Victor Rask	13 Warren Foegele
Defense
74 Jaccob Slavin	22 Brett Pesce
44 Calvin de Haan	27 Justin Faulk
57 Trevor van Riemsdyk	19 Dougie Hamilton
Goalie
34 Petr Mrazek

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (31st, T-27th on road), Hurricanes (28th, T-23rd at home)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (29th, 30th on road), Hurricanes (11th, 22nd at home)
Recent History vs. Hurricanes
- Feb. 6, 2018 – Flyers 2, Hurricanes 1 (F/OT) (at CAR)
- March 1, 2018 – Hurricanes 4, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
- March 17, 2018 – Flyers 4, Hurricanes 2 (at CAR)
- April 5, 2018 – Flyers 4, Hurricanes 3 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Hurricanes
- Shayne Gostisbehere – 13 GP, 4 G, 8 A, 12 P
- Claude Giroux – 36 GP, 9 G, 23 A, 32 P
- Wayne Simmonds – 28 GP, 12 G, 12 A, 24 P
Milestone Watch
- Wayne Simmonds needs two goals to reach 200 as a Flyer.
- Simmonds is also playing in his 800th NHL game tonight.