Flyers-Hurricanes Preview: Weekend Back-to-Back Opens with Metro-leading Carolina

Over their last six games, the Flyers have managed just nine goals total. After opening that stretch with a solid 2-1 win in Vancouver, they were lifeless in a shutout loss to Calgary and have bookended their last five games with a pair of shutout losses.

As if things weren't already difficult enough for the Flyers when it comes to scoring, how about facing the team allowing the fewest goals in the league so far? The Carolina Hurricanes have set the tone for the Metropolitan Division. While every team seems to be hovering around where the Flyers are with a 6-3-2 record and 14 points, the Hurricanes sit at the top of the division with a 10-1-0 record and 20 points. A challenging weekend back-to-back on the road begins for the Flyers in Raleigh.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Carolina Hurricanes	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	11	5	7	12	Andrei Svechnikov	11	7	8	15
Sean Couturier	11	5	7	12	Sebastian Aho	11	5	7	12
Cam Atkinson	11	6	2	8	Vincent Trocheck	11	3	8	11
Travis Konecny	11	4	4	8	Tony DeAngelo	11	2	9	11
Derick Brassard	11	2	5	7	Teuvo Teravainen	11	3	7	10

Much of the Flyers early season scoring has dried up of late, and that includes Cam Atkinson. Following his two-goal game in Edmonton, Atkinson has been held off the board for the last six games and limited to just one point in that time.

Andrei Svechnikov is off to another hot start. Despite scoring just one goal in his last five games, Svechnikov continues to pile up points early with five in his last five games in 15 total already on the season.

Carter Hart will get another start for the Flyers on Friday. Don't let the numbers fool you, Hart has been excellent lately. He continued his hot start to the season with 30 saves in Wednesday's loss to Toronto, serving as a large part of why the Flyers were in another game.

Frederik Andersen will be in goal for Carolina. This is nothing new for the Hurricanes, who have started Andersen 10 times prior this season. After allowing three goals in a season-opening win against the Islanders, Andersen went six straight games with wins allowing two goals or fewer. He allowed three goals in a win over Chicago and four goals in Carolina's only loss of the season to Florida last Saturday. He rebounded with a win over Tampa Bay in his last start on Tuesday, allowing one goal on 18 shots.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Ryan Ellis (injury), Kevin Hayes (injury), Nicolas Aube-Kubel (healthy)

Hurricanes Scratches: Martin Necas (illness), Brett Pesce (injury), Antti Raanta (injury), Josh Leivo (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: There are no changes made to the lineup in terms of personnel, but the Flyers did swap Joel Farabee and Oskar Lindblom, moving Lindblom up to a line with Derick Brassard and Cam Atkinson and Farabee down to a line with Scott Laughton and James van Riemsdyk. There could also be some more changes on the horizon. The team is optimistic that Ryan Ellis can return on Saturday night, and Alain Vigneault also added not to rule out Kevin Hayes for Saturday either.
Hurricanes: There are a few players with statuses up in the air for Friday's game for Carolina. Nino Niederreiter and Martin Necas are game-time decisions, though only Niederreiter was able to participate in the morning skate.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (18th), Hurricanes (8th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (16th), Hurricanes (9th)
Recent History vs. Hurricanes
- March 5, 2020 - Flyers 4, Hurricanes 1 (at PHI)
- Jan. 7, 2020 - Hurricanes 5, Flyers 4 (F/OT) (at CAR)
- Nov. 21, 2019 - Flyers 5, Hurricanes 3 (at CAR)
- Nov. 5, 2019 - Flyers 4, Hurricanes 1 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Hurricanes
- Claude Giroux - 44 GP, 13 G, 32 A, 45 P
- Sean Couturier - 37 GP, 10 G, 16 A, 26 P
- Travis Konecny - 17 GP, 6 G, 5 A, 11 P
- Cam Atkinson - 36 GP, 11 G, 12 A, 23 P
- James van Riemsdyk - 33 GP, 6 G, 15 A, 21 P
- Carter Hart - 4 GP, 2-2-0, 2.69 GAA, .911 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Travis Konecny needs two goals to reach 100 for his career.
- Claude Giroux needs four power-play points to pass Bobby Clarke for the Flyers all-time franchise lead.