Today at 1PM, the Carolina Hurricanes will be playing an exhibition game against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Spectrum. For those who might not be aware, the Spectrum is an old hockey arena which opened back in 1967 and is now the home of the AHL Philadelphia Phantoms. The Flyers won the Stanley Cup in the building and it is near and dear to many fan's hearts. The team moved to the Wachovia Center in 1996.
This game was met with such strong fan response that the Flyers added yet another game to their preseason schedule just so they could play another time in the building. The rink is scheduled to be demolished later this year.
I don't have a definite lineup yet, but Chip at LSB is reporting what he believes the lines will look like.
- Cullen, O'Neill, LaRose
- Helminen, Petruzalek,Bowman
- Sutter, Eaves, Jensen
- Gillies, Murley, LaCouture
- Pitkanen, Seidenberg
- Kaberle, Flood
- Melichar, Conboy
- Ward - Manzato
Paul Branecky of CH.com has a preview here as well. Branecky also discusses the ever growing list of injured Canes. For some reason the vets seem to be getting hurt, but not the prospects. The hit list includes- Corvo, Wallin, Whitney, Brind'Amour, Williams, Samsonov, Babchuk, Gleason, and Ruutu. Most of the problems are minor, but enough of a factor to keep them out of practice Friday. (Except for Samsonov and Corvo, who did make it to practice but are still being reported as having injuries.)
That makes nine skaters out, in case anyone is counting.
The Flyers are expected to play several of their regulars including Simon Gagne, Mike Richards, and Daniel Briere. They will be fired up and ready to go in front of what should be a near capacity crowd. This will most likely be another tough contest for the Hurricanes.
Don't forget, the game will be televised on the NHL Network.