Rachel Barkley
The Carolina Hurricanes will face the Philadelphia Flyers in a Metropolitan Division matchup Monday in a game that means a great deal to the home team, who are clawing at the postseason as they try to fend off the two other remaining undecided teams – the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM EDT.
In Their Previous Games…
Saturday, the Hurricanes took the win in their final Western Conference matchup of the regular season, taking the win against the Utah Mammoth 4-1. In doing so, Andrei Svechnikov reached an all-time high in his NHL career, scoring 31 goals for the first time. Additionally, Jordan Staal joined the 20-goal club, bringing the Hurricanes’ total of players to accomplish that number to seven. It was the first time since the 2015-16 season that he had reached the mark.
With the game’s conclusion, an empty net goal scored by Sean Walker broke a record in Hurricanes history, giving the Hurricanes their most goals in a regular season campaign with 287, surpassing the 2005-06 season’s 286.
However, there was another special occasion highlighting the night, as Jaccob Slavin and his brother Josiah skated in their first regular-season NHL game together. They, along with their family, had some really interesting thoughts to share about the special moment – you can read all about it here!
Nevertheless, Monday’s game will not have the Slavin duo. Sunday, Josiah was reassigned to the Chicago Wolves.
On the other side of the ice, the Flyers – against all odds – have managed to pull ahead of the crowd and into third in the Metro, as the Atlantic Division’s Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators have already claimed both Eastern Conference wild cards.
A big boon to them has been the arrival of prospect Porter Martone from Michigan State University following the Spartans’ elimination from the NCAA’s Hockey Championship at the hands of the Wisconsin Badgers at the end of March. In just seven games with the big club, Martone has averaged a point per game, netting three goals and acquiring four assists already. He has only gone scoreless in two games thus far.
In the Crease
In their last game, the Hurricanes broke form as they ran Frederik Andersen twice in a row, starting him against the Chicago Wolves and again versus the Mammoth. With that being said, Brandon Bussi is the most likely option going into Monday’s match with the Flyers. His save percentage this season is .890, with a goals against average of 2.52 across a 30-6-1 record.
Meanwhile, the Flyers have leaned heavily on Daniel Vladar. Throughout the season, he has taken the brunt of the starts, with 49 to Samuel Ersson’s 28. His numbers have also been favorable compared to the younger netminder.
The Flyers have not shied away from handing a goalie consecutive starts, and there is a significant likelihood he will get the remaining two for Philadelphia this season. Vladar’s save percentage this season is .904, with a goals against average of 2.47 across a 27-14-7 record.
Expected Carolina Hurricanes Lines
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
Nicolas Deslauriers – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Eric Robinson
William Carrier – Skyler Brind’Amour – Bradly Nadeau
Defense
Jaccob Slavin – Shayne Gostisbehere
Alexander Nikishin – Sean Walker
Mike Reilly – Charles-Alexis Legault
Goaltenders
Brandon Bussi / Frederik Andersen
Expected Philadelphia Flyers Lines
Tyson Foerster – Trevor Zegras – Owen Tippett
Travis Konecny – Christian Dvorak – Porter Martone
Denver Barkey – Noah Cates – Matvei Michkov
Garnet Hathaway – Sean Couturier – Luke Glendening
Defense
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Emil Andrae
Goaltenders
Dan Vladar / Samuel Ersson
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 24.7% (5th, up one spot from previous game)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 80.6% (10th, up one spot from previous game)
Philadelphia Flyers power play: 15.5% (32nd)
Philadelphia Flyers penalty kill: 77.6% (21st)
Hurricanes Game Notes
The Hurricanes only have two games remaining in the regular season: Monday versus the Flyers and Tuesday versus the New York Islanders – both of which are Metropolitan Division teams.
As of late, the Hurricanes’ lineup has been hard to lock onto due to the lack of practices and frequent resting of players in preparation for the postseason. Therefore, the above lineup is merely a projection based on the lines played in the previous game.
How To Watch
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
