Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) handles the puck as Philadelphia Flyers winger Tyson Foerster (71) looks on at the Wells Fargo Center on Nov. 20, 2024. (Megan DeRuchie-The Hockey News)The Philadelphia Flyers have been a team on the rise, slowly but surely sharpening their play with each passing game.
Their shootout win against the Tampa Bay Lightning was a testament to their resilience—gritty, determined, and unwilling to back down from a battle. But as they head into the final game of this homestand against the Carolina Hurricanes, there are still some areas they need to clean up, and some big opportunities they can capitalize on.
Carolina is a tough opponent, built on structure, speed, and relentless puck pressure. They don’t give you much room to breathe, and if you’re not sharp, they’ll make you pay. That said, the Flyers have been proving they belong in every game they’ve played lately, and if they continue trending upward, they’ve got a real shot at closing out this homestand with a win.
1. The Flyers Are Finding Ways to Stay in Every Game—That’s Huge
One of the most encouraging signs from this Flyers team has been their ability to hang tough, even when things don’t go their way.
Take the Tampa Bay game, for example. The Flyers could’ve easily folded when they found themselves locked in a tight, grinding contest against a battle-tested Lightning team. Instead, they stuck to their system, stayed patient, and eventually forced the game into a shootout, where they found a way to win.
This kind of resilience isn’t just a fluke—it’s a sign of growth. They’re not panicking when faced with adversity. They’re sticking to their structure, continuing to play hard, and trusting that their game plan will pay off. That’s the mark of a team that’s maturing.
Against Carolina, this mentality will be crucial. The Hurricanes love to play a suffocating, high-pressure game, constantly forcing turnovers and capitalizing on mistakes. The Flyers will need to weather those storms, just as they have in previous games, and trust that if they keep grinding, they’ll give themselves a chance to win.
2. Some of the Flyers' Key Scorers Need to Get Going
As encouraging as the Flyers’ overall play has been, there’s no getting around the fact that some of their usual offensive contributors have been quiet lately. Yes, they’ve been staying in games and battling, but at some point, they’ll need more production from guys they count on to score.
The power play remains an issue, which doesn’t help matters. The Flyers’ man-advantage has been sluggish, lacking the kind of quick puck movement and decisive finishing they’ll need to break through. When they get power-play opportunities against Carolina, they need to make them count.
Philadelphia forwards Scott Laughton (21), Morgan Frost (48), and Garnet Hathaway (19) in a scrum against Carolina Hurricanes forward Tyson Jost (27) at the Wells Fargo Center on Nov. 20, 2024. (Megan DeRuchie-The Hockey News)This is where guys like Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett, and even a veteran like Sean Couturier come in. The Flyers have been getting solid offensive depth contributions, but they need their top forwards to start burying chances with more regularity. A game against a structured, disciplined Hurricanes team is exactly the kind of test where your best players need to rise to the occasion.
It’s not just about scoring, either—it’s about setting the tone. The Flyers’ offense has been at its best when they’re aggressive, attacking the net, and generating second and third chances. If they can get their top guys engaged early and often, it’ll make a world of difference.
3. Beating Carolina Means Winning the Puck Battle—Everywhere
If there’s one thing the Flyers absolutely must prioritize against the Hurricanes, it’s puck management. Carolina thrives on forcing turnovers. They play one of the most structured forechecking games in the NHL, and if you’re sloppy with the puck, they’ll turn your mistakes into goals before you even realize what happened.
That means every pass needs to be sharp. Every breakout needs to be clean. Every puck battle along the boards needs to be contested like the game depends on it—because against Carolina, it often does. The Flyers can’t afford careless turnovers in the neutral zone, because that’s where the Hurricanes feast.
Philadelphia Flyers forward Sean Couturier (14) stands net-front against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Wells Fargo Center on Nov. 20, 2024. (Megan DeRuchie-The Hockey News)On the flip side, if the Flyers can win those puck battles and dictate play themselves, they can take Carolina out of their rhythm. The Hurricanes are at their best when they control possession and force opponents to chase. If the Flyers can flip that script—if they can force the Canes to defend more than they’d like—they’ll put themselves in a position to win.
One area where this will be especially important is the defensive zone. The Flyers’ defensemen will need to move the puck quickly and efficiently, making smart plays under pressure. Goaltending will, of course, play a role, but if the Flyers can avoid prolonged defensive-zone shifts and instead keep the game in Carolina’s end, they’ll have a shot at dictating the pace rather than reacting to it.
Final Thoughts: A Winnable Game—But Not an Easy One
The Flyers have been playing the kind of hockey that should give fans reason to believe. They’re competing hard, showing resilience, and proving they can hang with top teams. But Carolina is a different kind of challenge—one that will test their ability to be sharp, structured, and opportunistic.
To close this homestand with a win, the Flyers need to build on their ability to stay in games, get their top scorers engaged, and—most importantly—win the puck management battle against a team that thrives on mistakes.
Do that, and they could end this stretch at home on a high note. If not, Carolina will make them pay. Either way, it’s going to be a game worth watching.
Projected Lines
Philadelphia Flyers
Forwards:
Tyson Foerster - Noah Cates - Travis Konecny
Owen Tippett - Sean Couturier - Matvei Michkov
Olle Lycksell - Ryan Poehling - Bobby Brink
Nicolas Deslauriers - Rodrigo Abols - Jakob Pelletier
Defense:
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale
Egor Zamula - Emil Andrae
Goalies:
Sam Ersson
Ivan Fedotov
Carolina Hurricanes
Forwards:
Seth Jarvis - Sebastian Aho - Jackson Blake
Taylor Hall - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Jack Roslovic
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Logan Stankoven
Eric Robinson - Mark Jankowski - Tyson Jost
Defense:
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Dmitry Orlov - Jalen Chatfield
Shayne Gostisbehere - Sean Walker
Goalies:
Pyotr Kochetkov
Frederik Andersen