Flyers-Hurricanes: Game 78 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

Five games are left for the Flyers and for now, they are still mathematically alive in the playoff race, though a regulation loss will officially end their hopes, so it really is inevitable at this point.

So begins audition time for many Flyers as they begin the final five on the road facing the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon.

Game time is at 1:30 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Carolina Hurricanes	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	77	20	60	80	Sebastian Aho	77	30	51	81
Sean Couturier	75	32	42	74	Teuvo Teravainen	77	19	51	70
Jake Voracek	73	20	44	64	Justin Williams	77	22	28	50
Travis Konecny	77	23	24	47	Micheal Ferland	66	17	21	38
James van Riemsdyk	61	26	18	44	Andrei Svechnikov	77	20	16	36

Player to Watch
28 Claude Giroux	20 Sebastian Aho
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 3 A, 3 P, -4	Last 5 Games: 0 G, 3 A, 3 P, E

Claude Giroux has gone 10 straight games without a goal, though he does have eight assists in that time. Giroux has been held without a point in the last two games. He's sitting on 80 points for the season, two points away from sealing a point-per-game season.

Sebastian Aho has put together a strong season with 81 points and 30 goals, displaying great skill and emerging as one of the league's budding stars. Aho has been a key player to the Hurricanes being on the cusp of making the playoffs, so look for him to have a big impact in the final few games.

Goalie Matchup
33 Cam Talbot	34 Petr Mrazek
33 GP, 11-15-3, 3.32 GAA, .894 SV%	37 GP, 20-14-3, 2.47 GAA, .910 SV%

Cam Talbot makes just his second start since joining the Flyers. Talbot made 30 saves in his only start in the Orange and Black this season, getting the win against the Devils on March 1. He also entered in relief of Brian Elliott on March 6, making 15 saves on 16 shots.

Petr Mrazek made 24 saves on 27 shots in a loss to Washington on Tuesday and is expected to get back between the pipes on Saturday. Mrazek had won eight of his last nine starts prior to Tuesday's loss, allowing 15 goals in that stretch.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michal Neuvirth

Scratches: Shayne Gostisbehere, Justin Bailey, Andrew MacDonald, Brian Elliott

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
23 Oskar Lindblom	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
25 James van Riemsdyk	19 Nolan Patrick	28 Claude Giroux
11 Travis Konecny	21 Scott Laughton	38 Ryan Hartman
12 Michael Raffl	10 Corban Knight	44 Phil Varone
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	6 Travis Sanheim
5 Sam Morin	61 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hagg	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
33 Cam Talbot

Lineup Notes

Sam Morin gets another game and instead of playing seven defensemen, Shayne Gostisbehere will sit out as a healthy scratch. Phil Varone is expected to return to the lineup on the fourth line.

Hurricanes Projected Lineup

Injuries: Clark Bishop

Scratches: Saku Maenalanen

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
21 Nino Niederreiter	20 Sebastian Aho	14 Justin Williams
37 Andrei Svechnikov	11 Jordan Staal	86 Teuvo Teravainen
79 Micheal Ferland	71 Lucas Wallmark	48 Jordan Martinook
23 Brock McGinn	42 Greg McKegg	13 Warren Foegele
Defense
74 Jaccob Slavin	19 Dougie Hamilton
22 Brett Pesce	27 Justin Faulk
44 Calvin de Haan	57 Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goalie
34 Petr Mrazek

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (22nd, 28th on road), Hurricanes (25th, 26th at home)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (19th, 18th on road), Hurricanes (6th, 16th at home)
Recent History vs. Hurricanes
- Dec. 31, 2018 – Hurricanes 3, Flyers 1 (at CAR)
- Jan. 3, 2019 – Hurricanes 5, Flyers 3 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Hurricanes
- Claude Giroux – 38 GP, 9 G, 25 A, 34 P
- Jake Voracek – 34 GP, 10 G, 18 A, 28 P
- Sean Couturier – 31 GP, 7 G, 15 A, 22 P
- Cam Talbot – 7 GP, 5-1-0, 1.90 GAA, .934 SV%

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Flyers-Hurricanes: Game 78 Preview

Kevin Durso

Kevin Durso

Kevin Durso

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