Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes open the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as they welcome the Philadelphia Flyers into Lenovo Center. Interestingly, the match comes before Round One has even reached a conclusion, as the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens will require a Game 7 on Sunday to settle their series.
Game 1 between the Hurricanes and Flyers is scheduled for 8:00 PM EDT.
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In the Hurricanes’ first-round series, they swept the Ottawa Senators in four games with dominant play from their second line, consisting of Logan Stankoven, Jackson Blake, and Taylor Hall. At least one of those three players factored into seven of the Hurricanes’ eleven goals of the series.
I recently broke down three big positives and three big negatives of the Hurricanes’ Round One performance. You can read all about it here!
Meanwhile, the Flyers did not fail to impress in their return to the postseason after a five-year absence. In their first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they took a commanding three-to-nothing lead against their neighbors to the west before vanquishing them in overtime during Game 6.
In the Crease
While Frederik Andersen was absent from practice Friday morning, head coach Rod Brind’Amour confirmed it was merely a rest day and that he would start Game 1 against the Flyers.
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Meanwhile, Dan Vladar is also expected to start for the Flyers after playing all six games of the previous round.
Projected Carolina Hurricanes Lines
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
William Carrier – Mark Jankowski – Eric Robinson
Defense
Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere – Alexander Nikishin
Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen / Brandon Bussi
Projected Philadelphia Flyers Lines
Owen Tippett – Trevor Zegras – Porter Martone
Denver Barkey – Christian Dvorak – Travis Konecny
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Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Matvei Michkov
Luke Glendening – Sean Couturier – Garnet Hathaway
Defense
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Goaltenders
Dan Vladar / Samuel Ersson
Special Teams
Carolina Hurricanes power play: 13.3% (10th)
Carolina Hurricanes penalty kill: 95.2% (2nd)
Philadelphia Flyers power play: 11.8% (12th)
Philadelphia Flyers penalty kill: 84.2% (9th)
Hurricanes Game Notes
During practice Friday morning, both Frederik Andersen and William Carrier were absent – but it was later stated by Rod Brind’Amour to have just been a rest day for them both. Additionally, both Alexander Nikishin and Nikolaj Ehlers took full practices.
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All four games between the Hurricanes and Flyers in the regular season went to overtime, with three going into the shootout. Interestingly, the first game the Flyers won against the Hurricanes in the season was the same one that clinched their spot in the playoffs on April 13th.
Following the conclusion of the Hurricanes’ first-round series, the broadcasts moved to national-only, just as every team does. However, Hurricanes play-by-play Mike Maniscalco and analyst Tripp Tracy will still call games, just on the team’s radio partner, 99.9 The Fan.
How To Watch
TV: ABC
Radio: 99.9 The Fan
Also Read:: ‘I’m Here Now’: Hurricanes Nicolas Deslauriers Reflects on Surprise Playoff Matchup Against Flyers
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