'Canes look for more against Flyers

FLYERS (9-4-3) at HURRICANES (6-8-3)

TV: CSN-PH, FS-CR (HD)

Last 10: Philadelphia 5-3-2; Carolina 3-6-1.

Season Series: This is the second of four meetings between the teams. They last faced each other on Oct. 29, when Philadelphia cruised to a 5-1 victory at the Wells Fargo Center. Claude Giroux had 4 points for the Flyers in the win.

Big Story: Hard to believe, but Carolina center Eric Staal had gone nearly a month without a goal before he finally found the back of the net during Saturday night's 5-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the RBC Center. He broke a 3-3 tie when he smacked a rebound past Brent Johnson for his first tally since Oct. 18.

"You can feel sorry for yourself or you can go out next shift and do your best," said Staal, who now has 4 goals this season. "I felt like I did that, and I was I rewarded, which was nice."

Team Scope:

Flyers: After spending two days off the ice and in the sun, Philadelphia properly thanked coach Peter Laviolette with a 3-2 victory against the Florida Panthers at the BankAtlantic Center on Sunday. Laviolette had given his club Thursday and Friday off before everyone returned to the ice on Saturday.

Danny Briere, Braydon Coburn and Matt Read all scored for Philadelphia, while Ilya Bryzgalov made 31 saves as the Flyers rebounded nicely from Wednesday's 2-1 overtime loss at Tampa Bay.

"I thought our guys really competed well, skated well," Laviolette said. "I thought our guys responded well and played a hard-fought game."

Hurricanes: Carolina snapped a four-game losing streak Saturday night with its victory against the Penguins. Second-year sensation Jeff Skinner had a goal and two assists and Tuomo Ruutu had a pair of goals for the Hurricanes, who received a 37-save performance from Cam Ward.

It was a huge confidence-booster for Carolina, which had been outscored 18-6 during its skid.

"It's big," Skinner said after Saturday's win. "Not just the win, but mentally … the feeling around here, you sort of get frustrated. Nobody likes losing. When one thing sort of piles on another, it doesn't feel good. To get this one, it feels good."

Who's Hot: Bryzgalov has won four of his last five starts for Philadelphia. He is now 7-4-2 with a 2.78 goals-against average and .899 save percentage.

Injury Report: Brayden Schenn (broken foot) and Erik Gustafsson (wrist) are out for Philadelphia, while Andreas Nodl (lower body) is day-to-day. ... Hurricanes defenseman Joni Pitkanen did not play Saturday due to a lower-body injury. He is listed as day-to-day.

Stat Pack: Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds earned his 100th NHL point when he assisted on Danny Briere's tally Sunday afternoon.

Puck Drop: "I think we're all a little different, and we complement each other. Skinner can make a play out of nothing. Juice is a smart player and good defensively. I think he's one of the best passers in the whole League." -- Hurricanes forward Tuomo Ruutu on skating with Jeff Skinner and Jussi Jokinen

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