Flyers at Hurricanes
While the City of Philadelphia is head over heels as it showers the Super Bowl-winning Eagles with praise, the free-falling Flyers have been left soaking wet with losses in each of their last four outings (0-3-1). Philadelphia's hockey team looks to gain inspiration from the triumphant football club on Tuesday when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena.
"Just to see everyone celebrating and obviously the thoughts are 'What if it was us?'" defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere told Philly.com on Monday of the triumphant Eagles. "It's great for the city ... and obviously we want to emulate what happened and keep the party going." Gostisbehere was the life of the party last season as he recorded five points (two goals, three assists) in five encounters with the Hurricanes. Carolina, which resides one point behind Philadelphia, has struggled to make up ground with losses in back-to-back contests to fall to 2-2-0 on its season-high eight-game homestand. "You can't put that group out again after that," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said after his team's 3-1 loss to San Jose on Sunday. "It's not acceptable. They let each other down, too."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, FS Carolinas
ABOUT THE FLYERS (24-19-9): Goaltending has long been a sore spot in the City of Brotherly Love, but help could be on the way with the possible return of Brian Elliott to the crease. The 32-year-old has missed the last four games while nursing an undisclosed injury, with an illness-ridden Michal Neuvirth and Alex Lyon permitting a total of 17 goals in his absence. "Through this last stretch of four games, we're doing a lot of good things in our play with the puck," coach Dave Hakstol said. "We're not giving up a ton defensively, but one of the things we need to do and we can do within our control is clean up some of the (top-notch) opportunities."
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (24-21-8): Sebastian Aho, who has a team-leading 19 goals, recorded his eighth tally and 10th point in 10 outings during the first period versus the Sharks. The 20-year-old Finn has made his presence felt since 2015, ranking third in goals (43) and fourth in points (89) among the fellow members of his draft class. Countryman Teuvo Teravainen, who leads the club in assists (28) and points (41), has two goals and three assists in his last five outings.
OVERTIME
1. Carolina G Cam Ward owns an 11-11-5 career mark versus Philadelphia.
2. Flyers LW Travis Konecny has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in his last 16 games.
3. The Hurricanes' 25th-ranked penalty kill has permitted just one power-play goal in the last six outings.