2024-25 Regular Season, Game 18 Preview: Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers

The Carolina Hurricanes completed a perfect weekend by beating the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Sunday night. After conceding the opening goal to Jake Neighbours early in the first period, the Hurricanes slowly got their feet under them. Andrei Svechnikov got a last-minute power-play goal for the Canes to tie it before the break, extending Martin Necas' point streak to 13 games with the primary assist and beginning what would be a big night for him. Eric Robinson gave the Canes the lead 17 seconds into the second period, putting home a rebound. Necas joined the scoring party, picking up his third point by snapping home a shot after Robinson dangled Ryan Suter at the blue line. Necas completed his night by scoring late in the third period to put the game away for good, getting a friendly deflection off Suter's stick to get it past Joel Hofer. Pyotr Kochetkov made 29 saves in his return to the lineup to earn his ninth win of the season, while Necas and Robinson combined for three goals and seven points. Tonight, the Hurricanes will begin a three-game road trip against the Metropolitan Division. 

The Opponent: Philadelphia Flyers (8-9-2, 18 Points, 6th in the Metropolitan Division)

Last Meeting: The Flyers were in Raleigh on November 5th during the Hurricanes' four-game homestand. Travis Konecny opened the scoring during a 5-on-3 in the first period, but Jackson Blake responded after a beautiful pass from below the goal line by Jack Drury to knot the game late in the frame. The Canes scored twice in 54 seconds midway through the second period, getting goals from Eric Robinson and Jordan Martinook to take a 3-1 lead. The Flyers started to chip away as Owen Tippett snapped a wicked wrister past Pyotr Kochetkov late in the second period. Morgan Frost got a friendly bounce off his skate to tie the game early in the third, but Jack Roslovic responded 29 seconds later to give the Canes the lead again. Konecny picked up his fourth point of the night, scoring after Sean Couturier blanketed Jalen Chatfield and forced a turnover. In the final minute, Martin Necas played the hero, again, scoring with 30 seconds left to put the Canes for the third time. Seth Jarvis added one more into the empty net as the Canes won 6-4. 

Since We Last Met: Since losing in Raleigh, the Flyers have been on a hot run. While they lost on Monday night to the Avalanche, the loss snapped a three-game win streak and a five-game point streak, while averaging 3.5 goals per game. They've needed extra time to get their work done, going past regulation in four of the six contests, including three shootouts, and winning three of them. The injury bug is starting to hit them, too. Samuel Ersson, who wasn't available in Raleigh, is dealing with a lower-body injury. Jamie Drysdale and Emil Andrae have both missed time recently. The saving grace has been Ivan Fedotov stepping up in the net. After losing three straight to start the season, he earned his first career win in a shootout triumph over Tampa to begin a three-game win streak. He's posted a .918 save percentage over that time and will be rested with Aleksei Kolosov starting on Monday. Offensively, you'll still have to contend with Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett, Travis Sanheim, and rookie Matvei Michkov. This Flyers team is starting to find its groove. Whether it's for real remains to be seen.

Stories of the Night

1. Going National

For the second time this season, the Hurricanes will be playing a nationally televised game and their first on TNT. Their only other so far was Opening Night against Tampa Bay, and we all know how that ended. If you know anything about me and watching the Hurricanes, I hate national games. They always give me a weird feeling. I had a weird feeling before the Tampa game, too. Add that Philly game the Canes a miserable time in Raleigh and it could make for an interesting night.

2. Michkov vs. Blake, Part II

If the season ended right now, Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov would be a strong candidate to win the Calder with Stars forward Logan Stankoven and Flames goalie Dustin Wolf likely rounding out the Top 3. Canes rookie Jackson Blake is likely a little further down on the list, but he has been invaluable to the Canes' fourth line. In their first meeting, both recorded a point, with Michkov assisting on the opening goal and Blake scoring the responded marker. Michkov has been especially good after being a healthy scratch for two games a few weeks ago, scoring four points in four games.

3. The Start of Another Road Trip

This is the third decently long road trip of the season for the Hurricanes. They were very good on the first one, going 5-1-0, and subpar on the second, going 1-2-0. Wednesday night is the tone-setter as they play three straight against the division. Their first game on both road trips has been slightly indicative of what the remainder of the trip could look like. A good start against the Flyers could bode well for their chances to earn a good return in New Jersey and Columbus on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.