Flyers

Flyers-Hurricanes: Game 82 Preview

Kevin Durso Sports Editor

Published06 Apr 2019

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By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

One more game remains on the Flyers schedule and they will be looking to try to end a disappointing 2018-19 season on a good note. The Flyers have lost four straight games since their playoff hopes were officially dashed a week ago, and have lost six of the last seven games and nine of the last 12 games.

The Hurricanes' season will continue beyond Saturday after they locked up a playoff spot with their win on Thursday. There is still positioning to play for. A loss to the Flyers could mean Carolina would face the NHL's best in the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round as opposed to a potential series against Washington as the first wildcard. There's even a chance the Hurricanes could finish third in the division if they win and the Penguins lose in regulation.

Carolina also goes for a season sweep of the Flyers as well, having won the first three meetings between the two this season.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Carolina Hurricanes	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	81	22	61	83	Sebastian Aho	81	30	53	83
Sean Couturier	79	32	43	75	Teuvo Teravainen	81	20	54	74
Jake Voracek	77	20	45	65	Justin Williams	81	23	30	53
James van Riemsdyk	65	27	21	48	Micheal Ferland	70	17	23	40
Travis Konecny	81	23	25	48	Dougie Hamilton	81	18	20	38

Player to Watch
14 Sean Couturier	14 Justin Williams
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 1 A, 2 P, -5	Last 5 Games: 1 G, 3 A, 4 P, +3

Since setting a new career-high in goals with 32 on the season in last Wednesday's game against Toronto, Sean Couturier has been held without a goal and has just one assist in the last four games. If he manages just two points, he will set a new career high in points. Couturier is also the likely choice to be the Flyers winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy as the team's MVP this season.

Former Flyer and Hurricanes' captain Justin Williams has put together a solid year offensively, but his leadership has been a huge asset to Carolina on their way to their first playoff appearance since 2009.

Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart	35 Curtis McElhinney
30 GP, 16-12-1, 2.79 GAA, .919 SV%	32 GP, 19-11-2, 2.57 GAA, .912 SV%

Carter Hart did a solid job in relief of Brian Elliott on Thursday, making 27 saves on 30 shots, and gets one more start in front of the home fans on Saturday night. Hart has just three wins in his last seven starts since returning from injury, but that's not a reflection of his play.

Curtis McElhinney gets the start in the final regular season game for Carolina, presumably to give Petr Mrazek the night off ahead of the playoffs. The rest of the lineup will be game-time decisions, but McElhinney has been a solid 1A for the Hurricanes.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nolan Patrick, Michal Neuvirth

Scratches: Justin Bailey, Andrew MacDonald, Brian Elliott

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk	21 Scott Laughton	93 Jake Voracek
23 Oskar Lindblom	10 Corban Knight	38 Ryan Hartman
12 Michael Raffl	44 Phil Varone
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	6 Travis Sanheim
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	3 Radko Gudas
5 Sam Morin	8 Robert Hagg	59 Mark Friedman
Goalie
79 Carter Hart

Lineup Notes

Nolan Patrick remains out of the lineup with injury, so he will miss the season finale. Corban Knight stays in the third-line center role. Mark Friedman will make his NHL debut on defense. Phil Myers was sent down, so he will not be on the roster for the final game of the 2018-19 season. The Flyers will go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

Hurricanes Projected Lineup

Injuries: Clark Bishop, Calvin de Haan

Scratches: Saku Maenalanen

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
21 Nino Niederreiter	20 Sebastian Aho	14 Justin Williams
79 Micheal Ferland	11 Jordan Staal	86 Teuvo Teravainen
37 Andrei Svechnikov	71 Lucas Wallmark	48 Jordan Martinook
13 Warren Foegele	42 Greg McKegg	23 Brock McGinn
Defense
74 Jaccob Slavin	19 Dougie Hamilton
22 Brett Pesce	27 Justin Faulk
4 Hadyn Fleury	57 Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goalie
34 Petr Mrazek

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (24th, 16th at home), Hurricanes (19th, 13th on road)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (26th, T-18th at home), Hurricanes (T-7th, 6th on road)
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)
Flyers Leaders vs. Hurricanes
- Claude Giroux – 39 GP, 10 G, 25 A, 35 P
- Shayne Gostisbehere – 15 GP, 4 G, 9 A, 13 P
- Jake Voracek – 35 GP, 10 G, 18 A, 28 P
- Carter Hart – 1 GP, 0-1-0, 8.18 GAA, .700 SV%