The defending champions are reeling a little. The Carolina Hurricanes have dropped their first two games of the new season, including a 5-2 pounding by the Washington Capitals at the Lenovo Center on Friday night. They're now 0-1-1, which is hardly how we expected this team to begin the 2026-27 season. Now, they're hitting the road for their first game away from home.
The added layer of this being the first back-to-back of the season is not easing much of the tension being felt throughout Caniac Nation. The team has put together polar opposite performances to start the campaign, though they finally found the back of the net with a power-play conversion. With Brandon Bussi losing to Washington on Friday, Pyotr Kochetkov is expected to get the call tonight.
The Canes and tonight's opponent, the Philadelphia Flyers, needed extra time to settle all four of their meetings last season. Seth Jarvis scored the winner in the team's second game of the season before they won in the shootout on consecutive days in mid-December. The Flyers' lone win of the series came in the penultimate game, also in a shootout, to clinch their spot in the playoffs.
The teams met again in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After Frederik Andersen pitched a shutout in Game 1, Taylor Hall was the overtime hero in Game 2, sending the Canes to Philly up 2-0. They put together another dominant effort in Game 3 to push the Flyers to the brink, and Jackson Blake finished the job in overtime of Game 4 to complete the four-game sweep.
Behind Enemy Lines: Philadelphia Flyers
After a surprising run to the second round of the playoffs, the Flyers don't look much different than the team that the Hurricanes saw in May. They added Noel Acciari to their bottom six, brought in some depth on the back end with Simon Benoit, and reinforced the net with Joseph Woll. They also lost a little grit by sending Garnet Hathaway to the Panthers.
Otherwise, they maintained a low profile. Well, except for that offer sheet for Leo Carlsson, a five-year offer worth $90 million that ultimately failed because the Ducks matched it. Dan Vladar, Jamie Drysdale, Tyson Foerster, and Trevor Zegras all earned multi-year extensions, giving the Flyers a solid nucleus to build around for the next few seasons.
Like the Hurricanes, the Flyers have played twice, losing both contests. They were stomped 7-0 at home by their in-state rivals and first-round opponents, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in their opener, before dropping an overtime contest to the New Jersey Devils, whom they led for most of the contest, on the road. Woll was outstanding in their overtime loss on Thursday, stopping 41 shots.
Injury Report
Carolina: The Canes have made it two games without adding another name to the list. Seth Jarvis is the only active injury, and they'd like to keep it that way for the foreseeable future.
Philadelphia: Winger Denver Barkey was injured during a preseason game and is yet to make his season debut after suffering a lower-body injury. Nikita Grebenkin is also dealing with an injury, though the Flyers haven't disclosed what it is. According to Rick Tocchet, Barkey is closer to returning than Grebenkin, though it's unclear whether Barkey will be good to go tonight.
Players to Watch
Trevor Zegras: Few players gave the Hurricanes more fits last season than Zegras. He was all over the scoresheet when these teams played during the regular season. However, the Canes found a way to neutralize him for most of their four-game sweep. Zegras is yet to record a point this season, so you know he must be chomping at the bit to put together a big night.
Porter Martone: It has been a rough start to the season for the rookie many picked to win the Calder Trophy. Martone has been benched or demoted in each of the Flyers' losses and is pointless in two games. He looked outstanding in his first NHL action last season, scoring ten points in nine games before adding five more in the playoffs. Just give him some time, and he'll start turning it around.
Andrei Svechnikov: Some people have been a bit bullish on Svechnikov's start to the season. He had a tough game against the Panthers, but I thought he looked much better last night against the Capitals. He was throwing shots at the net, finishing with six, and picked up the primary helper on the team's first goal. I'd like to see him put one into the back of the net.
Jordan Martinook: While he wasn't rewarded for his efforts on Friday night, Martinook looked very dangerous, too. He had the team's first big chance in the slot, but he couldn't elevate the puck over Logan Thompson's pad. Tonight marks Martinook's 800th NHL game, giving him some extra motivation to help earn the Canes their first victory of the year.
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