Carolina vs Philadelphia: The Flyers have yet to lose twice in a row this season

Carolina played a disappointing game, falling to Toronto 0-3. Will Alain Vigneault’s team be able to recover in an away game against Carolina? The Flyers haven’t lost twice in a row this season, so the odds seem stacked against them.

Ahead of their matchup with Philadelphia, Rod Brind’amour’s team played two straight games in Florida - first against the Panthers, then against the Tampa Bay Lightning. With two wins, the Hurricanes would have set an NHL record for the longest winning streak since the start of the season. But already in the first game, the Hurricanes had no chance even to repeat it. The Panthers crushed their opponent in the first period, knocking down four goals. The Hurricanes couldn’t find a decent answer - 2-5.

Carolina suffered an embarrassing loss, but maybe that was for the best. Playing under pressure from a potential record is a difficult ordeal, and it’s not certain that the Hurricanes, who want to take a shot at the Stanley Cup this season, need to think twice right now. In the next game, the Hurricanes looked much calmer and beat Tampa Bay 2-1 in overtime. Martin Necas scored the winning goal. Andrei Svechnikov assisted Teuvo Teravainen, who evened the score midway through the third period.

The Flyers, despite the final score, can hardly blame themselves too much for the game against Toronto. William Nylander not only kicked the game-winning shot against Carter Hart, but Maple Leafs goalie Jack Campbell made a career-high 36 saves. The Flyers’ goalkeeper, who had caught his nerve, failed to crack the game, 0-3.

The loss to Toronto interrupted Alain Vigneault’s streak of success. After completing their Canadian road trip, the Philadelphia club first handled Arizona 3-0 on home ice, only to fall to Pittsburgh 2-3 in overtime, before defeating Washington 2-1 at the Capital One Arena.

Philadelphia have been showing balanced quality hockey this season that can consistently produce results. That’s been the case so far. The Flyers have yet to lose twice in a row. There’s a good chance it won’t happen now. Carolina have slowed down a bit after a brisk start to the season and will likely not be able to make the most of the encounter with the Flyers either.

The prediction is that Philadelphia will not lose.

• X2 for 1.87;
• X for 4.64;
• Correct score 2-2 for 11.00.