John Tortorella needs to see more out of his lineup, and when the Philadelphia Flyers (35-26-8) needed a vital victory, they took one from the Toronto Maple Leafs. As noteworthy as the win was another story: Sean Couturier was a healthy scratch. In a must-win position, Tortorella sat his newly minted captain to send a message; it worked. He didn’t discuss the decision, moving on to the Carolina Hurricanes (43-20-6).
Couturier might be benched again in Raleigh. That will dominate the pregame headlines, but reading deeply into that in the second game is a farce. On home ice versus the Maple Leafs, that was a message sent. After defeating Toronto for the first time this season, Tortorella stuck to his guns. Consider this a commitment to the hot hand instead of more punishment.
After the third of a seven-game gauntlet against the best of the NHL Eastern Conference, the Flyers are 1-2-0. Hoping to split the season series with the Hurricanes, Tortorella won’t stray from the lineup that collected two points in a tight chase in the NHL Metropolitan Division.
Carolina Hurricanes
Similar to recent opponents, the Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, Carolina is focused on preserving or improving their postseason seeding. Rod Brind’Amour isn’t getting ahead of himself, taking the playoff approach day by day:
“It’s hard. You just try to take it a day at a time. We’ve got a lot of games still left. We just take it a day at a time, just trying to win every game that comes, and wherever we end up, we end up. We got to get in the playoffs still; hopefully, we do that, and no matter who you play, you’re going to play a great team. It’s just a matter of us staying focused.”
Rod Brind’Amour; 3/19/2024
Seth Jarvis scored the first two goals against the New York Islanders, including the game-winner. He is a dangerous presence at the crease, fielding shots from the blue line to infuriate goaltenders, and on the rush, Jarvis is patient with his wingers. Jarvis has five goals in his last four games, and the Hurricanes are 4-1-0, undefeated in that span when he scores. During the most recent tilt between these clubs, Jarvis kept with the goalscoring theme.
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Carolina Hurricanes, per Walt Ruff:
Guentzel-Aho-Jarvis
Svechnikov-Kuznetsov-Necas
Martinook-Staal-Noesen
Lemieux-Kotkaniemi-Teravainen
Slavin-Burns
Skjei-Pesce
Orlov-Chatfield
Andersen
(Martin)
Philadelphia Flyers
Scott Laughton acknowledged the brand of hockey Philadelphia had to play to compete with these top-tier teams in the NHL Eastern Conference during this stretch. He referred to the brand as ‘simple’ and ‘disgusting.’ Laughton is locked in with his teammates in another critical showdown without Couturier in the lineup:
“You’re going to have to be dialed in every game. One little mistake, one little push can affect the game and an outcome. Being dialed in and being ready from the puck drop is huge.”
Scott Laughton; 3/21/2024
Morgan Frost was cooking with Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny versus Toronto. He and Ronnie Attard were featured on a scoring play where Frost put a well-placed wrist shot past Ilya Samsonov. Away from the puck, Frost also accounted for a hit, a blocked shot, and a takeaway. On November 15th, the last time the Flyers visited Carolina, Frost added an assist when Tippett scored in the opening two minutes of the first period.
“I think Frosty [Frost] can get them [Tippett and Konecny] the puck. Frosty’s making more plays. We need to try to get TK with the puck. They just work good together. I thought they played good the other night.”
John Tortorella; 3/21/2024
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers:
Tippett-Frost-Konecny
Farabee-Laughton-Brink
Foerster-Poehling-Hathaway
Deslauriers-Cates-Lycksell
York-Sanheim
Zamula-Johnson
Ginning-Attard
Ersson
(Sandstrom)
Place Your Bets (via Draft Kings Sportsbook)
Philadelphia Flyers moneyline (+205)
Carolina Hurricanes moneyline (-250)
Morgan Frost over .5pt (+135)
Morgan Frost anytime goal (+340)
Seth Jarvis anytime goal (+195)
Game Information
Watch the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Carolina Hurricanes tonight on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Listen to the radio broadcast on 97.5 The Fanatic. The puck drops at 7pm from PNC Arena.
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
