With 16 games left in the regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes are clicking on all cylinders.
The surging Hurricanes will go for their seventh straight win Saturday when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers.
Following a stretch in which they went 2-6-0, the Hurricanes have limited six straight opponents to two goals or fewer, including a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. Frederik Andersen turned aside 24 shots to earn the victory.
“It’s looked a lot better (lately) for the 60 minutes,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “This whole year we’ve played well. Sometimes it was just four or five minutes in a game, you give up a few, so that was the frustration. This last stretch of games, I haven’t really seen that.”
Jack Roslovic notched a goal and an assist Friday, while Jesperi Kotkaniemi set up a pair of goals as the Hurricanes swept their four-game homestand.
“For us to win a few games in a row, everyone is doing their part, and you see that,” said Taylor Hall, who scored his 11th goal of the season to help contribute to the victory. “We’re getting a bit more puck luck, but I think (it’s) the work ethic and getting to our game right at the start of the puck drop. We’re not tip-toeing into the game, we’re asserting ourselves. Obviously that might be a bit easier at home, but we’re doing that really well. We’re kind of rolling the lines a bit more, and everyone is contributing. That’s a good feeling when everyone feels like that.”
Next up for Carolina is a four-game road trip that starts with the detour to Philadelphia before the team heads to California.
For the Flyers, meanwhile, Saturday’s game marks the finale of a disappointing seven-game homestand. The team dropped the first five contests before finally coming to life a bit in Thursday’s 4-3 shootout win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Bobby Brink notched two goals and an assist in regulation before Owen Tippett netted the decisive tally in the fifth round of the shootout.
“I think it felt great for everyone,” Brink said. “(We were on a) bit of a schneid there for a couple games. So it feels good to get a win.”
While Brink has been one of Philadelphia’s best forwards over the past month, teammate Travis Konecny has been mired in a difficult slump. He has not scored since Feb. 8 — the final game before the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament — and clanked a shootout attempt off both posts in Thursday’s win.
“I need to get ‘TK’ going. I need to get something going with him,” said Flyers coach John Tortorella of Konecny, who leads the team in goals (22), assists (43) and points (65).
This is the third and final meeting between the teams this season. Carolina won the first two — both in November — as Roslovic scored a goal in each matchup. The Hurricanes have won seven of the past eight meetings between the teams.
–Field Level Media
