Game #19 Preview: Hurricanes @ Flyers

 

Hurricanes (14-3-1) @ Flyers (8-6-4)

The Hurricanes finish off their six-game road trip in Philadelphia with an afternoon showdown against the stumbling Flyers. Carolina comes off of a frustrating loss in Seattle Wednesday night, they look to bounce back and build a lead in the competitive Metropolitan division. Philadelphia, on the other hand, is looking to regain its footing. They have struggled recently, and they are currently 1 point behind the last playoff spot in the eastern conference. This is a very important game for both teams.

Previous Meeting

The last game between Carolina and Philly was on November 12th in Raleigh. Philadelphia handed Carolina their 2nd loss of the season by scoring two goals in the third to win 2-1. Carolina lost that game largely in part to Carter Hart, but also due to a lack of a strong effort in the third 

period. Carolina will need to simplify against Carter Hart today if they want to get pucks past him, and they will need a full 60-minute performance to win against the desperate Flyers.


Carolina’s Goaltending Regression has begun
The Hurricanes have one of, if not the best goaltenders in the league in Frederik Andersen. He has been stellar almost all season long, however, he has begun to regress down to Earth in recent starts. He has still been a very good goaltender as of late, but not as good as he was in the earlier parts of the season. Andersen has gone down to posting a .936 save % and a 1.89 GAA. Both are still near the top of the league, but his level of play has dipped recently, and Carolina lost against Seattle partly because of Andersen’s play. He posted -0.35 goals saved above expected and allowed two low danger goals (Via MoneyPuck.com). However, Andersen has still been good, and he was not the only reason why Carolina lost the last game.


Why the Jumbled Lines Rod?

Carolina iced an interesting lineup in Wednesday night’s game in Seattle. They played Jordan Martinook on the 1st line and Steven Lorentz on the 2nd line, with Svechnikov and Necas in the bottom six This is no offense to Martinook or Lorentz, both are strong bottom sixers that provide a lot to the team in those roles. But neither are close to as good as Svechnikov or Necas when it comes to generating chances and production. The lineup Wednesday night was a head-scratcher. Unsurprisingly, Carolina scored only one goal on 36 shots in that game. A big reason as to why they lost. Rod is a fantastic coach, but the lineup Wednesday night was one of those ideas that should never be brought out again. Let Martinook and Lorentz thrive in their roles. And allow Svechnikov and Necas to play free on offense with other star-level players.


Projected Lines

*These are not confirmed. Only Projections*

Teravainen-Aho-Jarvis

Svechnikov-Trocheck-Necas

Niederreiter-Staal-Fast

Martinook-Kotkaniemi-Stepan


Slavin-DeAngelo

Skjei-Pesce

Cole-Smith


Raanta *Confirmed to start*

Andersen


What the Analytics Predict

MoneyPuck.com gives Carolina a 58.5% chance of winning today.

Players to Watch

Andrei Svechnikov is the Hurricane to watch today. He creates a lot of chances off the rush, and Philadelphia’s defense has struggles at times against speed down the wing, expect Svechnikov to get on the scoresheet. 


Claude Giroux has had a renaissance season so far, scoring 16 points in 18 games. He will be a key offensive player if Philadelphia wants to beat Raanta in the net today.

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