Flyers vs. Hurricanes: How To Watch, Lineups, Keys To The Game

The result on Thursday was slightly better, with the Philadelphia Flyers getting a point out of an overtime loss in New Jersey. The process was not.

The Flyers are still in search of their first win of the season and will have to do some serious improving in their game to get into the win column for the first time. They welcome in the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs in the second round and the defending Stanley Cup champions. Game time is at 7 PM.

How to Watch

Time: 7 PM
Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: Rock 104.1 and the Rock 104.1 Free Mobile App
Streaming: ESPN+

Projected Flyers Lines vs. Hurricanes

Injury & Roster Updates

Lineup Updates: In addition to shuffling several of the lines, David Jiricek will make his season debut and Simon Benoit comes out of the lineup.
Starting Goalie: Joseph Woll gets the start for the Flyers. Woll made 41 saves on 44 shots in his season debut on Thursday, an overtime loss to the Devils.
Injuries
- Denver Barkey: upper-body injury, placed on IR to start the season

Opponent Snapshot: Carolina Hurricanes

Hurricanes Projected Lineup vs. Flyers

37 Andrei Svechnikov - 20 Sebastian Aho - 50 Eric Robinson
71 Taylor Hall - 22 Logan Stankoven - 53 Jackson Blake
27 Nikolaj Ehlers - 11 Jordan Staal - 48 Jordan Martinook
28 William Carrier - 77 Mark Jankowski - 44 Nicolas Deslauriers

74 Jaccob Slavin - 5 Jalen Chatfield
19 K'Andre Miller - 26 Sean Walker
4 Shayne Gostisbehere - 62 Charles-Alexis Legault

52 Pyotr Kochetkov
32 Brandon Bussi

Special Teams
- Power Play: 8.3% (14th)
- Penalty Kill: 88.9% (14th)
Who’s hot?: Sebastian Aho and Logan Stankoven each got on the board Friday for the first two goals of the Hurricanes' season — Carolina was shut out, 1-0, by Florida in the season opener on Tuesday.
Who’s in net?: Pyotr Kochetkov gets the start for the Hurricanes. Kochetkov was 6-2-0 with a 2.33 GAA and .899 save percentage in nine games last season. He got the win against the Flyers on Dec. 13 in a 4-3 shootout victory for Carolina, making 15 saves on 18 shots. Kochetkov has a 6-1-0 record with a 1.70 GAA and .920 save percentage and two shutouts in seven career games against the Flyers.
Injuries: Seth Jarvis is recovering from a shoulder injury and on IR.

Keys to the Game

Better Breakouts: It's been a huge struggle for the Flyers to generate any offensive pressure, largely because they can't get out of their own way moving the puck out of the defensive zone. Offense has to start there with stronger, better breakouts.
Get Inside: You often hear Rick Tocchet talk about the middle ice. Well, through two games, the Flyers have barely been there. That has to change if they want to start finding the back of the net.
Money's Worth: After an embarrassing home opener, one that most agreed wasn't giving the fans their money's worth, the Flyers get another chance to turn things in the right direction on home ice.

By the Numbers

Travis Sanheim's goal on Thursday was his 66th with the Flyers, moving him into sole possession of fourth all-time among Flyers defensemen. He is one goal away from tying Tom Bladon for third.
Trevor Zegras has four goals and 10 points in 10 games against Carolina. Travis Konecny has 12 goals and 25 points in 34 games against the Hurricanes.
Sebastian Aho (35) and Taylor Hall (38) are both point-per-game players against the Flyers for their careers.

Quotable

"I think the effort was better in game two, we just have to increase puck possession. We need guys to be able to hold pucks and make a play. I can say it for a lot of guys, moving your feet. It just seems like everybody's waiting to see what's going to happen. And that happens with young guys, especially when you don't get a lot of runway time. So it's on-the-job training and that's something we're doing right now." - Rick Tocchet

X-Factors

Travis Konecny: In times when things aren't going well or haven't gotten things going, you turn to your veterans to lead the way. Travis Konecny needs to be one of those players for the Flyers to help them start to turn the corner.
Sebastian Aho: You saw what skill was able to do against the Flyers, and Aho is among the most skilled on Carolina's roster. Keep an eye on him at all times during this one, especially if it starts to look like the first two games for the Flyers.