Carolina @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 30, 2019 ) Philadelphia 2, Carolina 5

The Carolina Hurricanes can provide the exclamation point to a magical regular season on Saturday night as they visit the City of Brotherly Love vying for a sweep of the free-falling Philadelphia Flyers. The Hurricanes likely will still be riding an emotional high after clinching their first playoff berth since the 2008-09 season following Thursday's 3-1 victory over New Jersey.

"The goal was to get relevant. That's the first thing," said Carolina first-year coach Rod Brind'Amour, who served as the captain of the team's Stanley Cup-winning team in 2006. "I felt like we'd kind of fallen off the map, and obviously, we're not done. This isn't the final thing. We want to be the best team. But there's a step that has to be taken, and it's a huge step to make the playoffs." Defenseman Justin Faulk, the Hurricanes' longest-tenured player, scored the eventual game-winning goal early in the second period against the Devils and also tallied in last Saturday's 5-2 victory over Philadelphia. While Carolina has ascended into the playoffs, the Flyers reversed course after a stellar 18-4-2 stretch to lose six of their last seven -- including four in a row. "I think human nature always comes down to how much intensity you bring," goaltender Brian Elliott said after Philadelphia was throttled 7-3 by St. Louis on Thursday. "When you're not fighting for something like the playoffs, it's a lot tougher to get up for it, but it's still our job to win hockey games."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Carolinas, NBCS Philadelphia

ABOUT THE HURRICANES (45-29-7): Petr Mrazek, who had a brief stint with Philadelphia last season, has made himself at home in the crease by boasting an 11-2-0 mark in his last 13 starts. "That (playoff) feeling is amazing, the best part of hockey," the 27-year-old Mrazek said. "It's been a great journey, from Day One when I came here. I hope we're not done." Teuvo Teravainen, who has a club-best 54 assists, has scored three goals and set up two others in the season series with the Flyers while fellow Finn Sebastian Aho (team-leading 30 goals, 83 points) has three assists.

ABOUT THE FLYERS (37-36-8): Captain Claude Giroux is quiet by nature, and that disposition could be perceived as passive on a club that has limped out to slow starts over the last few years and missed the playoffs four times over the last seven seasons. "We have a good leadership group," the 31-year-old Giroux said, per Philly.com. "We have guys who have been here a while, but you can never have too many veterans in the room. ... We're a young team, and we know that. We need to mature fast." Giroux, who leads the Flyers in both assists (61) and points (83), has scored a goal and set up two others in the season series versus the Hurricanes.

OVERTIME

1. Carolina RW Nino Niederreiter has recorded 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists) in 35 games since being acquired from Minnesota.

2. Philadelphia C Sean Couturier, who leads the team with a career-high 32 goals, has scored just once in the last seven contests.

3. The Hurricanes' 19th-ranked power play has converted on five of its last seven opportunities in the past four games.

PREDICTION: Hurricanes 4, Flyers 1