The Flyers moved a step closer to first place in the Metropolitan Division with Wednesday's win in Washington. There is no time to celebrate beating the division leaders, as the Flyers are right back on the ice to continue the stretch run on Thursday.

The Flyers will face a well-rested Carolina Hurricanes team that has not played since a 4-3 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens last Saturday. The Hurricanes are currently the first team out of the playoffs, three points behind the Islanders for the final wildcard spot. They have lost three straight games and five of their last seven games.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia FlyersGPGAPCarolina HurricanesGPGAP
Travis Konecny63243761Sebastian Aho64362662
Sean Couturier66213758Teuvo Teravainen64154560
Jake Voracek66124153Andrei Svechnikov64243458
Claude Giroux66193150Dougie Hamilton47142640
Kevin Hayes 66231841Vincent Trocheck58102636
Player to Watch
11 Travis Konecny20 Sebastian Aho
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 4 A, 7 P, +1Last 5 Games: 2 G, 3 A, 5 P, -3
Travis Konecny has points in four straight games and tied his career-high in goals with his 24th of the season on Wednesday night in Washington. It's only a matter of time before he breaks through with his 25th to set a new career high. In the meantime, he's also leading the way on the Flyers with 61 points on the season.
Prior to the Hurricanes loss to the Canadiens last Saturday, Sebastian Aho was on a 14-game points streak, scoring 12 goals and adding nine assists for 21 points in that time. Aho has a goal and two assists in the three games against the Flyers this season.
Projected Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart39 Alex Nedeljkovic
40 GP, 22-12-3, 2.51 GAA, .909 SV%2 GP, 0-1-1, 3.11 GAA, .857 SV%

It's been quite a run recently for Carter Hart. He has won five straight starts and eight of his last nine. On his current five-game streak, Hart has allowed a total of 10 goals while recording a .929 save percentage.

Alex Nedeljkovic makes his fifth career NHL appearance and third career start on Thursday night. Nedeljkovic made 12 saves on 16 shots in his only other start this season, allowing four goals in a loss to Dallas.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: James van Riemsdyk (broken right hand, out indefinitely), Nolan Patrick (migrane disorder, out indefinitely), Oskar Lindblom (Ewing's sarcoma, out for season)

Scratches: Shayne Gostisbehere

Left WingCenterRight Wing
28 Claude Giroux14 Sean Couturier93 Jake Voracek
49 Joel Farabee13 Kevin Hayes11 Travis Konecny
21 Scott Laughton38 Derek Grant18 Tyler Pitlick
12 Michael Raffl44 Nate Thompson62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim5 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hagg61 Justin Braun
Goalie
79 Carter Hart37 Brian Elliott

Lineup Notes

The only change to the lineup comes with Joel Farabee entering for the injured James van Riemsdyk. Farabee will play on the second line with Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny. Scott Laughton drops into van Riemsdyk's spot on the third line. No other changes are expected.

Hurricanes Projected Lineup

Injuries: Dougie Hamilton, Sami Vatanen, Brett Pesce, Petr Mrazek, James Reimer

Left WingCenterRight Wing
21 Nino Niederreiter20 Sebastian Aho86 Teuvo Teravainen
18 Ryan Dzingel11 Jordan Staal14 Justin Williams
37 Andrei Svechnikov16 Vincent Trocheck88 Martin Necas
13 Warren Foegele48 Jordan Martinook23 Brock McGinn
Defense
6 Joel Edmundson74 Jaccob Slavin
4 Haydn Fleury76 Brady Skjei
51 Jake Gardiner57 Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goalie
39 Alex Nedeljkovic31 Anton Forsberg

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (T-9th), Hurricanes (12th)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (12th), Hurricanes (5th)
  • Recent History vs. Hurricanes
    • Nov. 5, 2019 - Flyers 4, Hurricanes 1 (at PHI)
    • Nov. 21, 2019 - Flyers 5, Hurricanes 3 (at CAR)
    • Jan. 7, 2020 - Hurricanes 5, Flyers 4 (F/OT) (at CAR)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Hurricanes
    • Claude Giroux - 43 GP, 13 G, 31 A, 44 P
    • Jake Voracek - 39 GP, 10 G, 20 A, 30 P
    • Sean Couturier - 36 GP, 9 G, 16 A, 25 P
    • Travis Konecny - 16 GP, 6 G, 5 A, 11 P
    • Carter Hart - 3 GP, 1-2-0, 3.40 GAA, .889 SV%

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 93.3 WMMR/97.3 ESPN

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN and Flyers editor for SportsTalkPhilly.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.

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