Flyers at Hurricanes preview

FLYERS (37-32-8) at HURRICANES (42-28-7)
1:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-CR, NBCSP, NHL.TV

The Hurricanes, who have lost two in a row after going 4-1-0 in their previous five games, lead the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens by one point for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Carolina is four points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan Division with one game in hand.
Petr Mrazek will likely start in goal for the Hurricanes. He is 8-2-0 with a 1.79 goals-against average, .940 save percentage and two shutouts in his past 10 starts.
The Flyers, who are 3-5-0 in their past eight games, would be eliminated from playoff contention with a regulation loss, in addition to other scenarios. Philadelphia trails the Blue Jackets and Canadiens by eight points for the second wild card.
Cam Talbot will make his first start since March 6 for the Flyers.

Players to watch

Flyers forward Claude Giroux has 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) in the past 16 games.
Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho has four assists in his past nine games after having 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his previous eight games.

They said it

"I knew [Sean Couturier] was a very good player from the outside looking in, but having coached him, it goes beyond being a very good player. We joke around like, 'Can we clone him?' He brings that much to the table." -- Flyers interim coach Scott Gordon
"We want to make sure we're focused on one shift at a time. We can't worry about what's gone on or what's ahead. Just stay in the moment. Win or lose, it doesn't affect how we prepare and play." -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour

Flyers projected lineup

James van Riemsdyk -- Nolan Patrick -- Claude Giroux
Oskar Lindblom -- Sean Couturier -- Jakub Voracek
Ryan Hartman -- Scott Laughton -- Travis Konecny
Michael Raffl -- Corban Knight -- Justin Bailey
Ivan Provorov -- Travis Sanheim
Samuel Morin -- Philippe Myers
Robert Hagg -- Radko Gudas
Cam Talbot
Carter Hart
Scratched:Brian Elliott, Andrew MacDonald, Phil Varone, Shayne Gostisbehere
Injured:Michal Neuvirth (lower body)

Hurricanes projected lineup

Nino Niederreiter -- Sebastian Aho -- Justin Williams
Andrei Svechnikov -- Jordan Staal -- Teuvo Teravainen
Micheal Ferland -- Lucas Wallmark -- Jordan Martinook
Brock McGinn -- Greg McKegg -- Warren Foegele
Jaccob Slavin -- Dougie Hamilton
Brett Pesce -- Justin Faulk
Calvin de Haan -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Petr Mrazek
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched:Saku Maenalanen
Injured:None

Status report

Neither team will hold a morning skate. … Gordon said Friday he will rotate his eight healthy defensemen into the lineup the remainder of the season.

Stat pack

Couturier has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in his past 13 games. … Van Riemsdyk has nine points (seven goals, two assists) in his past 10 games. … Slavin doesn't have a point in his past 14 games.