There's a full night of hockey this Tuesday night in the NHL with twelve games on the card. The Philadelphia Flyers will end their road trip tonight when they meet the Hurricanes in North Carolina. Will the Flyers be able to end their trip on a positive note, or will the Hurricanes get revenge for their losses against Philadelphia earlier this season?
Carolina Hurricanes: losses against elite teams
The Carolina Hurricanes were one of the big surprises of last season. Although they were swept by the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals back then, the ambition for the new season wasn't slowed down. Like in many other divisions, the battle in the Metro Division is unprecedentedly exciting. The Carolina Hurricanes are currently in a spot that could be good for a wildcard ticket for the play offs, but will have to reach at least third place to make sure that their Stanley Cup dream stays alive.
Carolina is finding the net pretty easy this season and are averaging 3.3 goals per game, which is good for a seventh place in the NHL. In their most recent games, the Hurricanes got the chance to compete with some elite teams. After a 6-4 win against the Washington Capitals, the same Capitals turned out to be too strong a few days later during a 3-4 loss. Carolina also couldn't stop the surging Tampa Bay Lightning, although they outplayed the Bolts in 1-3 loss.
Philadelphia Flyers: road misery continues
It will be interesting to see if the Philadelphia Flyers can keep their play off hopes alive in the next upcoming weeks. The hockey team is currently standing fifth in the Metro Division, but are just six points out of second place. Philadelphia's results are very inconsistent, mainly due to the goalies Carter Hart en Brian Elliot, who are underperforming. They end their road trip tonight in Carolina and it will feel like a road trip to hell, losing four of their last five games.
The road misery of the Flyers continued last Saturday with a 6-2 loss to Arizona. For the third straight game, Philadelphia had a first-period meltdown. This time, they allowed three first-period goals in a span of 3 minutes, 42 seconds en route to a 6-2 loss to the Coyotes at Gila River Arena. The current away record of the Flyers (9-13-1) is anything but impressive, but the hockey team want to end their road trip on a positive note.
Carolina will get revenge
The disappointing results from Philadelphia on the road continues. Carolina doesn't perform very impressive at home either, but head coach Rod Brindamour can count on a fully healthy team. The Canes already lost twice to the Flyers this season and are without a doubt looking for some revenge. I expect a convincing game from Carolina after back-to-back home losses against elite teams and goalie Petr Mrazek played well at home and he should be able to keep the Flyers' offense in check.
