The Flyers will try to cool down one of the NHL’s hottest teams, visiting the Metropolitan Division leading Carolina Hurricanes on Friday at 7:00 PM from the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. While the Flyers have enjoyed a strong start to the season collecting 14 points in 12 games, the Canes have lost just once on their way to a league high 10 wins on the strength of a +22 goal differential.
This game may be the toughest challenge the Flyers, who come off a 3-0 loss to Toronto, have faced this season and will need a complete effort to keep Carolina at bay. Carolina claimed a 2-1 come from behind win against the Lighting in their last game. Though the score was close, the Canes dominated shots (31-18) and play in general.
Hurricanes Scouting Report
The Hurricanes play well in all three zones, playing with great pace and feature aggressive forechecking and tireless backchecking from their forwards. There is little time to relax as Carolina constantly seeks to exert pressure on their opposition. When they have the puck, the Canes look to gain the blueline by carrying the puck into the zone rather than dumping and chasing.
In the zone, the forwards play a heavy game where they are able to hold off defenders and keep the puck. Their ability to hold the puck allows them to create great chances for their forwards. If the Hurricane forwards spend most of the night with the puck on their sticks, it will be bad news for the Flyers.
The Flyers must pay attention to forwards Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. The high scoring forwards have spent significant time apart this season, bringing scoring balance to the Canes’ lineup, but will be put together in high leverage situations. Look for the Canes to take advantage of home ice and to pair Aho and Svechnikov after Flyers’ icings.
The Hurricane defense corps is solid, but is a definite step down in quality from their forwards. The defensemen are mobile and are capable passers and play well together. They play effectively at their defensive blueline, often defusing controlled zone entries.
The Canes defense is prone to the turnovers when they are pressured, especially deep in their end. This is a weakness that the Flyers can exploit with a determined forecheck, one that the Laughton-Lindblom-JVR line is capable of generating.
Projected Lineup
Svechnikov – Aho – Teravainen
Kotkaniemi – Trocheck – Necas
Lorentz – Staal – Fast
Martinook – Stepan – Jarvis
Slavin – Bear
Skjei – DeAngelo
Cole – Smith
Andersen
What to Watch
The Flyers must win territorial play. This does not necessarily equate to corsi differential, though that would help. They must prevent the Hurricanes from spending extended time in their zone and try to avoid icing the puck as much as possible.
The Flyers defense, who will still be missing Ryan Ellis, will have their hands full with the strong Canes’ forward group. Look for Rasmus Ristolainen to match up against Svechnikov as much as possible. Ristolainen has been good as of late and him winning his matchup could be the key to a Flyers’ victory.
The Flyers offense has cooled over the last few games so look for Coach Vigneault to mix lines if they struggle to generate chances. Also look for Oskar Lindblom, who has been scoreless this season, to dent the twine for the first time.
Projected Lineup
Giroux – Couturier – Konecny
Lindblom – Brassard – Atkinson
Farabee – Laughton – van Riemsdyk
Brown – Thompson – MacEwen
Provorov – Braun
Sanheim – Ristolainen
Seeler – Yandle
Hart
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: PNC Arena
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio Broadcast: 97.5 The Fanatic
Live Stream: Fubo TV
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