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Get your game notes: Flyers at ‘Canes

Flyers vs Hurricanes

RALEIGH, NC - OCTOBER 06: Captains Claude Giroux #28 of the Philadelphia Flyers and Eric Staal #12 of the Carolina Hurricanes face off during play at PNC Arena on October 6, 2013 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Tonight on NBCSN, it’s the Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Philadelphia Flyers at 7 p.m. ET. Following are some game notes, as compiled by the NHL on NBC research team:

MATCHUP/STOYRLINES

• Philly gathering points, making a playoff push: The Flyers have won 2 straight games, with those wins coming against teams currently in the playoff picture (3-2 SO win vs. NSH on Saturday and a 3-2 win vs. WSH on Sunday).

• While not known for having a successful penalty kill this season (76.5% - 28th in NHL), the Flyers PK was 5-for-5 vs. WSH. PHI has not allowed a PP goal in the last 3 games (10-for-10 on PK). On the flip side, PHI went 2-for-4 on the PP vs. WSH. The Flyers are 3rd in the NHL on the PP (23.6%).

• After PHI’s loss to NYI on Jan. 19, the Flyers were 11 points behind the 2nd Wild Card spot with 35 games remaining. Now, having gone 8-1-4 since, the Flyers have trimmed that deficit to 4 points.

• The Hurricanes are last in the Metro, second to last in the East, and look to be sellers as the March 2 trade deadline looms. It has long been rumored that 28-year-old defenseman Andrej Sekera (45 hits, 98 blocked shots) is on the trading block, and center Jordan Staal’s (3G-11A in 22 GP) name has recently been brought up in trade rumors with PIT. However on Monday, Chip Alexander of the News & Observer tweeted that CAR GM Ron Francis said: “We are not moving Jordan Staal.”

• Staal has a full no-trade clause in his contract, which is in the 2nd year of a 10-year/$60M deal.

• With 2 assists vs. WSH on Sunday, Jakub Voracek set a new career high in points with 63 (19G-44A in 60 GP). His previous career high was 62 points (23G-39A in 82 GP), which he set last season. It was his first multi-point game since Jan. 19 @ NYI (also 2 assists). He now has 3 points (1G-2A) in his last 3 games.

• Voracek ranks 3rd in the NHL, 1 point behind Nicklas Backstrom (WSH) and Patrick Kane (CHI).

• PHI has never had a player lead the NHL in scoring by himself in the 46+ seasons of the franchise (in lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, Eric Lindros shared for the NHL lead in pts w/ Jaromir Jagr, but he did not share the Art Ross Trophy title, as Lindros lost the goals scored tiebreaker to Jagr).

• Claude Giroux snapped an 11-game goal drought and 4-game point drought with 2 pts (1G-1A) vs. WSH.

• Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Giroux has the most points in the NHL (284 in 266 GP)

• He has 21 points (6G-15A) in 21 career games vs. CAR.

• Wayne Simmonds is catching fire after a 14-game stretch in which he had just 1 goal and 3 assists from late December leading into the All-Star Break.

• Since the All-Star Break ended, Simmonds has 14 points (8G-6A) in 12 games including an active 8-game point streak (6G-4A), the longest of his career.

• Leads PHI with 24 goals (13 on PP; 3rd in NHL); 3rd time he’s reached 20+ goals in 7 NHL seasons.

GOALIE MATCHUP

• Steve Mason hurt his knee on Feb. 8 vs. WSH, and had arthroscopic surgery on Feb. 10

• Ray Emery started the next 5 games going 1-1-3 with a 2.53 GAA. On Monday, PHI announced that he suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury in practice, and is listed as day-to-day. He did not make the trip to Raleigh with the team.

• With the injury to Emery, PHI recalled goalie Anthony Stolarz from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL).

• This season he is 7-11-3 in 25 games played with a 3.17 GAA and .908 SV%.

• Robb Zepp has started the last 2 games for PHI, posting a 1.92 GAA and a .911 SV%.

• This season he is 5-1-0, with a 2.63 GAA and a .894 SV%.

• With his next start, Cam Ward will become the fifth active NHL goalie to play 500 games.

• This season he is 15-19-4 with a 2.39 GAA (career best), and a .913 SV%.

• Anton Khudobin has lost his last 3 starts (all in regulation) and is winless in his last 5 starts overall (0-3-1 record, 4.55 GAA, .829 SV%).

• This season he is 6-11-3 with a 2.73 GAA, and a .901 SV%.