Flyers-Hurricanes: Game 81 Preview

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Carolina Hurricanes	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	80	30	67	97	Sebastian Aho	76	28	36	64
Jake Voracek	80	19	64	83	Teuvo Teravainen	80	23	39	62
Sean Couturier	80	31	41	72	Justin Williams	80	15	33	48
Shayne Gostisbehere	76	13	49	62	Jeff Skinner	80	24	24	48
Travis Konecny	79	24	23	47	Jordan Staal	77	17	27	44

 

Player to Watch
28 Claude Giroux	20 Sebastian Aho
Last 5 Games: 4 G, 3 A, 7 P, +4	Last 5 Games: 2 G, 0 A, 2 P, -1

 

The Flyers captain is three points away from his first 100-point season of his career. In what has been a tremendous season for Claude Giroux, one that will likely garner the Bobby Clarke Trophy on Thursday night, he's been leading the way as the Flyers have been pushing for a playoff spot down the stretch.

 

Sebastian Aho has been the points leader for the Hurricanes this season, but more than that has tremendous numbers in his brief career against the Flyers. In eight games against the Orange and Black, Aho has five goals and 11 points, and has been a dominant player on the power play, which is sure to challenge the Flyers shaky penalty kill.

 

Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	30 Cam Ward
21-11-7, 2.72 GAA, .908 SV%	22-14-4, 2.75 GAA, .905 SV%

The Flyers will get Brian Elliott back for the first time since Feb. 10, and could they ever use him. It's been an adventure in goal with Petr Mrazek's inconsistency, Alex Lyon's overall inexperience and Michal Neuvirth's injury woes. With Elliott back, the Flyers get the goalie that carried them through much of the season.

The Hurricanes did not have a morning skate and did not announce a starter, but it is likely to be Cam Ward in goal. Ward was in goal for the Hurricanes in the Flyers 4-2 win in Carolina on March 17, making 23 saves. In four starts since, Ward is 3-1-0 and has allowed two goals or less in the last three starts. Ward has faced the Flyers 31 times in his career, with a 12-12-6 record and a 2.67 GAA.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michal Neuvirth

Scratches: Dale Weise, Jordan Weal, Taylor Leier, Robert Hagg, Johnny Oduya

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	12 Michael Raffl
54 Oskar Lindblom	19 Nolan Patrick	93 Jake Voracek
11 Travis Konecny	51 Valtteri Filppula	17 Wayne Simmonds
21 Scott Laughton	15 Jori Lehtera	24 Matt Read
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
6 Travis Sanheim	47 Andrew MacDonald
23 Brandon Manning	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott

Lineup Notes

The Flyers made two changes to the lineup and shuffled the lines further. After making a mid-game switch, Michael Raffl will be on the top line with Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier. Travis Konecny will be on a line with Valtteri Filppula and Wayne Simmonds. Scott Laughton returns to the fourth line in place of Jordan Weal. In goal, the Flyers will have Brian Elliott back as the starter.

Hurricanes Projected Lineup

Injuries: Justin Faulk, Brett Pesce, Victor Rask

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
23 Brock McGinn	11 Jordan Staal	14 Justin Williams
53 Jeff Skinner	28 Elias Lindholm	34 Phil Di Giuseppe
73 Valentin Zykov	20 Sebastian Aho	86 Teuvo Teravainen
42 Joakim Nordstrom	7 Derek Ryan	21 Lee Stempniak
Defense
74 Jaccob Slavin	6 Klas Dahlbeck
5 Noah Hanifin	57 Trevor van Riemsdyk
4 Haydn Fleury	55 Roland McKeown
Goalie
30 Cam Ward

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (17th, 23rd at home), Hurricanes (21st, T-22nd on road)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (29th, 29th at home), Hurricanes (24th, 26th on road) 
• Recent History vs. Hurricanes
  • Feb. 6, 2018 – Flyers 2, Hurricanes 1 (F/OT) (at CAR)
  • March 1, 2018 – Hurricanes 4, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
  • March 17, 2018 – Flyers 4, Hurricanes 2 (at CAR)
• Flyers Leaders vs. Hurricanes
  • Claude Giroux – 35 GP, 8 G, 22 A, 30 P
  • Jake Voracek – 31 GP, 8 G, 16 A, 24 P
  • Wayne Simmonds – 27 GP, 12 G, 12 A, 24 P
  • Petr Mrazek – 8 GP, 6-2-0, 2.00 GAA
  • Brian Elliott – 16 GP, 8-6-0, 2.59 GAA
• Milestone Watch
  • Claude Giroux needs two assists to pass Bill Barber for third all-time in Flyers history.
  • Jake Voracek needs three assists to reach 400 in the NHL.
  • Valtteri Filppula needs five assists to reach 300 in the NHL.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic