NHL Preview: Philadelphia Flyers (11-16-7) at Carolina Hurricanes (21-6-6)

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PHILADELPHIA FLYERS NOTES:

UPCOMING GAMES
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME BROADCAST INFO.
Thur., Dec. 29 San Jose Sharks SAP Center at San Jose 10:30 p.m. NBCSP, 97.5 The Fanatic
Sat., Dec. 31 Los Angeles Kings Crypto.com Arena 4 p.m. NBCSP, 97.5 The Fanatic
Mon., Jan. 2 Anaheim Ducks Honda Center 10 p.m. NBCSP+/93.3 WMMR

CURRENT INJURIES
PLAYER INJURY DATES GAMES MISSED
Cam Atkinson IR-upper body 9/25-present 34
Sean Couturier IR-back 9/19-present 34
Ryan Ellis LTIR-groin/hip/back 10/11-present 34
Tanner Laczynski IR-lower body 12/7-present 8
Felix Sandstrom illness 12/22-present 1
Max Willman upper body 12/15-present 4
2022-23 TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 196

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
12/21 – Recalled G Samuel Errson from Lehigh Valley (AHL)
12/17 – Re-assigned F Kieffer Bellows and F Olle Lycksell to Lehigh Valley (AHL)
12/17 – Placed F Lukas Sedlak on unconditional waivers; Recalled F Kieffer Bellows from Lehigh Valley (AHL); Placed
F Cam Atkinson on Injured Reserve; Activated D Tony DeAngelo from Non-Roster status’

FLYERS VS. HURRICANES: HEAD-TO-HEAD
FLYERS HURRICANES
88-40-25 ALL-TIME RECORD 51-73-29
48-17-12 HOME 27-34-15
40-23-13 ROAD 24-39-14
1-2-2 LAST 5 MEETINGS 4-1-0
4-3-3 LAST 10 MEETINGS 6-4-0
532 GOALS SCORED 429
19.0% POWER PLAY 16.8%
83.2% PENALTY KILL 81.0%
van Riemsdyk: 21 pts (6-15=21) in 37 GP
Konecny: 13 pts (6-7=13) in 22 GP
Provorov: 11 pts (5-6=11) in 22 GP
Hayes: 11 pts (3-8=11) in 27 GP
TEAM SCORING LEADERS Staal: 46 pts (22-24=46) in 71 GP
Stepan: 36 pts (11-25=36) in 43 GP
Aho: 23 pts (10-13=23) in 22 GP
Hart: 3-3-1, 3.12 GAA, .907 SV% in 7 GP
Ersson: Has not faced CAR
TEAM GOALTENDERS Raanta: 5-1-2, 2.04 GAA, .934 SV%, 1 SO in 8 GP
Kochetkov: Has not faced PHI

TEAM NOTES
QUICK HITS

  • Philadelphia has earned points in five of its last nine games (3-4-2).
  • The Flyers have scored three-plus goals in five of their last nine games, posting a 2-2-1 record when scoring three-plus goals.
  • Philadelphia has allowed the opposing team to score first in 23 of its 34 games this season. The Flyers rank T-1st in the NHL with eight wins when trailing first in a game. The Flyers are 3-6-2 when scoring first.
  • The Flyers set a season-high 41 shots Dec. 11 at ARI and have outshot their opponents in seven of the last 12 games, posting a 3-3-1 record in those seven contests.- Philadelphia recorded a franchise-best 59 hits Nov. 12 vs. OTT. The 59 hits are tied for the ninth-most in a regular season game in NHL history.
  • The Flyers lead the NHL with 1,025 hits and rank second with 612 blocked shots.
  • Philadelphia ranks T-3rd in the NHL in shorthanded goals (4) this season. The team netted six SHG during the 2021-22 season.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

  • Philadelphia plays five games on the road, Dec. 22-Jan. 2.
  • Nine of the Flyers’ 11 games from Dec. 9-Jan. 2 are on the road.
  • Philadelphia is 4-7-6 on the road this season and have earned a point in seven of its last 12 road games (2-5-5).
  • The Flyers are 2-4-1 on the road against an Atlantic Division team this season.

BACK-TO-BACKS

  • Thursday’s and Friday’s games this week mark the Flyers’ sixth back-to-back set of 15 this season.
  • The set marks the third of four road back-to-backs this season:
  1. Oct. 18 at TBL (3-2 W); Oct. 19 at FLA (4-3 L)
  2. Nov. 1 at NYR (1-0 OTL); Nov. 2 at TOR (5-2 L)
  3. Dec. 22 at TOR (4-3 L); Dec. 23 at CAR
  4. Feb. 20 at CGY; Feb. 21 at EDM
  • The Flyers are 2-3-1 in the first game of a back-to-back this season and 0-5-0 in the second.

‘TIS THE SEASON

  • Philadelphia plays three games this week (12/20-12/23) heading into the NHL Holiday break. The Flyers are a combined 6-1-1 in the three games leading up to the NHL Holiday break since 2019-20, not including the 2020-21 season.
  • The Flyers play 14 contests during the month of December, tied for their second-most in a month this season.
  • Philadelphia plays six games at home and eight on the road, including the start to five road games in a row, Dec. 22- Jan. 2, that will be split up by the NHL Holiday Break, Dec. 24-26.
  • Philadelphia owns a 355-227-82-32 all-time record for games played in the month of December – its second-most wins in a single month.
  • The Flyers rank second in NHL history with a .592 winning percentage during the month of December (VGK – .716 in 67 all-time games) and rank seventh with 355 December wins.
  • The December schedule also features Philadelphia’s 21st all-time game held on New Year’s Eve, it’s 20th on the road, when the Flyers visit the Kings on Dec. 31. Philadelphia is 9-7-2-2 all-time in New Year’s Eve contests, 8-7-2-2 on the road.

KONNECT FOUR

  • Travis Konecny collected two assists Thursday at TOR for his second consecutive multi-point game (2-2=4).
  • He has 11 points (7-4=11) in the last 11 games, ranking T-5th in the NHL in goals since Dec. 1.
  • He owns 24 points (10-14=24) in his last 22 games, including six multi-point contests and a seven-game point streak (3-7=10), Nov. 2-15.
  • He leads the team and ranks T-8th in the NHL in GWG (4). He leads the Flyers in goals (14) and multi-point games (9), ranks T-1st in points (30) and second in assists (16) and shots (89) this season.
  • He netted his first career shorthanded goal, Dec. 20 vs. CBJ
  • He tallied three goals in a season-high three-game goal streak, Dec. 1-5.
  • The forward recorded his first career shorthanded assist/point vs. VAN (10/15).
  • The 25-year-old netted two goals Oct. 13 vs. NJ for his 11th career multi-goal game. Per NHL Stats, he became the second player in Flyers history to have two-or-more multi-goal games in a season opener (Bill Barber, 3x, 10/9/80, 10/9/81 & 10/7/82).
  • He ranks second in Flyers history in GWG (20), T-2nd in goals (124), fourth in scoring (301) and assists (177) and fifth in PPG (23) since entering the NHL in 2016-17.

JvR

  • James van Riemsdyk recorded his eighth assist of the season Thursday to stretch his point streak to three games (1-2=3).
  • He owns eight points (3-5=8) in the last six games.
  • The winger tied his career-high four points (1-3=4) for the third time on Dec. 11 at ARI.
  • He missed 20 games this season due to an upper-body injury, Oct. 27-Dec. 5.
  • The 33-year-old opened the season on a four-game point streak (2-3=5), Oct. 13-19.

EMERGING YOUNG GUNS

  • The Flyers have 12 of its 26 players on the current roster that are 25-and-younger.
  • Philadelphia ranks ninth in the NHL in team rookie scoring percentage (9.3) and 11th in team rookie points (21).
  • The rookies have netted a combined eight goals to rank eighth among NHL team rookie goal percentage (9.4) and T-9th in rookie goals.
  • Noah Cates owns career highs in games played (34), assists (8), points (11), PPA (3), PPP (3) and shots (38).
  • Morgan Frost is on a career-high three-game goal and point streak (3-0=3). He has seven points (4-3=7) in the last six games. He set a career-high four points (1-3=4) Dec. 11 at ARI and recorded his first career GWG Oct. 13 vs. NJD. He owns a career-high seven goals this season.
  • Owen Tippett collected two goals Dec. 20 vs. CBJ for his second career multi-goal game, both from this season. He has three points in the last three games and five points (3-2=5) in the last six games. He leads the Flyers with a career-high four PPG and ranks second with a career-high 10 goals.
  • Cam York tallied two assists Dec. 20 vs. CBJ for his second career multi-point game. He owns three helpers in the last three games and four points (1-3=4) since his recall on Dec. 8.

LUCKY NUMBER 13

  • Kevin Hayes recorded a power-play assist Thursday for his sixth point (1-5=6) in his last nine games, including four power-play points (1-3=4).
  • He owns 20 points (8-12=20) in his last 23 games, including a season-high six-game point streak (Nov. 12-21).
  • The 30-year-old leads the team in assists (21), PPA (9), PPP (11), ranks T-1st in points (30) and third in goals (9) this season.
  • The forward collected three PPP (1-2=3) in a three-game PPP streak, Dec. 3-7 – matching his career high PPP streak, set Oct. 13-18 (3a) this season.
  • He collected back-to-back multi-point games (2-2=4), Nov. 26-29, for the sixth time in his career and ranks T-1st on the team with eight multi-point games this season.
  • He collected eight points (1-7=8) in a career-high five-game season-opening point streak, Oct. 13-22.
  • He tallied his 200th career assist Oct. 19 at FLA.

WHOLE LOT OF HART

  • Carter Hart stopped 30-of-34 shots Thursday to move to a 10-10-6 record on the season and to a 3-3-2 record in his
    last eight starts.
  • The backstop has seen 30-plus shots in 17 of his 26 games this season – he is 9-3-5 in those contests.
  • He leads NHL goaltenders in shots against (833) and saves (759) this season.
  • He tied his career-high 48 saves Thursday at NJD. He also stopped 48 shots and tied his career-high 51 shots faced vs. FLA on Oct. 27 to become the second goaltender in Flyers history to have two-or-more games with 48-plus saves (Bernie Parent, 1/22/70 at BOS, 51; 1/3/77 at MTL, 49).
  • Dec. 5th’s contest was Hart’s 70th career victory to become the 11th goaltender in Flyers history to reach 70-plus wins (NHL Stats).- He opened the season on an eight-game point streak (6-0-2) to become the fourth goaltender in team history to have started a season on an eight-game plus point streak: Pete Peeters (22-0-5 in 1979-80), Bob Froese (9-0-1 in 1982-83) and Dominic Roussel (8-0-0 in 1993-94). (NHL Stats)
  • The Canadian native recorded a career-high season-opening five-game win streak, Oct. 13-27.
  • Per NHL Stats, he became the seventh goaltender in Flyers history to win each of his first five games of a season and first since Ron Hextall (5-0-0 in 1995-96). The longest such stretch in franchise history is eight straight games, achieved by Dominic Roussel (1993-94) and Bob Froese (1982-83).
  • Outside of Philadelphia, he only has one NHL team he has not earned a win against: St. Louis.

LOCKED ON LAUGHTON

  • Scott Laughton saw his season-high three-game point streak (2-1=3) come to an end Thursday.
  • The 28-year-old owns six points (3-3=6) in the last nine games.
  • He ranks T-3rd in the NHL with two shorthanded goals. He ranks first in Flyers history in SHG since entering the League in 2012-13 with six, T-20th all-time.
  • He leads the team in faceoff wins (210), ranks third in hits (76), T-4th in PPG, T-5th in goals (6) and sixth in shots (67) this season.
  • He scored his second career power-play goal Dec. 15 in New Jersey. He netted his first career PPG this season on Oct. 27 vs. FLA.
  • He recorded a career-high 19 faceoff wins, Oct. 27 vs. FLA.
  • The forward registered his second career shorthanded goal, Oct. 15 vs. VAN.

SANNY ON A ROLL

  • Travis Sanheim owns seven points (2-5=7) in the last 12 games, including a season-high four-game point streak, Nov. 29-Dec. 5.
  • He netted his first career shorthanded goal Nov. 29 vs. NYI to become the 41st defenseman in Flyers history to record a SHG.
  • He registered a power-play assist Dec. 15 at NJD for his power-play point since March 1, 2020 at NYR.
  • The blueliner leads the team in assists (8), ranks T-2nd in scoring (11) and T-5th in goals (3) since Nov. 19 and ranks T-6th among NHL defensemen in even-strength points (9) and ranks T-12th in goals in that span.
  • The 26-year-old signed an eight-year, $50 million contract extension ($6.25 AAV) on Oct. 13.

CAROLINA HURRICANES NOTES:

LAST GAME
The Hurricanes earned a 4-3 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena, extending their point streak to 13 games and their win streak to seven games. Dylan Coghlan posted his first Hurricanes points (2a) in his first career multi-assist game, Jalen Chatfield scored his first career NHL goal, Calvin de Haan recorded an assist in his 100th game with Carolina and Jesperi Kotkaniemi tallied an assist for his 100th career NHL point. Brent Burns registered an assist on Jaccob Slavin’s overtime winner for his 800th career NHL point, and Antti Raanta made 24 saves in net.

INJURY REPORT
Sebastian Aho, lower-body, missed seven games (12/10-12/22)
Frederik Andersen, lower-body, missed 21 games (11/9-12/22)
Jake Gardiner, upper-body, missed 33 games (10/12-12/22)
Ondrej Kase, concussion, missed 32 games (10/14-12/22)
Max Pacioretty, torn Achilles, missed 33 games (10/12-12/22)
2022-23 Man-Games Lost Due to Injury: 138

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Dec. 19 Recalled Dylan Coghlan from conditioning stint with Chicago (AHL)

STREAKS
Jesper Fast has tallied an assist in three straight games (12/18-12/22: 3a)
Jordan Staal has registered a goal/point in three consecutive games (12/18-12/22: 3g, 1a)
Calvin de Haan has recorded an assist in back-to-back games (12/20-12/22: 2a)
Seth Jarvis has earned an assist in back-to-back games (12/20-12/22: 2a)
Jesperi Kotkaniemi has posted a point in back-to-back games (12/20-12/22: 1g, 1a)
Jaccob Slavin has tallied a point in back-to-back games (12/20-12/22: 1g, 2a)

UPCOMING GAMES
DATE OPPONENT TIME TV RADIO
Dec. 23 Philadelphia 7 p.m. BSSO HRN
Dec. 27 Chicago 7 p.m. BSSO HRN
Dec. 30 Florida 7:30 p.m. ESPN+/Hulu HRN
Jan. 1 at New Jersey 3 p.m. BSSO HRN
Jan. 3 at NY Rangers 7 p.m. BSSO HRN

  • All times are Eastern | BSSO = Bally Sports South | HRN = Hurricanes Radio Network

UPCOMING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
DATE DAY LOCATION TIME
Dec. 23 Friday No morning skate
Dec. 24-26 Sat.-Mon. No practice
Dec. 27 Tuesday PNC Arena 10:30 a.m.
Dec. 28 Wednesday PNC Arena 12 p.m.
Dec. 29 Thursday PNC Arena 11 a.m.

  • All times are local. Times and locations are subject to change.

Carolina Hurricanes: Media Notes
HURRICANES vs. FLYERS SERIES NOTES
— Carolina is facing Philadelphia in the second of four meetings between the teams during the 2022-23 season. The Flyers return to PNC Arena on 3/9, and the Hurricanes travel to Wells Fargo Center on 3/18.

— The Hurricanes and Flyers are meeting for the 154th time in their regular-season histories. Carolina holds a 51-73-14-15 overall record, including a 27-34-9-6 home record.

— The Hurricanes are 9-4-0 in their last 13 games against the Flyers dating back to 12/31/18.

— Carolina leads the season series 1-0-0 in 2022-23 (Philadelphia: 0-0-1).

— The Hurricanes posted a 4-3 overtime win against the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on 10/29. Martin Necas and Jordan Staal tallied two points (1g, 1a), and Brent Burns added the overtime winner as Antti Raanta made 26 saves in net.

— Sebastian Aho has recorded 23 points (10g, 13a) in 22 career regular-season games against the Flyers.

— Paul Stastny has tallied 17 points (5g, 12a) in 23 career regular-season games against Philadelphia.

— Derek Stepan has earned 36 points (11g, 25a) in 43 career regular-season games against the Flyers.

— Teuvo Teravainen has registered 20 points (7g, 13a) in 24 career regular-season games against Philadelphia.

— Hurricanes Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour recorded 601 points (235g, 366a) in 633 games with Philadelphia from 1991-00, and he was inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame in 2015. He was acquired by Carolina along with Jean-Marc Pelletier and a second-round pick in the 2000 NHL Draft (Argis Saviels) in exchange for Keith Primeau and a fifth-round pick in the 2000 NHL Draft (Kristofer Ottosson) on 1/23/00.

— Tony DeAngelo recorded 51 points (10g, 41a) in 64 NHL games with the Hurricanes in 2021-22, marking the most points by any defenseman in a single season in team history (since relocation). He added 10 points (1g, 9a) in 14 playoff games with Carolina and was traded to Philadelphia on 7/8/22 in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft (Simon Forsmark), a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

— Flyers Associate Coach Brad Shaw played 212 NHL games as a defenseman for Hartford from 1986-92, recording 95 points (11g, 84a). He also appeared in 19 playoff games for the franchise, tallying 12 points (4g, 8a).

POINTING IT OUT
With a win at PIT (12/22), the Hurricanes have earned a point in 13 consecutive games (11/25-12/22: 11-0-2), tied for the longest point streak in franchise history and tied for the second-longest point streak by any team this season (TOR, 11/12-12/13: 12-0-3 in 15 GP; NJD, 10/25-11/21: 13-0-0 in 13 GP). Thursday’s win also marked Carolina’s 11th straight road contest with at least a point (11/14-12/22: 7-0-4), marking the second-longest road point streak in franchise history. In addition to those point streaks, the Hurricanes have won each of their last seven games (12/10-12/22), marking the NHL’s longest active win streak and tied for the sixth-longest win streak in franchise history. Carolina has improved to 21-6-6 (48 points) in 2022-23 and leads the Metropolitan Division in points.

Longest point streaks, franchise history:
11/25/22-12/22/22: 11-0-2 in 13 GP
4/15/21-5/6/21: 9-0-4 in 13 GP
3/9/17-3/30/17: 9-0-4 in 13 GP
10/12/05-11/11/05: 11-0-1 in 12 GP
10/26/02-11/19/02: 5-0-4-2 in 11 GP
Longest road point streaks, franchise history:
2/23/04-3/27/04: 8-0-1-3 in 12 GP
11/14/22-12/22/22: 7-0-4 in 11 GP
12/8/01-1/10/02: 6-0-1-2 in 9 GP
3/7/10-4/6/10: 5-0-3 in 8 GP
11/12/96-12/5/96: 4-0-4 in 8 GP

VITAMIN D
With Brady Skjei out of the lineup, Carolina’s defensemen combined to register six points (2g, 4a) against the Penguins on Thursday. Dylan Coghlan led the team in scoring (2a), posting his first Hurricanes points as part of his third career multi-point game and first career multi-assist game. Jalen Chatfield also scored his first career NHL goal, while Calvin de Haan tallied an assist in his 100th game with the Hurricanes, giving him an assist in four of his last five games (12/15-12/22: 4a). Carolina’s blue line has now combined for 35 points in the team’s last 13 games (11/25-12/22: 9g, 26a; 2.7 points/game) after posting 30 points in the Hurricanes’ opening 20 contests (10/12-11/23: 7g, 23a; 1.5 points/game).

SLAVIN AWAY
Jaccob Slavin scored his third career NHL/Hurricanes overtime goal at PIT (12/22), tying Anton Babchuk (2006-10) and Dougie Hamilton (2018-21) for the most by any defenseman in franchise history. He is the third different Hurricanes defenseman to score an overtime goal in 2022-23 (Brent Burns, 10/29 at PHI; Brett Pesce, 11/29 at PIT), and Carolina is one of two NHL teams with three overtime goals from the blue line this season (WPG) but the only team with overtime winners from three different defensemen. Slavin’s goal came at 0:23 of the extra frame, tied for the fourth-earliest overtime goal in franchise history and marking Hartford/Carolina’s earliest road overtime goal (previously 0:25, Jeff O’Neill at PHX on 2/7/01). He also became the 13th different Hurricanes skater to score a game-winning goal this season, tied with BOS for the second-most of any NHL team (TOR: 14). Carolina has improved to 6-6 in games going past regulation and 4-6 in games decided in overtime in 2022-23, and the team’s 10 overtime decisions lead the league.

Fastest overtime goals, franchise history:
Glen Wesley, 2/22/07 vs. PHI: 0:16
Jeff O’Neill, 1/28/00 vs. NJD: 0:16
Brian Propp, 11/10/93 vs. OTT: 0:20
Jaccob Slavin, 12/22/22 at PIT: 0:23
Brian Pothier, 3/11/10 vs. PIT: 0:23

8 HUNDRED
Brent Burns tallied an assist on Jaccob Slavin’s overtime winner at PIT (12/22), marking the 800th point of his NHL career (231g, 569a). He became the 17th defenseman in league history to reach the milestone, and he is the first blueliner to accomplish the feat since 2014-15, when Sergei Gonchar recorded his 800th point with MTL. Selected by MIN in the first round (20th overall) of the 2003 NHL Draft, Burns also became the eighth player from his draft class to reach the milestone. He ranks fourth on the team with 23 points (4g, 19a) in 2022-23, and his 19 assists are a team high.

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
After scoring back-to-back game-winning goals vs. PIT (12/18) and NJD (12/20), Jordan Staal scored the game-tying goal with 4:26 left in regulation against the Penguins on Thursday. He has now posted two three-game goal/point streaks this season (11/10-11/14: 3g, 1a; 12/18-12/22: 3g, 1a), the only three-game goal streaks by any Hurricanes skater in 2022-23. Staal has now scored a team-high six goals in 10 games in December after lighting the lamp four times in 23 games to open the season. Jesper Fast has earned an assist on three of those six goals, including his game-tying goal against the Penguins, and has now registered an assist in three consecutive games (12/18-12/22: 3a) and five of his last seven (12/3-12/22: 5a). Staal also skated in his 694th game with Carolina on Thursday, tying Rod Brind’Amour (2000-10) for the fifth-most games played in franchise history and the third-most since relocation, and he looks to pass him for sole possession of both against the Flyers on Friday.

NAUGHTY BY NECAS
Martin Necas scored the Hurricanes’ opening goal at PIT (12/22) and leads the team in scoring this season (14-17—31 in 33 GP). He has already matched his goal total from each of the previous two campaigns (14-27—41 in 53 GP in 2020-21, 14-26—40 in 78 GP in 2021-22) and needs just two more goals to tie his single-season high (16-20—36 in 64 GP in 2019-20). Necas tallied two points (1g, 1a) vs. DAL (12/17) and has posted a team-high 16 of his points (6g, 10a) at PNC Arena despite playing just 13 home games in 2022-23. His 10 assists on home ice are twice as many as any other Hurricanes skater (Brent Burns, Andrei Svechnikov, Teuvo Teravainen: 5).

JESPERI HOURS
After opening the scoring against the Devils on Tuesday, Jesperi Kotkaniemi tallied an assist at PIT (12/22) for his 100th career NHL point. Selected third overall by MTL in the 2018 NHL Draft, he became the sixth player from his draft class to register 100 career points. Acquired from the Canadiens via offer sheet during the 2021 offseason, Kotkaniemi is set to play his 100th game with the Hurricanes against PHI on Friday.

Most career points, 2018 NHL Draft class:
Andrei Svechnikov (Carolina): 106-132—238
Brady Tkachuk (OTT): 103-126—229
Rasmus Dahlin (BUF): 31-156—197
Quinn Hughes (VAN): 19-174—193
Joel Farabee (PHI): 51-59—110
Jesperi Kotkaniemi (MTL/Carolina): 38-62—100

CREASE IS THE WORD
Antti Raanta stopped 24 of 27 shots faced at PIT (12/22) to improve to 6-2-2 in 2022-23, with wins in each of his last three decisions (11/26-12/22). With Carolina closing this back-to-back against PHI on Friday, Pyotr Kochetkov will look to man the crease against the Flyers. He is 8-0-2 in his last 10 games (11/25-12/20), and among NHL goaltenders with at least five games played since 11/25, he ranks tied for first in wins (8) and shutouts (2) and fourth in goals-against average (1.80) and save percentage (.937). His 10-game point streak is tied for the longest by any netminder in franchise history, and he has joined Cam Ward (three times: 9-0-1 from 3/14/09-4/7/09, 6-0-4 from 1/4/16-2/19/16, 8-0-2 from 12/2/17-1/4/18) as the only two Whalers/Hurricanes goaltenders to earn a point in 10 straight games. According to NHL Stats, Kochetkov is just the sixth rookie goaltender in the last 20 years to record a point streak of double-digit games, joining Michael Garnett (ATL, 12/9/05-1/2/06: 7-0-3 in 10 GP), Antero Niittymaki (PHI, 12/17/05-1/6/06: 9-0-2 in 11 GP), Jimmy Howard (DET, 3/11/10-4/11/10: 13-0-2 in 15 GP), Sergei Bobrovsky (PHI, 10/26/10-11/15/10: 9-0-1 in 10 GP) and Jeremy Swayman (BOS, 2/12/22-3/12/22: 9-0-1 in 10 GP).

CARDIAC CANES
After PIT took an early 1-0 lead on Thursday, Martin Necas (17:43) and Jalen Chatfield (18:00) scored just 17 seconds apart to give Carolina the lead heading into the first intermission, marking the Hurricanes’ fastest two goals this season (previously 0:21 at STL on 12/1). Carolina then allowed two straight goals and ultimately fell behind 3-2 with 7:05 left in regulation before Jordan Staal scored the game-tying goal just 2:39 later, at 15:34 of the third period. With Jaccob Slavin’s overtime winner, the Hurricanes overcame a second one-goal deficit to record their 10th comeback win of the season, tied with TOR and WSH for the second-most of any NHL team in 2022-23 (EDM: 11).

GOING BACK-TO-BACK
The Hurricanes are closing their sixth of 14 sets of back-to-back games in 2022-23. Following an overtime win against the Penguins on Thursday, Carolina is currently 3-2-1 in the first game and 5-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.