Game Preview: Flyers vs. Hurricanes

Following their first loss at the Wells Fargo Center this season to the Anaheim Ducks, the Philadelphia Flyers (4-3-1) hope to re-establish their home-ice dominance, hosting the Carolina Hurricanes (5-4-0).

John Tortorella likes his roster. The Flyers will make mistakes, but Tortorella sees that his lineup is making plays and isn’t set to change how his skaters prepare because of a sloppy performance versus the Ducks. Taking a calculated chance, even if unsuccessful, doesn’t bother him because it is a teachable moment as the lineup discovers ways to score more goals.

“I like our team, I do. I like the way we’re making plays. We’re not going to throw things away on how we’re trying to prepare these guys because we had a little bit of a struggle tonight. We’re going to keep on trying to push the offense, we’re not going to go into a defensive shell because we got seven scored on us tonight. I like the way some guys are opening up the ice and taking a chance [on] making plays. [We] turned some over tonight; they end up in our net. We’ll turn some over in our next game. I want us to take a chance because I think our team needs to learn how to score more goals.”
John Tortorella; 10/28/2023

Both teams are scrapping up the NHL standings. A season ago, Philadelphia finished 0-2-2 versus the Hurricanes, losing each game by a one-goal margin.

Carolina Hurricanes

Last Friday, Carolina shut out the winless San Jose Sharks, 3-0. Teuvo Teravainen scored a hat trick, including the game-winner on the powerplay.

“He’s [Teravainen] got a great shot. We, over the years, wanted him to shoot more. You can see tonight, he obviously had a couple really nice ones. He can score.”
Rod Brind’Amour; 10/27/2023

Andrei Svechnikov made his season debut on Friday. He recovered from his surgery to repair a torn ACL. Svechnikov was active in his return; displaying physicality versus the Sharks, forcing takeaways, and firing pucks on the net. His most dangerous scoring chances sailed wide of the net, but Svechnikov had a solid presence all over the ice.

“I think the first game is sometimes adrenaline; feeling pretty good, you got a big crowd, and all that emotion. Give him [Svechnikov] a few games to just settle in and make our assessment of where he is, but you can tell, or at least I can tell immediately; ‘Oh man, there he is, we got a real good player there.’ You forget because he’s been out for so long, but when you add him to your group, all [of] the sudden it just looks different.”
Rod Brind’Amour; 10/30/2023

Here’s the tentative lineup for the Carolina Hurricanes:

Aho-Teravainen-Jarvis
Bunting-Kotkaniemi-Necas
Martinook-Staal-Fast
Svechnikov-Drury-Noesen

Slavin-Burns
Skjei-DeAngelo
Orlov-Chatfield

Andersen
(Raanta)

Philadelphia Flyers

Ryan Poehling is a healthy scratch. He’ll be absent from the lineup with Rasmus Ristolainen (undisclosed), Marc Staal (ribs), and Victor Mete (healthy scratch). In his place, Morgan Frost rejoins after being scratched for six consecutive games. Tortorella, putting Frost in an offensive position and Scott Laughton on the fourth line, called this evolution ‘healthy.’

“I want to see pace. We’re really trying to push the pace. We’re trying to be a pressure team. He’s [Frost] got to bring us some offense, obviously. That’s what he does; make some plays. I guess the biggest thing, because you just can’t simulate it in the amount of time he’s been out, is the pace of the game. We’re gonna’ play against a really fast team, tonight. We want to play fast. I just want to see him join in that way. We’ll see where it goes.”
John Tortorella; 10/30/2023

Owen Tippett had an active outing versus Anaheim. He did a lot of the extra work, like checking, to create chances on offense whether that meant he shot the puck himself or jumped into the rush with Cam Atkinson to collect a primary assist. Tortorella acknowledged the performance, then added he wants Tippett to be stronger on the puck, which will help elevate his game:

“He’s [Tippett] had chances. I just looked at the sheets this morning, he had five in the last game [vs. ANA] and set up a couple. I want him to have the puck more, though. I want him stronger on the puck. I think what turned Tip’s game around last year; he started being more physical, too. I think that needs to come into his game. I think he’s become a player where he’s really adjusted playing left wing as a right shot. How quick he comes off that wall and generates offense has been really good. He tends to lose the puck sometimes because he exposes the puck. I want more from having the puck and keeping the puck, and just being involved physically because I think that’ll help his game even more.”
John Tortorella; 10/30/2023

Here’s the tentative lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers, per Jordan Hall:

Tippett-Couturier-Atkinson
Farabee-Cates-Brink
Konecny-Frost-Foerster
Deslauriers-Laughton-Hathaway

York-Sanheim
Zamula-Walker
Seeler-Belpedio

Hart
(Ersson)