Flyers at Carolina Preview: Lineups, Notes & How to Watch

The Carolina Hurricanes (42-12-8) are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.

The Philadelphia Flyers (24-29-11) are headed to their third straight season without a playoff spot.

The teams are going in opposite directions, and they will meet Thursday in Raleigh.

Carolina, which has the league’s second-best defense and seventh-best offense, has won eight of its last 10, and 15 of its last 18.

The Flyers have lost nine of their last 11. Their offense is 29th in the NHL, averaging 2.61 goals per game, compared to Carolina’s 3.42 average. Philly’s special teams have crashed. They are last in the league on the power play (15.4% success rate) and 25th on the penalty kill (75%), which allowed three goals in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss in Tampa.

In other words, Thursday looks like a classic mismatch.

The teams’ two earlier matchups, however, were hard-fought thrillers. Carolina needed overtime to score a 4-3 win at the Wells Fargo Center on Oct. 29. The Hurricanes also scored a 6-5 victory Dec. 23.

For Flyers fans, all eyes will be on highly touted right winger Tyson Foerster, 21, who was recalled from the Phantoms and will make his NHL debut.

Flyers’ expected lineup

Farabee-Frost-Tippett

Laughton-Cates-Foerster

Van Riemsdyk-Desnoyers-Hayes

Deslauriers-Laczynski-Bellows

Defense

Provorov-York

Sanheim-Ristolainen

Seeler-Braun

Goalie

Sandstrom (1-8-1, 3.52 GAA, .880 SP)

Hurricanes’ expected lineup

Svechnikov-Aho-Jarvis

Teravainen-Kotkaniemi-Necas

Martinook-Staal-Fast

Noesen-Stastny-Stepan

Defense

Slavin-Burns

Skjei-Pesce

de Haan-Gostisbehere

Goalie

Kochetkov (10-4-5, 2.33, .913)

Breakaway

Foerster will on on the second power-play unit, which includes James Van Riemsdyk, Kevin Hayes, Joel Farabee, and Ivan Provorov. … Wade Allison and Brendan Lemieux are injured, causing the Flyers to recall Foerster and Elliot Desnoyers. … Felix Sandstrom will make his first start since Feb. 12, a 4-3 loss to Seattle. … Pyotr Kochetkov was recalled from the AHL on Wednesday. … Martin Necas (25 goals, 59 points) is having a career season for the Canes; he has seven points over his last four games. … Carolina is No. 5 in the NHL on faceoffs (53.1%), while the Flyers are 32nd (45.4%). … With Travis Konecny (27 goals) injured, Owen Tippett (18) and Hayes (17) are the Flyers’ leading goal scorers. Tippett has three goals in his last six games, while Hayes is goal-less in his last 10 games. … The Flyers lead the all-time season series, 88-41-25.

How to watch, listen

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia at 7 p.m. Radio: 97.5 The Phanatic.

How to bet

FanDuel moneyline: Flyers plus-330, Hurricanes minus-430.

Pick: Hurricanes, 5-2.

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