Flyers-Hurricanes: Game 22 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers faced the Carolina Hurricanes back on Nov. 5. They scored three goals in the third period to secure a 4-1 win, the first in a four-game winning streak.

That winning streak came to an end eight days ago with a shootout loss to Washington and has now extended to a four-game losing streak following a 5-2 loss to Florida on Tuesday.

For the Hurricanes, the loss to the Flyers was their second in a four-game losing streak. They have since righted the ship with four straight wins, including a 4-2 win over Chicago on Tuesday.

The two teams meet again on Thursday night, with the Flyers looking to put an end to their losing streak and get back on track.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Carolina Hurricanes GP G A P
Travis Konecny 21 8 12 20 Andrei Svechnikov 21 10 13 23
Oskar Lindblom 21 9 7 16 Dougie Hamilton 21 9 14 23
Sean Couturier 21 6 9 15 Teuvo Teravainen 21 5 14 19
Claude Giroux 21 5 8 13 Sebastian Aho 21 10 6 16
Jake Voracek  21 4 9 13 Martin Necas 21 5 10 15
 
Player to Watch
49 Joel Farabee 37 Andrei Svechnikov
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 1 A, 1 P, -3 Last 5 Games: 4 G, 4 A, 8 P, +4
 
Rookie Joel Farabee has hit a bit of a wall lately in his play, but in the Flyers win over the Hurricanes on Nov. 5, he was one of the best players on the ice. Farabee scored his second NHL goal in that game, and continuing to play on a high-powered line could help him get involved in that regard again on Thursday.
 
Andrei Svechnikov enters Thursday's game on a three-game goal scoring streak and five-game points streak. The 19-year-old budding star is tied for the team lead in goals with 10 and points with 23.
 
Projected Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott 34 Petr Mrazek
11 GP, 4-2-2, 2.72 GAA, .913 SV% 14 GP, 10-3-1, 2.57 GAA, .907 SV%

Brian Elliott entered in relief on Tuesday and stopped all seven shots he faced. Elliott gets the start on Thursday night.

Petr Mrazek allowed four goals on 28 shots in the 4-1 loss in Philadelphia on Nov. 5 and following that up allowing three goals on 18 shots in a loss to the Rangers two days later. Since then, Mrazek has been solid, picking up three straight wins, including making 30 saves in Tuesday's win over Chicago.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nolan Patrick, Scott Laughton

Scratches: Chris Stewart, Robert Hagg

Left Wing Center Right Wing
23 Oskar Lindblom 14 Sean Couturier 93 Jake Voracek
28 Claude Giroux 48 Morgan Frost 11 Travis Konecny
49 Joel Farabee 13 Kevin Hayes 18 Tyler Pitlick
25 James van Riemsdyk 12 Michael Raffl 10 Andy Andreoff
Defense    
9 Ivan Provorov 15 Matt Niskanen  
53 Shayne Gostisbehere 61 Justin Braun  
6 Travis Sanheim 5 Phil Myers  
Goalie    
37 Brian Elliott 79 Carter Hart  

Lineup Notes

There is a possibility the Flyers go with seven defensemen in the lineup. Alain Vigneault said this would be to help some of the forwards get more ice time to break out of slumps. If that is the case, Robert Hagg would enter the lineup and Andy Andreoff would come out. Scott Laughton was also cleared by doctors to return. He is not with the team, since he can't come off of long-term IR until Saturday, but it appears he will be returning to the lineup for Saturday's game.

Hurricanes Projected Lineup

Injuries: Erik Haula

Scratches: Haydn Fleury

Left Wing Center Right Wing
18 Ryan Dzingel 11 Jordan Staal 13 Warren Foegele
37 Andrei Svechnikov 20 Sebastian Aho 86 Teuvo Teravainen
21 Nino Niederreiter 71 Lucas Wallmark 88 Martin Necas
23 Brock McGinn 43 Eetu Luostarinen  48 Jordan Martinook
Defense    
74 Jaccob Slavin 19 Dougie Hamilton  
6 Joel Edmundson 22 Brett Pesce  
51 Jake Gardiner 57 Trevor van Riemsdyk  
Goalie    
34 Petr Mrazek 47 James Reimer  

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (14th), Hurricanes (8th)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-6th), Hurricanes (T-9th)
  • 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)
    • Nov. 5, 2019 – Flyers 4, Hurricanes 1 (at PHI)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Hurricanes
    • Claude Giroux – 41 GP, 11 G, 28 A, 39 P
    • Shayne Gostisbehere – 17 GP, 4 G, 10 A, 14 P
    • Jake Voracek – 37 GP, 10 G, 19 A, 29 P
    • Sean Couturier – 34 GP, 9 G, 15 A, 24 P
    • Carter Hart – 3 GP, 1-2-0, 3.40 GAA, .889 SV%
  • Milestone Watch
    • Sean Couturier is playing in his 600th NHL game tonight.
    • 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

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