Hurricanes Head to Philadelphia for Metro Division Tilt
By Glenn Brewer
The season resumes with the third contest since Thanksgiving for the Carolina Hurricanes. A trip to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers this evening. The first two matches since the holiday have been up-and-down to be kind. This will be the second meeting between these two teams in 14 days.
On November 15th, the Canes hosted the Flyers and the result was not favorable to Carolina with the guest being the victor by a score of 3-1. The Flyers came out aggressive and quick to the puck, especially in the offensive zone and on the forecheck.
As it usually is with Philadelphia, the scoring was spread out. Travis Konecny, Ryan Poehling, and Owen Tippett scored the goals. Stefan Noesen chipped in a nice goal but it was too little, too late for the Canes. Carter Hart played a very solid game, making 31 saves in the win. However, the Canes would most likely admit that they could have challenged Hart a little more.
Philadelphia is coming off a brief stay in New York where they played the Islanders twice in 4 days, with a game at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers in between.
The New York trip ended with a 1-2 finish, winning Saturday in a shootout against the Islanders. No goals were scored in regulation, nor overtime.
After 21 games played, the Flyers are 11-9-1 with 23 points. This is good for third in the Metro Division, right behind the Hurricanes. The Canes are second in the Mero Division with 24 points, behind the Rangers.
Carolina has played better at home than on the road this season. Under.500, the Hurricanes are 5-6 away from PNC Arena. on the other hand, the Flyers are slightly better on the road than at home, having won 5 out of 10 games at Wells Fargo Center.
Travis Sanheim continues to lead the way in points for Philadelphia, having 12 goals and 14 assists. Joel Farabee has had a strong start with 15 points and Konecny leads the way in goals with 11 for the orange and black.
Samuel Ersson played on Saturday in New York so it would appear that Carter Hart will play again tonight. Ersson played a great game against the Islanders, making every save look easy so I could see John Tortorella giving the 24-year-old another go at it.
Of course, if Tony DeAngelo is featured in the lineup this evening, it would be his first game back in Philadelphia after playing with them for the 2022-23 season. DeAngelo has not played since November 18th as Jalen Chatfield has played well since getting another chance.