Photographer: Kate Frese

Flyers-Hurricanes: Game 59 Preview

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Bill Minchin
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Bill Minchin Sports Editor

All posts by Bill Minchin
Sports Editor

Published23 Feb 2016

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Philadelphia looks to end road trip with a victory in Carolina
 
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Photo courtesy of Kate Frese
 
The Philadelphia Flyers (26-21-11) are in Raleigh for the final game of their current road trip to do battle with the Carolina Hurricanes (27-23-10). This is the fourth and final meeting between the two clubs. Game time is 7:00.
 
All three previous games this season have seen Flyers victories. Carolina has managed a point in each game though as all three games were decided in overtime. 

Flyers Leaders GP G A P Hurricanes Leaders GP G A P
Claude Giroux 57 16 33 49 Jordan Staal 60 15 23 38
Jake Voracek 58 10 37 47 Victor Rask 58 14 22 36
Wayne Simmonds 58 21 19 40 Jeff Skinner 60 21 14 35
Brayden Schenn 56 18 18 36 Justin Faulk 54 15 19 34
Shayne Gostisbehere 40 12 22 34 Kris Versteeg 59 11 22 33
 
Player to Watch
10 Brayden Schenn 53 Jeff Skinner
Last 5 Games: 3G, 3A, 6Pts, +2 Last 5 Games: 2G, 2A, 4Pts, +2
 
Brayden Schenn has been one of the hottest Flyers over the past two weeks. The 24 yr old has points in three of the past four games and multiple points in two of the last three. In the team's overtime win in Toronto, Schenn played center for the injured Claude Giroux. He is likely to play the same spot tonight as Giroux is expected to miss his second game in a row.

Jeff Skinner is a threat to score each and every time he touches the puck. The Hurricanes forward is third on the team in scoring but leads the team in goals. Skinner is not a very big player but makes up for it with speed and great hands. He will be a tough match up for which ever defense pairs are playing against him. 

Goalie Matchup
30 Michal Neuvirth 30 Cam Ward
13-6-4, 2.17 GAA, .930 SV% 17-12-7, 2.36 GAA, .907 SV%

Michal Neuvirth will be back in net for Philadelphia tonight. Neuvirth picked up the win on Saturday in relief of an injured Steve Mason. 

Cam Ward has not had a typical Cam Ward season. With that being said, he still has them in the playoff hunt. There were some rumors floated about not long ago that the Hurricanes were looking to trade the former Stanley Cup winning netminder especially after the team acquired Eddie Lack. Ward is still in Carolina and is still a legitimate number 1. The Flyers will need their best tonight to pick up the victory.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Claude Giroux, R.J. Umberger, Evgeny Medvedev, Jordan Weal, Micheal Del Zotto

Left Wing Center Right Wing
189 Sam Gagner 10 Brayden Schenn 17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl 14 Sean Couturier 93 Jake Voracek
76 Chris VandeVelde 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare 25 Ryan White
221 Scott Laughton 52 Nick Cousins 24 Matt Read
Defense    
47 Andrew MacDonald 53 Shayne Gostisbehere  
32 Mark Streit 55 Nick Schultz  
23 Brandon Manning 3 Radko Gudas  
Goalie    
30 Michal Neuvirth    

Coach Dave Hakstol has made several changes to lineup tonight. Sean Couturier returns after missing time with an injury, R.J. Umberger and Evgeny Medvedev are both healthy scratches for tonight. 

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (18th, 14th on road), Hurricanes (23rd, 19th at home) 
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (24th, 16th on road), Hurricanes (812th, 7th at home)
  • Flyers rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere enters the game with a league leading 15 game point streak.
  • Philadelphia is 43-21-7 all time against the Hurricanes

Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Bill Minchin is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow Bill on Twitter @wtfd103074.