Rachel Barkley
The Carolina Hurricanes are just one win away from closing out Round Two against the Philadelphia Flyers, as they aim to accomplish just that Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The game is scheduled for 6:00 PM EDT.
In Game 3 on Thursday night, the Hurricanes took a commanding 3-0 series lead with a 4-1 win in the first tilt in the Flyers’ own barn. As with most games of the series, it was filled with penalties, including a two-minute minor boarding penalty against Taylor Hall (which underwent a review for a major penalty), several roughing penalties across the teams, and a 10-minute misconduct to the Flyers’ top line winger, Travis Konecny.
A rarity, the Hurricanes had the edge in power-play opportunities. Their special teams were dominant, with just one of their four goals having been at five-on-five.
You can read all about Game 3 here!
In the Crease
With both Frederik Andersen and Dan Vladar performing well in the postseason thus far, there is no reason to expect a change in net at this time.
Projected Carolina Hurricanes Lines
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
William Carrier – Mark Jankowski – Eric Robinson
Defense
Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere – Alexander Nikishin
Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen / Brandon Bussi
Projected Philadelphia Flyers Lines
Tyson Foerster – Christian Dvorak – Travis Konecny
Alex Bump – Trevor Zegras – Porter Martone
Carl Grundstrom – Denver Barkey – Matvei Michkov
Luke Glendening – Sean Couturier – Garnet Hathaway
Defense
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Noah Juulsen
Goaltenders
Dan Vladar / Samuel Ersson
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 14.7% (10th, up two spots from previous game)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 94.6% (3rd)
Philadelphia Flyers power play: 9.1% (14th, down one spot from previous game)
Philadelphia Flyers penalty kill: 84.2% (9th, down one spot from previous game)
Hurricanes Game Notes
Embarking into a Game 4 against a cornered Flyers team, the general expectation is that the intensity will be the most seen this series. As such, there is a possibility that Nicolas Deslauriers may be added to the lineup for additional grit. If so, it will be the first time in his 13-season career that he has faced a former team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Thursday, Jordan Staal’s two points propelled him up the Hurricanes’ franchise records list, pulling him into sole ownership of the fifth-most playoff points in franchise history, surpassing brother Eric Staal, with whom he was tied.
The Hurricanes’ top line of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Seth Jarvis have a very unique and ironic all-time playoff goals record currently. Aho currently has 37 goals (which is Svechnikov’s sweater number), while Svechnikov has 24 (which is Jarvis’ sweater number), and Jarvis has 20 (which is Aho’s sweater number).
Frederik Andersen is the first goaltender since Hockey Hall of Famer Jacques Plante in 1969 to start his first seven games of a postseason 7-0 while posting a goals against average of 1.02 and .957 save percentage or better.
Though the rest of the postseason will only be available to watch via national broadcasts, local play-by-play announcer Mike Maniscalco and analyst Tripp Tracy will continue to call games on the Hurricanes’ radio partner. 99.9 The Fan.
How To Watch
TV: TNT, TruTV, HBO MAX
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
