Flyers-Hurricanes: Game 14 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers were not able to string together back-to-back shootout wins over the weekend, but did get three points out of four, bouncing back from two lopsided efforts against the Islanders and Penguins. It's a step in the right direction for a team that needs to get it going, especially with a busy month ahead against a number of Eastern Conference opponents.

The Carolina Hurricanes come to town on Tuesday night, and after a 5-0-0 start to their season, have since cooled with a 4-4-1 record in the last nine games.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Carolina Hurricanes GP G A P
Travis Konecny 13 6 8 14 Dougie Hamilton 14 6 10 16
Oskar Lindblom 13 7 4 11 Andrei Svechnikov 14 6 9 15
Jake Voracek 13 4 7 11 Teuvo Teravainen 14 4 8 12
Sean Couturier 13 3 6 9 Erik Haula 14 8 3 11
Claude Giroux  13 3 6 9 Sebastian Aho 14 5 5 10
 
Player to Watch
11 Travis Konecny 20 Sebastian Aho
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 1 A, 3 P, -3 Last 5 Games: 3 G, 4 A, 7 P, +3
 
Travis Konecny has remained at the top of the Flyers point leaders all season as one of the most consistent forwards on the team. His offensive skills have already been on display, and he'll be a focus for another reason on Tuesday, as he will take face-offs on the line with Sean Couturier battling a shoulder strain.
 
Sebastian Aho is starting to heat up. He scored two goals and had a three-point game against Detroit on Friday and seven of his 10 points on the season have come in the last five games. Against the Flyers, Aho has always been a threat, with six goals and 15 points in 13 career games.
 
Projected Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart 34 Petr Mrazek
8 GP, 3-3-1, 3.23 GAA, .867 SV% 9 GP, 7-1-1, 2.33 GAA, .915 SV%

Brian Elliott was in for six of the seven goals allowed against the Penguins on Tuesday before being pulled after the second period. Elliott had been playing very well up to that point with wins in three straight starts. He will get the start in the back-end of this back-to-back.

It's been tough to beat Petr Mrazek this season. The former Flyers netminder has seven wins on the season in nine games, including three straight wins entering Tuesday. In that stretch, he has allowed four goals on 93 shots, a .957 save percentage.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nolan Patrick, Scott Laughton

Scratches: Chris Stewart, Robert Hagg

Left Wing Center Right Wing
25 James van Riemsdyk 28 Claude Giroux 49 Joel Farabee
23 Oskar Lindblom 14 Sean Couturier 11 Travis Konecny
12 Michael Raffl 13 Kevin Hayes 93 Jake Voracek
81 Carsen Twarynski 50 German Rubtsov 18 Tyler Pitlick
Defense    
9 Ivan Provorov 15 Matt Niskanen  
53 Shayne Gostisbehere 61 Justin Braun  
6 Travis Sanheim 5 Phil Myers  
Goalie    
79 Carter Hart 37 Brian Elliott  

Lineup Notes

The Flyers lines will be the same as in Saturday's game against Toronto.

Hurricanes Projected Lineup

Injuries: Jordan Martinook, Erik Haula

Left Wing Center Right Wing
21 Nino Niederreiter 11 Jordan Staal 86 Teuvo Teravainen
37 Andrei Svechnikov 20 Sebastian Aho 13 Warren Foegele
 18 Ryan Dzingel 71 Lucas Wallmark 88 Martin Necas
23 Brock McGinn 29 Brian Gibbons   
Defense    
74 Jaccob Slavin 19 Dougie Hamilton  
51 Jake Gardiner 22 Brett Pesce  
6 Joel Edmundson 57 Trevor van Riemsdyk 4 Haydn Fleury
Goalie    
34 Petr Mrazek 47 James Reimer  

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (8th), Hurricanes (7th)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-12th), Hurricanes (16th)
  • Recent History vs. Hurricanes
    • Dec. 31, 2018 – Hurricanes 3, Flyers 1 (at CAR)
    • Jan. 3, 2019 – Hurricanes 5, Flyers 3 (at PHI)
    • March 30, 2019 – Hurricanes 5, Flyers 2 (at CAR)
    • April 6, 2019 – Hurricanes 4, Flyers 3 (at PHI)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Hurricanes
    • Claude Giroux – 40 GP, 10 G, 27 A, 37 P
    • Shayne Gostisbehere – 16 GP, 4 G, 9 A, 13 P
    • Jake Voracek – 36 GP, 10 G, 19 A, 29 P
    • Sean Couturier – 33 GP, 8 G, 15 A, 23 P
    • Carter Hart – 2 GP, 0-2-0, 5.19 GAA, .816 SV%
  • Milestone Watch
    • Jake Voracek needs one goal to reach 200 for his career.
    • Kevin Hayes needs four goals to reach 100 for his career.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic/97.3 ESPN

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