Canes face Flyers in second round opener. Key goaltenders clash as rested Hurricanes aim to capitalize on roster depth. Don't miss puck drop!
What - Game 1
When - 8 p.m., Saturday, May 2
Where - Lenovo Center; Raleigh, NC
How to Watch - ABC, Sportsnet, TVAS
The Carolina Hurricanes will kick off the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs as they host the first game of their series against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Carolina is coming off of a four-game sweep of the Ottawa Senators and have been off for a week now.
However, that time has allowed them to rest up two players who missed time in Game 4 in Alexander Nikishin and Nikolaj Ehlers and both players are now expected to play.
The Flyers are coming off of a 4-2 series win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 1. Philly went up 3-0 early, but the Penguins forced a Game 6 before the Flyers ultimately won in OT.
Frederik Andersen and Dan Vladar have been two of the best goaltenders this postseason and the series is probably going to come down to which netminder can continue playing at a high level.
Overall though, the Hurricanes have the deeper team and roster and should have the edge in terms of both scoring goals and preventing them.
Add in eight straight years of playoff experience on the roster versus the fresh faced Flyers and it's easy to see why Carolina is the favorite.
But the games are played on the ice and you can't pencil yourselves in too early, so the Hurricanes are going to have to play hard and prove that they're the better team if they want to advance.
Streaks
- Logan Stankoven (4g, 1a) has goals in four straight games.
- Taylor Hall (2g, 5a) has points in four straight games.
- K'Andre Miller (3a) has points in three straight games.
- Eric Robinson (2a) has points in back-to-back game.
Milestone Watch
- N/A
Game Notes
- Carolina went 3-0-1 against Philadelphia this season, with every game being decided beyond regulation.
- The Hurricanes have quite a few Flyers connections on the roster: Shayne Gostisbehere was drafted by Philly in 2012 and played there from 2014-2021; Sean Walker played for the Flyers for part of the 2023-24 season; Nicolas Deslauriers spent parts four seasons in Philadelphia and was traded just this past trade deadline; and Rod Brind'Amour played in 633 games as a Flyer from 1991-2000.
- The two teams have never faced off in the playoffs before.
- Sebastian Aho (15g, 35pts in 35gp) and Taylor Hall (15g, 38pts in 38gp) are point-per-game players for their regular season careers against Philly.
Key Matchups
Projected Starting Goalies
- Frederik Andersen: 4-0; 0.955 Sv%; 1.1 GAA
- Dan Vladar: 4-2; 0.937 Sv%; 1.61 GAA
Leading Scorers
- Goals - Logan Stankoven (4) / Travis Sanheim & Porter Martone (2)
- Points - Taylor Hall (7) / Rasmus Ristolainen (5)
Power Play
- Carolina - 13.3% (2/15)
- Philadelphia - 11.8% (2/17)
Penalty Kill
- Carolina - 95.2% (20/21)
- Philadelphia - 84.2% (16/19)
Hurricanes Projected Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall - Logan Stankoven - Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers - Jordan Staal - Jordan Martinook
William Carrier - Mark Jankowski - Eric Robinson
Jaccob Slavin - Jalen Chatfield
K'Andre Miller - Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere - Alexander Nikishin
Frederik Andersen
Brandon Bussi
Injuries and Scratches: Mike Reilly, Charles Alexis Legault, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nicolas Deslauriers, Pyotr Kochetkov
Flyers Projected Lineup
Owen Tippett - Trevor Zegras - Porter Martone
Denver Barkey - Christian Dvorak - Travis Konecny
Tyson Foerster - Noah Cates - Matvei Michkov
Luke Glendening - Sean Couturier - Garnet Hathaway
Travis Sanheim - Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York - Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler - Noah Juulsen
Dan Vladar
Sam Ersson
Injuries and Scratches: Emil Andrae, Carson Bjarnason, Oliver Bonk, Alex Bump, Oscar Eklind, Jacob Gaucher, Helge Grans, David Jiricek, Carl Grundstrom, Alexsei Kolosov, Hunter McDonald, Garrett Wilson, Rodrigo Abols (ankle), Nikita Grebenkin (UBI)
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