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The Hurricanes are back in action tonight as they play the first game of an important four game season series against the Flyers, who they trail by one point in the race for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
Vital Statistics
| Category | Hurricanes | Bruins |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Hurricanes | Bruins |
| Record | 8-6 | 11-5 |
| Goals/Game | 2.79 | 3.31 |
| Goals Against/Game | 2.71 | 2.06 |
| Shots/Game | 30.9 | 34.3 |
| Faceoff % | 49.1% | 53.3% |
| Power Play % (Rank) | 10.0% (14) | 31.9% (1) |
| Penalty Kill % (Rank) | 70.8% (14) | 85.7% (4) |
| ES Corsi For % | 55.61% | 51.66% |
| ES PDO | 101.2% | 101.0 |
| PIM/Game | 8:38 | 6:30 |
Goaltender #1
| Category | Petr Mrazek | Tuukka Rask |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Petr Mrazek | Tuukka Rask |
| Record | 5-5 | 11-5 |
| Save % | .894 | .939 |
| GAA | 2.73 | 1.96 |
Goaltender #2
| Category | Curtis McElhinney | Jaroslav Halak |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Curtis McElhinney | Jaroslav Halak |
| Record | 3-1 | 0-0 |
| Save % | .943 | N/A |
| GAA | 1.70 | N/A |
Game Notes
- The Canes train all-time with a 41-67-25-3 record, including a 23-31-13-1 record at home against Philadelphia.
- The Canes and Flyers will play a total of four times this season. Two more meetings come in March and another in April. The Philadelphia games could be critical to the Hurricanes as they are fighting for the same Wild Card position.
- The Flyers handled the Hurricanes last season, posting a 3-1-1 series record (Carolina: 2-2-1).
- The Hurricanes have been strong at home recently against Philly, earning at least a point in eight of their last nine matchups in PNC Arena. They’ve posted a 7-1-1 record in that span.
- The Canes have scored three or more goals in their last seven matchups against the Flyers, which fits in with the recent difficulties they have had in putting the puck in the net. And the team could really, really use some scoring.
Peters, asked if there’s an explanation for the Canes scoring one or zero ES goals in 9 of the past 13 games: “Yep.” Can we have it? “No. (pause) You can write why you think the reason is, but there are reasons.”
— Brian LeBlanc (@bdleblanc) February 4, 2018
- Sebastian Aho led the Canes with eight points (4g, 4a) in five games against the Flyers last season. He’s been just about the only Hurricanes providing any offensive production since his return from injury last week.
- Despite Peters saying to expect changes, yesterday’s practice featured little more than minor tweaks. Expect a couple of scratches to draw in and a couple other guys to sit, but nothing more extensive than that.
- John Forslund is on national duty tonight, so Jason Shaya will fill in and will hope to get his first win calling a Canes game.
Storm Advisory
- The Canes will be changing their entrance routine starting with tonight’s game.
Starting tomorrow, the #Canes will take a different route to the ice as part of an ongoing initiative to make the team more accessible to fans. pic.twitter.com/yVrPdUP1RM
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) February 5, 2018
- The Predators will be without Filip Forsberg for three games, and they are confused and not all that happy about it. [Tennessean]
- Rick Nash has submitted his no trade list to the Rangers, much to his dismay. [Newsday]
- The Flyers are looking to “emulate” the Eagles after watching the Super Bowl win on Sunday. [The Inquirer]