FLYERS VS HURRICANES GAME PREVIEW (2:00 A.M. EDT)
In their final game of the 2013-14 regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers (42-30-9) will host the Carolina Hurricanes (35-35-11). Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 3 p.m. EDT. The match will be televised locally on CSN Philly.
This is the fourth and final meeting between the teams this season. Historically, the Flyers have dominated the Hurricanes. That has not been the case this season. Carolina has won each of the first three games, with two of the wins coming in regulation.
On Oct. 6, Peter Laviolette coached what proved to be his final game behind the Flyers' bench as the Flyers fell to 0-3-0 on the season after a 2-1 loss in Raleigh. A poor first period was Philly undoing, as Jeff Skinner ran wild for the Hurricanes.
With Craig Berube having already been promoted from assistant to head coach, the Flyers dropped a 2-1 overtime decision in Carolina on Nov. 5. The game was scoreless until late in the third period, when the Flyers took the lead. However, a needless icing, a lost faceoff and a coverage breakdown led to Carolina tying the game in the final minute. An overtime turnover was turned into the game winning goal.
On Jan. 21 in Philadelphia, the game was postponed due to inclement weather. The game was made up the next night, with the Hurricanes skating off with a 3-2 win. As with the first meeting of the season, the Flyers were plagued by a slow start. Philly trailed 2-0 at the first intermission (getting outshot 8-3) and 2-1 at the second intermission. Goals by Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell tied the game only for Jiri Tlusty to win the game for the Hurricanes in the latter stages of the third period.
After today's game, the Flyers will play the New York Rangers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Hurricanes will miss the postseason.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers clinched third place in the Metropolitan Division with a 3-2 road overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. After the Flyers trailed first, power play and even strength goals by Jakub Voracek forged a 2-1 lead that Philly took to the third period.
The final stanza saw Ray Emery (12 saves on 14 shots) take over for starter Steve Mason (21 saves on 22 shots). Mason played very well before sustaining an upper body injury in a collision with Pittsburgh's Jason Megna late in the second period. Mason finished out the second period but was removed from the game.
Teams league-wide are very guarded about revealing injury information this time of year, and the Flyers are already among the less forthcoming teams when it comes to injury news. After yesterday's game, Craig Berube said as little as possible but told the attending media that he thinks Mason should be OK for Game 1 against the Rangers later this week.
In the third period of yesterday's game, Pittsburgh's James Neal knotted the score at 2-2 with 5:07 left in regulation. Claude Giroux put the Flyers back ahead by one goal with 1:15 left only for Kris Letang to force overtime with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (17 saves on 21 shots) pulled for an extra attacker and 37 seconds left on the clock.
At 2:10 of overtime, Mark Streit scored his 10th goal of the season. The line rush goal -- a dreadfully soft one -- was a backhand shot from the right circle that got through the five hole. With the tally, Streit rendered both last night's Columbus vs. Florida tilt and today's Flyers vs. Hurricanes game meaningless in terms of playoff implications for Philly.
Streit's goal also made him the ninth Flyers player to reach double-digit goals this season. Michael Raffl would become the 10th if he scores in today's regular season finale. In the meantime, both Voracek (two goals, one assist) and Giroux (one goal, two assists) enjoyed three-point games in the club's final road game of the regular season.
Following yesterday's game, the Flyers recalled goaltender Cal Heeter and forward Jason Akeson from the Adirondack Phantoms. Mason will be scratched for the final game and it would not be surprising if Heeter got his first NHL start to eliminate any risk of an injury to Emery. Akeson will be a Black Ace during the playoffs but it was also be unsurprising if he gets into the starting lineup in the regular season finale in place of an ailing forward (for one, Wayne Simmonds has recently taken a maintenance day).
In both Thursday's and Saturday's games, the Flyers rested Nicklas Grossmann (foot/ankle ailment) and started Erik Gustafsson in his place. Yesterday, Kimmo Timonen (various nagging injuries) also got the day off. Hal Gill got into the lineup for just the fifth time in the season. It would be far more surprising if either Grossmann or Timonen played against Carolina than if Gustafsson and Gill are used again.
As the regular season draws to a close, Zac Rinaldo will serve the final game of his four-game suspension by the NHL. He is eligible to return to the lineup for Game 1 against the Rangers.
Prior to the start of today's game, the Flyers will present their annual team awards. I am not a member of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA) so I do not get a vote in the awards although I cover the team in person both at practices in Voorhees and in home games and nearby road games for much of the season. If I were given a vote in the media-selected awards, I would go as follows:
Bobby Clarke Trophy (Flyers MVP): Claude Giroux, with Steve Mason and Wayne Simmonds as my second and third choices.
Barry Ashbee Trophy (Flyers top defenseman): Braydon Coburn with Kimmo Timonen as my second choice this year.
Yanick Dupre Memorial Award (Class Guy/ Best with Media): Jakub Voracek is my pick because he's always candid and approachable. Hal Gill, the Philadelphia PHWA's Masterton Trophy nominee, would be a strong candidate if he played a little more this season. I also always enjoy interviewing Braydon Coburn, Adam Hall, Matt Read, Simmonds, Mark Streit and quite a few others. There are lots of good guys in the Flyers' dressing room and no bad ones.
The Pelle Lindbergh Award (Most Improved During Season) is selected by the Flyers' players to honor a deserving teammate. I think rookie Michael Raffl -- who started the year making the jump from Swedish minor league hockey to trying to win a spot in the NHL -- has a shot
at winning it.
The Gene Hart Memorial Award (Hard Work, Heart and Dedication) is voted by members of the Flyers' fan club. Timonen has yet to win that particular award, and would be an ideal choice.
In tomorrow's blog, I will start to look ahead to the Flyers-Rangers series. First things first: The team has one more game to get through before the focus shifts entirely to the postseason.
HURRICANES OUTLOOK
Carolina has been one of the more unpredictable spoiler teams among the NHL's Draft Lottery bound clubs. They have had a few collapses in games they've led against clubs pushing for the playoffs but have also stepped up to knock off several clubs that were battling to get into the postseason.
Let's put it this way: The Flyers are likely relieved that today's game is meaningless. Columbus won in regulation last night. Detroit plays a severely depleted and recently struggling (five straight losses) St. Louis Blues club this afternoon. If the Flyers had lost yesterday in Pittsburgh, a Detroit win today coupled with a Flyers' regulation loss to the Hurricanes would have meant a Philly playoff series against the Boston Bruins.
On Friday night, Carolina defeated Detroit by a 2-1 score. Goals by Elias Lindholm and Jiri Tlusty led the way. Cam Ward stopped 28 of 29 shots.
Top-line Hurricanes center Eric Staal needs a goal in the final game of the season to secure his eighth NHL season with 20 or more goals. In the meantime, Jeff Skinner (31 goals, 52 points, 10 power play goals, minus-13 rating), will look to score at least his second goal in the month of April. He enters this game with just one point -- a goal against New Jersey -- in his last five matches.
KEY STAT COMPARISONS (NHL OVERALL RANKING)
Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 2.82 (10th), Hurricanes 2.47 (23rd)
Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.74 (19th), Hurricanes 2.73 (16th)
Even strength Goals For/Against Ratio: Flyers 0.96 (17th), Hurricanes 0.89 (24th)
Power play efficiency: Flyers 19.5% (8th), Hurricanes 14.4% (28th)
Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 84.9% (6th), Hurricanes 82.0% (17th)
Faceoff percentage: Flyers 50.1% (16th), Hurricanes 52.5% (4th)
PROJECTED LINEUPS (Subject to change)
FLYERS Note: Highly speculative, good chance actual lineup is different
19 Scott Hartnell - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek
10 Brayden Schenn - 12 Michael Raffl - Jason Akeson
15 Tye McGinn - 14 Sean Couturier - 24 Matt Read
37 Jay Rosehill - 40 Vincent Lecavalier - 18 Adam Hall
47 Andrew MacDonald - 5 Braydon Coburn
75 Hal Gill - 32 Mark Streit
26 Erik Gustafsson - 22 Luke Schenn
33 Cal Heeter
[29 Ray Emery]
Potential Scratches: Zac Rinaldo (NHL suspension), Wayne Simmonds (rest, recent maintenance day), Steve Downie (rest, recent return from a concussion), Nicklas Grossmann (rest, foot/ankle), Kimmo Timonen (rest, various ailments), Chris Pronger (LTIR, post-concussion syndrome).
HURRICANES
28 Alexander Semin - 12 Eric Staal - 19 Jiri Tlusty
14 Nathan Gerbe - 11 Jordan Staal - 39 Pat Dwyer
53 Jeff Skinner - 16 Elias Lindholm - 20 Riley Nash
21 Drayson Bowman - 22 Manny Malhotra - 8 Andrei Loktionov
27 Justin Faulk - 26 John-Michael Liles
73 Brett Bellemore - 65 Ron Hainsey
44 Jay Harrison - 5 Mike Komisarek
30 Cam Ward
[31 Anton Khudobin]
Potential Scratches: Radek Dvorak (healthy), Justin Peters (healthy), Andrej Sekera (abdominal surgery), Joni Pitkänen (IR, pre-season heel surgery).
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