Game Day Canes at Flyers: Saturday Matinee

Carolina Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers
December 13, 2014 - 1:00 pm ET
Wells Fargo Center - Philadelphia, PA
TV - Fox Sports Carolinas
Radio - 99.9 FM The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog - Broad Street Hockey

Fancy Stats

Game Notes

• The Canes are in Philly this afternoon for the first of five games against the Flyers. They swept the Flyers last season with a 4-0-0 record, including their only shootout win in the season finale. It was the first season sweep of the Flyers since the Hurricanes were the 1991-92 Whalers.
• (Sidebar, while on the topic of Whalers and Flyers, check out what was happening 32 years ago this week, courtesy of Broad Street Hockey).
• The Canes come into today's game having mostly held their own against the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday night before two unfortunate bounces ended up in the back of the net for a 2-1 loss, their fourth in a row in which the Canes were only able to muster one goal.
• Speaking of those four straight losses... with 19 points in 28 games played, the Canes are on pace for 56 points. They are five points behind their closest opponent in the Eastern Conference, and while Edmonton is technically last in the league with more games played, the Canes are tied with them for the fewest points.
• After tallying his fifth goal Thursday night, Justin Faulk took over the Canes points lead with 17 points and has goals in two straight games. Jeff Skinner is two points away from 200 career points, and Eric Staal is one power-play goal away from 100 career power-play goals.
• The Canes practiced yesterday in Philadelphia. Jordan Staal again skated with the team. Andrej Nestrasil, day to day with an upper body injury, did not skate and is not expected to be in the line-up. Also missing was Jiri Tlusty, with an undisclosed injury requiring treatment and calling his status today into question. Head coach Bill Peters indicated that if Tlusty is not able to play, he will look at a line-up with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
• Led by a goal and an assist from Matt Read, the Flyers opened a four-game home game stand Thursday night with a 4-1 win against the Devils. They have points in their last four games with a 2-0-2 record.
• Seven out of the Flyers' ten wins this season have come at home, where their record is 7-4-2. Outside of last season's sweep, the Canes have not experienced a lot of success playing in Philly, where their record has been 3-6-2 in their last 11 games.
• The Flyers have a top-five power play, and Wayne Simmonds is the straw that stirs the drink. After finishing third in the NHL last season with 15 power play goals, he is ahead of last year's pace with seven power play goals and 11 power play points. He's also a point-per-game player against the Canes, with 13 points (7g, 6a) in 13 games. Joining him is Claude Giroux, with 19 points against the Canes (6g, 13a) in 19 games. Jakub Voracek (10g, 25a) leads the team with 35 points, and Sean Coutourier (6g, 8a) is riding a five-game point streak.
• Hitting the newswire for the Flyers is a story that may sound familiar to Canes fans: a high profile player sitting in the press box. Vincent Lecavalier is out with a lower body injury, after having been a healthy scratch for the last five games.

Potential line-ups

Hurricanes (from Thursday's game)

Injuries and Scratches: Jordan Staal (IR broken fibula), Alexander Semin (IR lower body), Andrej Nestrasil (DTD upper body), Jay Harrison (healthy), Brett Bellemore (healthy)

Flyers (from Thursday's game)

Injuries and Scratches: Kimmo Timonen (blood clot), Ryan White (chest), Vincent Lecavalier (DTD lower body), Carlo Colaiacovo (healthy), Michael Del Zotto (healthy)

Don't forget about today's matinee start.  The game thread will be ready to roll at 12:30 pm. See you there.