The Flyers are still looking for their first win since returning from the All-Star break. They’ve lost their last four games, most recently a 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals. Despite their uptick in play, they are still finding ways to end up on the wrong end of the score.
Little mistakes are still creeping up in their game and other teams have been able to pounce on them. It won’t be easy to get away with them against a Carolina Hurricanes team that is first in the Metropolitan Division.
It’s an extremely high hill for the Flyers to come out of, one that may be impossible at this point. The team sits seventh in the division with 39 points. They are 21 points out of the wild card spot with 33 games to play. They would almost have to be perfect the rest of the way and hope everyone else in front of them falls off a cliff.
Extremely unlikely, but this team has to find a way to play for something down the line.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 15-25-9 (39 points, 7th in Metro)
The Flyers will get some good news as Rasmus Ristolainen and Patrick Brown return to the lineup. The defenseman has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury. He once again finds himself in trade rumors as we hit exactly a month before the deadline. He could be one of many that the team moves on from.
Brown returns for the first time since January 8th. He’s appeared in 20 games since being claimed off waivers before the season began.
Brown especially will look to remain in the lineup as he’s been sidelined multiple times throughout the year. Before he could even step on the ice for Philadelphia, he was placed in COVID protocol. A fractured thumb cost him time as well. He’ll slot into the middle of the fourth line with Isaac Ratcliffe and Zack MacEwen.
Carter Hart was slated to be in net this afternoon, but an eye infection will hold him out for now. Martin Jones will tend the net with Kirill Ustimenko as the backup. Jones is looking for his first win since December 29th. He’s given up four goals each in his last three games and will have to try and hold it down against the team who knows how to score.
Projected Lineup
Lindblom – Giroux – Atkinson
van Riemsdyk – Laughton – Konecny
Willman – Frost – Mayhew
Ratcliffe – Brown – MacEwen
Provorov – Braun
Sanheim – Ristolainen
Yandle – Seeler
Jones
Carolina Hurricanes
Record: 34-11-4 (72 points, 1st in Metro)
The Hurricanes are a complete opposite of what Philadelphia has been this season. Their high speed attack combined with their stellar goaltending are just some of the reasons they find themselves at the top of the division.
They rank in the top 10 of just about any stat you can think of. They boast the league’s best penalty kill and are sixth in the league on the power play. It won’t be easy to score on this team as their 2.41 combined goals-against-average is second in the league. Freddie Andersen has been almost unstoppable for the Hurricanes. The move to Carolina has done wonders for him.
He holds a 2.10 GAA and a .927 SV%, those stats fourth and third in the league respectively. The Flyers were able to beat him twice in a narrow victory back in November, but Hart had a lot to do with that as he made 39 saves in the 2-1 victory. Jones will try to replicate that effort.
A big key to the Hurricanes offense has been star forward Andrei Svechnikov. 22 goals and 47 points on the season have him towards the top of their attack. He’s got five goals and eight points overall in the last five games. Sebastian Aho is dangerous as well as he leads the squad with 52 points. He has six points in his last five games.
Tony DeAngelo has performed well with his new team. He has a team-leading 31 assists to go with his nine goals. He’s 13 points off a career-high he set with the Rangers during the 2019-20 season.
Projected Lineup
Svechnikov – Aho – Teravainen
Lorentz – Trocheck – Necas
Niederreiter – Staal – Fast
Martinook – Kotkaniemi – Jarvis
Slavin – DeAngelo
Skjei – Pesce
Cole – Bear
Andersen
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Where: Wells Fargo Center
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio Broadcast: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: Fubo TV
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