The Carolina Hurricanes will face the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday in a Metropolitan Division matchup that should make a lot of sense for the home team, who have been dominating in the postseason as they try to hold off two other undefeated teams – the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 pm EDT.
In his previous games...
On Saturday, the Hurricanes won 4–1 against the Utah Mammoth in their final Western Conference matchup of the regular season. In doing so, Andrei Svechnikov reached an all-time high of 31 goals for the first time in his NHL career. Additionally, Jordan Staal joined the 20-goal club, bringing the total number of Hurricanes players to seven. It was the first time since the 2015–16 season that he had reached this milestone.
As the game concluded, 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 that highlighted the night, when Jakob Slavin and his brother Josiah skated together in their first regular season NHL game. She and her family had some really interesting thoughts to share about this special moment – you can read all about it here!
Still, the Slavin duo won't be in Monday's game. On Sunday, Josiah was reassigned to the Chicago Wolves.
On the other side of the ice, the Flyers – against all odds – managed to get ahead of the crowd and move into third place in the Metro, as the Atlantic Division's Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators have already claimed both Eastern Conference wild cards.
The arrival of prospect Porter Martone from Michigan State University has been a huge boon for the Spartans after their NCAA hockey championship loss to the Wisconsin Badgers in late March. In only seven games with the big club, Martone has averaged one point per game, scored three goals and has already collected four assists. He has remained goalless in only two matches so far.
in the crease
In their last game, the Hurricanes broke form as they ran out Frederik Andersen twice in a row, starting against the Chicago Wolves and then against the Mammoth. That being said, Brandon Bussey is the most likely option for Monday's matchup with the Flyers. His save percentage this season is .890, with a goals-against average of 2.52 with a 30-6-1 record.
Meanwhile, the Flyers have leaned heavily on Daniel Vladar. Throughout the season, he has borne the brunt of the starts with 49 starts to Samuel Ersson's 28. His numbers have also been favorable compared to the young netminder.
The Flyers haven't shied away from consistently giving a starting goaltender, and there's a good chance they'll get the remaining two for Philadelphia this season. Vladar has a save percentage of .904 this season, with a goals-against average of 2.47 with a 27-14-7 record.
Expected Carolina Hurricane Lines
Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis
Nikolaj Ehlers - Jordan Staal - Jordan Martinook
Nicolas Deslauriers - Jespri Kotkaniemi - Eric Robinson
Josiah Slavin - Skyler Brind'Amour - Bradley Nadeau
protect
Jacob Slavin - Shayne Gostisbeer
Alexander Nikishin - Shawn Walker
Mike Reilly - Charles-Alexis Legault
goaltender
Brandon Bussey/Frederick Anderson
Expected Philadelphia Flyers Lines
Tyson Foster - Trevor Zegras - Owen Tippett
Travis Konecny - Christian Dvorak - Porter Martone
Denver Barkey - Noah Cates - Matvei Mitchkov
Garnet Hathaway - Shawn Couturier - Luke Glendening
protect
Travis Sanheim - Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York - Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seiler - Emile Andre
goaltender
Dan Vladar/Samuel Ersson
special teams
Carolina Hurricanes Power Play: 24.7% (5th, up one spot from last game)
Carolina Hurricanes Penalty Kill: 80.6% (10th, up one spot from last game)
Philadelphia Flyers Power Play: 15.5% (32nd)
Philadelphia Flyers Penalty Kill: 77.6% (21st)
storm game notes
The Hurricanes have only two games remaining in the regular season: Monday vs. the Flyers and Tuesday vs. the New York Islanders – both Metropolitan Division teams.
Recently, it has been difficult to maintain the Hurricanes' lineup due to a lack of practice and frequent rest 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 see
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
