Notebook: Ehlers, Nikishin Return As Canes Await Flyers

RALEIGH, N.C. - With 33 hours until the puck drops on their second-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Carolina Hurricanes went back to work on Friday morning.

Just in time, they did so with (nearly) their full cast of skaters for the first time this week; Nikolaj Ehlers rejoined the group on the ice for the first time since missing Game 4 in Ottawa, while Alexander Nikishin logged his second practice since sustaining a concussion during last Saturday's tilt.

Crucially, both operated in their usual roles and wore standard-color sweaters.

"We hope that everyone will be ready to go," said Rod Brind'Amour, addressing Nikishin and Ehlers' status. "Certainly looks like that, and that's kind of what we thought was going to happen."

With William Carrier and Frederik Andersen being rested on Friday, here's how the group looked at Lenovo Center:

Ready Freddie...

When it comes to goaltending in Round 1, few netminders were as dialed in as Frederik Andersen. Backstopping four straight wins while posting the league's best GAA (1.10) and save percentage (.955), the Dane was among Carolina's top performers in a four-game sweep of the Senators.

Now nearing a week since his last start, some will wonder if such a gap could knock the netminder out of the "zone" he was in against Ottawa. Brind'Amour isn't sweating it, pointing to Andersen's body of work navigating an irregular schedule.

"That's why you like having that experience... He knows how to get ready. He's been through this before. He's experienced having long layoffs (before) coming back and playing. I mean, he's kind of covered it all," said the Canes' coach before confirming that Andersen is expected to get the Game 1 nod against the Flyers on Saturday.

One of the most impressive facets of Andersen's Round 1 performance was that he outdueled a similarly impressive Linus Ullmark at the other end. Despite his team going 0-for-4 in the win column, the Senators' goalie still recorded a .932 SV% and 2.03 GAA — marks that any team would be pleased to receive between the pipes.

The task ahead features another masked man who enjoyed a stellar first round. The only goaltender to record multiple shutouts in the postseason thus far, Dan Vladar was among the main reasons Philadelphia upset Pittsburgh in six games, and poses another challenge for Carolina's scorers to solve.

"I think (Vladar) has been one of their most valuable players," said Brind'Amour. "If you don't have that position solidified, it's tough. Clearly, he solidified that position for (the Flyers). It breeds a lot of confidence in your group, and you can see that they're playing with a lot of that."

Facing Philly...

Beyond stellar goaltending, there are other similarities to draw between the Canes' first-round foe and their next matchup.

If Ottawa was one of the hottest teams down the stretch of the regular season with the fifth-most points since the Olympic break, Philadelphia — whose 37 points were tied for the third-most in that span — poses just as much of a "lightning in a bottle" type of threat.

"I think any team that's playing at this time of year, you know they're dialed in. I think one of the things that you notice with them, in the last quarter of the season, after the Olympic break, I just felt like they just played great hockey, and doing it the way they, as a team, want to play. And when you do that, you give yourself a great chance," said Brind'Amour.

Having spent parts of seven seasons as a Flyer during his playing career, Brind'Amour is one of a handful in the Canes' organization familiar with Philadelphia. Shayne Gostisbehere is another, and after enjoying his first taste of playoff action as a Flyer in 2016, the blueliner is eager to get back to action in the place he used to call home.

"They won a hard-fought series and made it a little harder on themselves by going to six (games). Obviously, we've been waiting for what feels like forever. They're going right into the groove and playing on three days' rest. I think we're pretty excited and chomping at the bit to get going."

Similarly, Nic Deslauriers finds himself in a unique position. Traded from Philadelphia to Carolina in March as the Flyers looked upward at the Eastern Conference playoff spots, the bruiser could surprisingly wind up going head-to-head with his former teammates over the next couple of weeks.

"They switched the tide around, that's for sure," he said of his former club. "If you would have asked me on the Trade Deadline, I would never have thought this (matchup) was going to happen. Good on them, but I think we've got business to do here and I'm on this side now."

As division rivals, the Canes and Flyers squared off four times during the regular season, requiring overtime in each contest. Carolina came out on top in three of those battles, but make no mistake — the playoffs are a different beast, and anything can happen.

"I don't put a lot into what happened in the regular season," said Brind'Amour. "Every team we played, (we had) tight games. We beat them, they beat us here and there. I expect it's going to be hard, and it's going to come down to a play here or there, and we've got to try to create more of those. That's really what's what this is all about.