Welcome to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the Philadelphia Flyers hosting the Carolina Hurricanes for Game 3 of their Eastern Conference second-round series. This is NHL Predictions with us here at Last Word On Hockey. This is where we break down key storylines, statistics, and analysis to understand how the games could potentially unravel. Carolina is up two games to none and has yet to lose this postseason. Will Philly be able to out-strategize the Canes, with the advantage of last change? Or are the Flyers no more than some recycling about to get swept up by the storm? Check it out.
NHL Predictions with Flyers and Hurricanes
Playoff Series: 2-0 Hurricanes
Puck Drop: 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) || 5:00 p.m. Pacific
How to Watch: TNT, truTV, HBO MAX, CBC, Sportsnet, TVAS
Location: From the City of Brotherly Love, and Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Credit Image: © Alex Cave/ZUMA Press Wire
This matchup brings an interesting rivalry, between (former) fellow, long-time Philadelphia Flyer veterans. Both head coaches, Rod Brind’Amour and Rick Tocchet played nine and 11 seasons, respectively, for the Flyers. Brind’Amour is 11th in franchise history with 235 goals, and sure enough Tocchet is tied for 12th. He is tied with the wrecking ball, Mark Recchi, at 232. Talk about worlds colliding.
But now it will come down to who is the better coach. Brind’Amour held serve at home, and you’d have to think, the way Carolina is rolling, if coach Tocchet and club don’t likewise win two at home, they are in serious trouble in this series. Moreover, Carolina has outplayed Philly in the series thus far, but it has been close. They have been powered by a few star performers, as we shall explain later. In contrast, the series has been close and maybe the balance of power shifts, just ever so slightly.
The Hurricanes Story
As per NHL Predictions, Canes forward Logan Stankoven has proven to be an ultimate playoff performer. Throughout the 23-year-old’s playoff career, he has constantly played a regular shift. Even when games go into overtime, he still gets out there for his regular shift. In 40 career playoff games, he has 14 goals, nine assists, for a total of 23 points. Until being kept off the scoresheet last time out, he had only failed to register a point once in his past eight career playoff games.
In fact, his entire line has been the standard early on these playoffs. Along with Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake, the line has been the driving force for Carolina. According to Moneypuck.com, their actual goal count is 6-0, and they have an expected goal percentage of 68.8%, in nearly 68 minutes skated together. It is performances like these that can be the difference between moving on and going golfing, this time of year.
Mike Reilly has really stepped up in this series, replacing injured Cane defenceman Alexander Nikishin. Reilly had two assists in Game 1, including the third star honours. Nikishin has reportedly been cleared to return to the lineup, so be prepared to see his name in the lineup.
The Story from Philly’s Side from NHL Predictions
Philly tried their darndest to re-write the narrative last time out. Despite Carolina’s ability to repeatedly come out on top, the Flyers got the drop on them last game. Unfortunately, they could not hold on, as Carolina was just too relentless in their persistence. Philly is going to need their players to step up, like they did in the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Trevor Zegras started the series against Pittsburgh hot, but has now gone four straight without recording a point. Furthermore, we know about Matvei Michkov’s well-documented struggles, including being sat out of Game 5 last series. Now up to seven playoff games played, he has but one assist. Coach Tocchet doesn’t care who it is, but needs someone to step up, and step up now.
Sean Couturier scored what was thought to be a big goal last game, but didn’t hold up in the end. He is someone that could potential lead by example, on the scoreboard.
It was announced yesterday that Flyers forward Noah Cates will miss the remainder of the series. It was described as a lower-body injury. He had four points for the Flyers so far this postseason, that was tied with Couturier for the lead among forwards. Rasmus Ristolainen leads the team with five.
Owen Tippett is another injury to keep an eye on. He missed Game 2, but hasn’t been ruled out for Game 3. He can tip the scale for the Flyers, and they would love to see him lace up.
The Goalies
The expected goaltending matchup in NHL Predictions will see Daniel Vladar go against Frederik Andersen. Now we will add to please check social media for the very latest lineup news, but they were expected as of original publication. However, there is little doubting this matchup doesn’t go ahead as planned. Vladar has a 1.89 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage, with two shutouts. Moreover, Andersen has a miniscule 1.02 goals-against average, and a .958 save percentage. He also boasts two goose eggs. Again, this has been a tight series, with a tight goaltending matchup, and should be a tight game.
NHL Predictions
This is one tough battle to forecast a victor. Carolina has been playing nearly perfect. Fortunately for Philly, the first two games were tight. Therefore, we think Philly prevails, in front of the home crowd.
Prediction: Carolina 1 – Philadelphia 3
Prop Bets
For our classic anytime goal scorers, we like Logan Stankoven, just because he has so many. He is up to six in six games these playoffs. Conversely for Philadelphia, someone needs to get going. Could it be Porter Martone or maybe a veteran like Travis Konecny. Martone is the only Flyer forward with more than one goal (he has two). However, two Flyer d-men do have two goals (Travis Sanheim and Jamie Drysdale). But after all this, we think Couturier finds twine. Someone is going to have to break down Carolina’s defensive wall if they are to be beat, and what better player to do it, than the complete player that Couturier is.
Main Photo Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
