On Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes begin the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs as they welcome the Philadelphia Flyers to Lenovo Center. Interestingly, the matchup comes before Round One even reaches its conclusion, as the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens will need a Game 7 on Sunday to decide their series.
Game 1 between the Hurricanes and Flyers is scheduled for 8:00 pm EDT.
In the Hurricanes' first-round series, they defeated the Ottawa Senators in four games with key play from their second line, which consisted of Logan Stankoven, Jackson Blake, and Taylor Hall. At least one of those three players contributed to seven of the Hurricanes' eleven goals in the series.
I recently outlined three big positives and three big negatives from the Hurricanes' first-round performance. You can read all about it here!
Meanwhile, the Flyers did not fail to impress in their return to the postseason after a five-year absence. In their first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they took a three-nil lead against their neighbors to the west before defeating them in overtime during Game 6.
in the crease
While Frederik Andersen was absent from practice Friday morning, head coach Rod Brind'Amour confirmed that it was only a rest day and that he would start Game 1 against the Flyers.
Meanwhile, Dan Vladar is also expected to start for the Flyers after playing all six games of the last round.
Projected Carolina Hurricane 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
protect
Jacob Slavin - Jalen Chatfield
K'Andre Miller - Shawn Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere - Alexander Nikishin
goaltender
Frederick Anderson / Brandon Bussey
Projected Philadelphia Flyers Lines
Owen Tippett - Trevor Zegras - Porter Marton
Denver Barkey - Christian Dvorak - Travis Konecny
Tyson Foster - Noah Cates - Matvei Mitchkov
Luke Glendening - Shawn Couturier - Garnet Hathaway
protect
Travis Sanheim - Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York - Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seiler - Noah Julson
goaltender
Dan Vladar/Samuel Ersson
special teams
Carolina Hurricanes Power Play: 13.3% (10th)
Carolina Hurricanes Penalty Kill: 95.2% (2nd)
Philadelphia Flyers Power Play: 11.8% (12th)
Philadelphia Flyers Penalty Kill: 84.2% (9th)
storm game notes
During Friday morning's practice, both Frederick Anderson and William Carrier were absent – but Rod Brind'Amour later said it was just a rest day for both of them. Additionally, both Alexander Nikishin and Nikolaj Ehlers completed full rehearsals.
All four games between the Hurricanes and Flyers in the regular season went to overtime, three of which went to shootouts. Interestingly, the Flyers won the first game of the season against the Hurricanes on April 13, clinching their spot in the playoffs.
Following the conclusion of the Hurricanes' first-round series, the broadcast became national-only, as every team does. However, Hurricanes play-by-play Mike Maniscalco and analyst Trip Tracy will still call games on the team's radio partner, 99.9 The Fan.
how to see
TV: ABC
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
