Photographer: Kate Frese
Flyers visit Hurricanes in final road game of the season
The Philadelphia Flyers (31-29-17) head to Raleigh to take on the Carolina Hurricanes (28-38-11) in what is their last road game of the 2014-15 season. This is the fourth of five meetings between the two teams. Game time at PNC Arena is 1:00.
The Flyers are coming off a convincing 4-1 win in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. Brayden Schenn (2), Vincent Lecavalier, and Carlo Colaiacovo each scored in the win. Steve Mason was not extremely busy by his standards in goal but played his usual outstanding game.
Jakub Voracek trails Sidney Crosby by three points in the race for the NHL scoring title. His 77 points have him tied for with Jamie Benn for fourth.
Claude Giroux second on the team in scoring with 69 points. This will mark the first time since the 2010-11 season that he has not averaged at least a point per game for the Flyers. It will in all likelihood be his lowest point total since his first full season in the NHL.
Ray Emery, 10-10-6, .892 save percentage and a 3.15 goals against average, will get the start in goal for Philadelphia. Emery last played in Edmonton on March 21st. He took a 5-4 loss in overtime.
Carolina is coming off a 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday night in Florida. They are in last place in the Metropolitan Division and 14th out of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference.
Eric Staal has led the way this season. He leads the team in goals (22) and points (50). Justin Faulk leads the team in assists (33) and is second in points with 48.
Cam Ward, 20-22-5 with a .909 save percentage and a 2.43 goals against average, figures to get the start today. He is 2-0 against the Flyers this season allowing just one goal in each game.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (3rd), Hurricanes (10th)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (29th), Hurricanes (3rd)
- This is the fourth of five meetings between the two teams. Carolina has a 2-1 series edge this season. Both teams have each of their home games so far
Flyers scratches: R.J Umberger, Luke Schenn, Radko Gudas, Andrew MacDonald, Wayne Simmonds
Flyers Projected Lineup
Line 1: Michael Raffl-Claude Giroux-Jakub Voracek
Line 2: Matt Read-Sean Couturier- Brayden Schenn
Line 3: Ryan White-Nick Cousins-Zac Rinaldo
Line 4:Chris VandeVelde-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Vincent Lecavalier
D-Pair 1: Nick Schultz-Michael Del Zotto
D-Pair 2: Nicklas Grossmann- Mark Streit
D-Pair 3:Carlo Colaiacovo-Brandon Manning
Goalie: Ray Emery
Where to Watch
TV: CSN Philly
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Bill Minchin is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow Bill on Twitter @wtfd103074