Wrapping up a seven-game homestand, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (28-31-8) will host Rod Brind'Amour's Carolina Hurricanes (40-22-4) on Saturday evening. Game time at Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. EDT.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the third and final meeting of the season series between the Flyers and Hurricanes. The Flyers are 0-2-0 against Carolina this season: 6-4 loss in Raleigh on Nov. 5 and a 4-1 home defeat on Nov. 20.
The Flyers enter Saturday's game coming off a 4-3 (2-1) shootout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. The win snapped a five-game losing streak during the current homestand.
The Hurricanes are playing the latter half of a back-to-back set. On Friday night, Brind'Amour's squad skated to a 4-2 home win against the Detroit Red Wings. Four different players tallied for Carolina over the final 40 minutes: Taylor Hall, Jack Roslovic, Jalen Chatfield, and Eric Robinson (empty net). Frederick Andersen made 24 saves for the win in goal.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch on Saturday night plus an x-factor heading into the game.
1. New Poehling Line
Tortorella changed up two of the four line combinations for Thursday's game against the Lightning. A new trio that featured wingers Bobby Brink and Olle Lycksell flanking center Ryan Poehling had an exceptionally productive night.
Brink led the way with two goals and an assist. His second goal came immediately after stepping out of the penalty box and receiving a pass from Sean Couturier. Brink has been the Flyers' leading scorer since the 4 Nations Face-Off break with nine points (three goals, six assists) in 10 games.
Lycksell generated a pair of assists against the Lightning. Poehling had a goal and several additional scoring chances.
Goals have been hard for the Flyers of late. The big game on Thursday from the Lycksell-Poehling-Brink line was desperately needed for the entire team. Whether the line can produce a similar performance on Saturday remains to be seen but it's a must for the Flyers to have at least one line that capitalizes -- not just gets in -- on scoring chances against Carolina.
2. Breakout game coming for Konecny?
The first round of the shootout on Thursday was a microcosm of how snakebitten Travis Konecny has been in recent weeks. Konecny led off the skills competition by beating Tampa goalie Jonas Johansson but the shot hit both posts and stayed out of the net.
Konecny still leads the Flyers in scoring (65 points in 67 games) by a wide margin. Rookie winger Matvei Michkov (47 points in 65 games) is second. However, goals have been hard to come by for Konecny over the last two months.
In his last 21 games, Konecny has posted 12 points. He had 10 assists in that span but just two goals: an empty netter against the Devils (Jan. 18) and a 6-on-5 goal on a delayed penalty against Pittsburgh on February 8.
Since the 4 Nations Face-Off, Konecny has four points (0g, 4a) in 10 games. Right now, Konecny needs a goal of any kind -- off his skate, off an opponent, even a partially flubbed shot that trickles over the goal line -- to simply relax and get back to playing his game.
Recently, Konecny has hit the post or crossbar several times. The double-doink shootout attempt on Thursday was just the latest time a seemingly surefire goal wouldn't go in for the player. All he may need is just one goal to get back on track.
3. Cates and Foerster
On Thursday, Tortorella deployed Konecny on a 4-on-4 line with Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster. Cates and Foerster (usually with Brink on right wing) have been attached at the hip since mid-November.
Even when they are not scoring, Cates and Foerster usually generate puck possession and put the next Flyers on the ice in a favorable position when they start their shift. Cates and Foerster consistently display strong puck support and win the majority of their puck battles.
However, as with most of the team, Cates and Foerster need some more pucks to start going in the net again. Hopefully, having Konecny on their line will be a springboard for all three players.
Cates (14g, 14a, 28 points) endured an 11-game point drought from Jan. 21 to Feb. 22, bookending the 4 Nations break. He played well during that stretch but saw no rewards on the scoreboard. Finally, he busted out of the slump with four goals and six points in four games (Feb. 25 to March 4).
During the current homestand, however, Cates is now five games removed from his last point. In two games against the Hurricanes this season, he's posted one point (0g, 1a).
Foerster (16g, 14a) is another Flyers player who has been all around bagging a few goals lately but has had all but the finish. He has just one point (0g, 1a) but 12 shots on goal in the last five games. In the 10 games since 4 Nations, the second-season NHLer has one goal and 5 points.
4. Playing without Risto
When healthy this season, the 2024-25 season has arguably been the best of veteran defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen's NHL career.
He posted much higher point totals (four straight seasons with 40-plus points) early in his career with Buffalo. From 2014-15 through 2022-23, Ristolainen was fifth in credited hits among all NHL defenseman. Nevertheless, today's version of the Finnish blueliner is a much more effective hockey player overall because he plays a much more positionally sound and disciplined brand of hockey on either side of the puck.
Currently, Ristolainen is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He did not play against Tampa Bay on Thursday or practice on Friday. In Ristolainen's absence, the Flyers are currently going with defense pairings of Nick Seeler with Jamie Drysdale and Egor Zamula with Emil Andrae in addition to the top pairing that has Travis Sanheim with Cam York.
X-Factor: Pace and puck movement
The Hurricanes are perennially one the NHL's top clubs in terms of team speed and No. 1 in puck possession metrics. For a team to compete successfully against Carolina puck management and support, playing with pace and quick decision-making are a must.
Carolina relies on its 5-on-5 connectivity as the backbone of their success. The Canes have not had a good season on the power play (18.0 percent success, ranked 26th leaguewide) but their 84.4 percent penalty killing success ranks second in the NHL. The Canes are also tied for fourth with nine shorthanded goals scored this season. In this area, too, quick decision making and puck movement are musts when trying to attack on power plays against the Hurricanes.
