The Canes are back at it tonight at 7:00 PM.
The Carolina Hurricanes are the hottest team in the NHL right now. After a solid win last night in Raleigh, the Canes take their six-game winning streak north to Philadelphia.
The Flyers end their seven-game homestand tonight against the Hurricanes. Unlike Carolina’s undefeated homestand, Philadelphia has won just one of the past six games.
Philly started the month on a five-game points streak, winning four of five including a shootout win in Winnipeg.
When the Flyers returned to the Wells Fargo Center, the wheels fell off. Philadelphia lost five straight games before winning in a shootout on Thursday night.
Opponents have outscored Philly 25-12 in the last six games, which certainly does not help the team’s goal differential. With a -35 goal differential, the Flyers rank 28th in the league and second-worst in the East.
Via Walt Ruff, Philadelphia has scored the fewest goals in the Eastern Conference since January 1.
The Flyers’ power play is one of the few worse than the Hurricanes’. Philly’s power play ranks 30th in the NHL with a 14.9 percent conversion rate.
At the deadline, Philadelphia traded alternate captain Scott Laughton to Toronto for prospect Nikita Grebenkin and a 2027 first-round pick. Laughton, who was drafted by the Flyers in 2012, spent his 12-year career in Philly.
Right winger Travis Konecny leads the Flyers in goals, assists, and points. He has 65 points in 67 games this season, but has been cold this month. Konecny has just two assists in the last seven games.
A bright spot for the Flyers is rookie Matvei Michkov. Philly’s first round pick in 2023 has 20 goals and 27 assists this season. Among rookies, he is tied for the lead in goals and ranks third in assists. Michkov was named the NHL Rookie of the Month in October and February.
Both goalies, Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov, have sub-.900 save percentages. Ersson earned the win on Thursday and is the likely starter tonight.
Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is doubtful tonight.
Philly is 14th in the Eastern Conference and six points out of the last Wild Card spot.
Tonight is the final matchup between these teams this season. The Canes won the previous two matchups in November and have won four straight. Including this year, Carolina has won the season series between these teams over the past four seasons, going 12-2 against Philadelphia over that stretch.
Last night, the line of Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jack Roslovic, and Taylor Hall was Carolina’s best. Hall and Roslovic scored in the second period, and Kotkaniemi had the primary assist on both goals.
Roslovic is on a three-game points streak, and Hall has tallied three points in the last four games.
Seth Jarvis’s helper on Jalen Chatfield’s goal extended his points streak to four games.
Eric Robinson’s empty netter was his 13th goal of the season, setting a new career high.
Andrei Svechnikov will be out again tonight, but head coach Rod Brind’Amour hopes he will be back in the lineup next week. Defenseman Dmitry Orlov is doubtful as well.
With Frederik Andersen earning the win last night, expect Pyotr Kochetkov between the pipes tonight.
The Canes need to empty their tanks tonight. They will have a four-day break before taking on the Sharks in San Jose on Thursday night.
For the bettors, Carolina is 5-0 straight up in the last five road games in Philadelphia, and the total has gone under in five of the previous six games between these teams. Interestingly enough, the Flyers are 14-5 against the spread in the last 19 games the Canes.
Here’s how to check out the action:
- Time: 7:00 PM ET
- Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
- TV: FanDuel Sports Network South with Mike Maniscalco, play-by-play; Tripp Tracy, color analyst; Hanna Yates, in-game reporter; Shane Willis, analyst.
- Radio: 99.9 The Fan
- Line: ML: CAR -170; PL: CAR -1.5 +150