Hurricanes to sit out several key lineup regulars in game against Flyers that could eliminate Capitals from playoff contention
The Washington Capitals benefited from the Pittsburgh Penguins sitting out some of their stars this past weekend, but will have to hope the Philadelphia Flyers can’t take advantage of the same thing on Monday night.
With the Carolina Hurricanes already locked in to first place in the Metropolitan Division, head coach Rod Brind’Amour is taking the opportunity to give some of his key lineup regulars the night off against the Flyers. That presents a huge problem for the Capitals because if the Flyers win the game in regulation or overtime/shootout, the Caps will be eliminated from playoff contention.
According to Carolina reporter Walt Ruff, the following Hurricanes players are slated to sit out against Philadelphia:
- Sebastian Aho
- Shayne Gostisbehere
- Seth Jarvis
- Jaccob Slavin
- Andrei Svechnikov
Aho, Svechnikov, and Jarvis are three of the team’s top four scorers, with Aho leading the way at 80 points (27g, 53a) in 79 games. Gostisbehere is also Carolina’s top-scoring defenseman with 50 points (13g, 37a) in 54 games, and Slavin, one of the top shutdown defenders in the NHL, plays 21:19 of ice time per game.
“(We’re) giving them the chance to heal up a little more and obviously get a little mental break as well,” Brind’Amour told Ruff.
Projected Hurricanes lineup for 4/13 game against Flyers
Ehlers
Kotkaniemi
Martinook
Deslauriers
Brind’Amour
Robinson
While the Hurricanes are sitting those top guys out, they are also putting top-pairing rearguard Jalen Chatfield right back into action after he missed two games due to a lower-body injury. Starting goaltender Brandon Bussi is also red hot, winning each of his last five starts.
The Flyers have lost eight in a row and 16 of their last 17 against the Hurricanes. Seven of those losses came in overtime or a shootout.
A win would give the Flyers 96 points on the season, and the Capitals can only get to a maximum of 95 points with a win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
The Caps will stay alive if the Flyers only secure one point against Carolina. In that case, they’d need Philadelphia to lose in regulation to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
