Hurricanes at Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers ascended into first place in the Metropolitan Division on the strength of a six-game win streak and 12-game point stretch (10-0-2), only to fall back into second place following a day off. The white-hot Flyers aim to regain the top spot at the expense of a division rival on Thursday when they host the reeling Carolina Hurricanes, who have dropped six in a row (0-4-2).
Petr Mrazek hasn't missed a beat since being acquired from Detroit on Feb. 19, posting a sterling .947 save percentage while winning his third straight start with Philadelphia after turning aside all 28 shots he faced in Monday's 1-0 shootout win over Montreal. The Flyers, who reside one point behind first-place Washington, began their torrid 12-game stretch on Feb. 6 with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Hurricanes. Carolina's offense hasn't gotten much better since that encounter, as the team has dropped nine of 12 overall and been outscored 24-9 during its current six-game losing skid. "We're sitting here and got one point. That's not good enough. We know we need two right now," Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk said following a 4-3 overtime loss to Boston on Tuesday. "We need to string together some wins.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Carolina), NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (27-25-11): Co-captain Jordan Staal is expected to end a three-game absence on Thursday following the death of his infant daughter, Hannah, who died on Saturday. "This has been a longer road than most people know," Staal said in a statement on Wednesday. "Our little Hannah had a terminal birth defect. While we prayed for a miracle, or even a few more minutes with her, she came into this world stillborn. Nonetheless, we are still very thankful for our short time with her." Fellow forward Teuvo Teravainen increased his team-leading point total to 49 with seven (three goals, four assists) in his past seven games, including a goal and an assist on Tuesday.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (34-19-10): Captain Claude Giroux, who has a team-best 74 points, resides one shy of 650 for his career after recording 16 (seven goals, nine assists) in his previous nine games before being held off the scoresheet versus the Canadiens. The 30-year-old also was held in check in the first encounter against Carolina, but fellow forward Jordan Weal scored with 3.1 seconds left in overtime. Weal, however, has mustered just one point - an assist - in the last 10 games.
OVERTIME
1. Faulk notched a pair of assists on Tuesday, marking the first time he has set up a goal since the first meeting with Philadelphia.
2. Flyers D Johnny Oduya, who was picked up on waivers from Ottawa prior to the trade deadline, did not practice on Wednesday due to reported visa problems.
3. Hurricanes C Elias Lindholm has just one assist in his last seven games since scoring in the first meeting with Philadelphia.