Flyers-Hurricanes preview: Nitty-gritty time

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

Where: Wells Fargo Center

Broadcast and streaming: TV–NBCSP; radio–97.5 FM.

Social media coverage: Twitter, @BroadStBull and @samdonnellon

Key players: With 30 goals and 67 assists, Flyers captain Claude Giroux is just three points shy of becoming the sixth Flyers player to reach 100 in a season. … In just his second season with the Hurricanes, Carolina's Teuvo Teravainen has recorded career highs in points (62), assists (39) and goals (23). He has 20 of those points on the power play – also a career high. He has at least a point in each of his last six games against the Flyers. Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin has nine points in his last nine games and is a plus-10 over that span. His 76 takeaways rank first among all NHL defensemen this season. Since he entered the NHL in the 2015-16 campaign, Slavin is ranked first among all NHL defensemen with 213 takeaways. … The Hurricanes are one of five teams that have three or more 20-goal scorers who are 25 or younger: Sebastian Aho (28 goals), Jeff Skinner (24), and Teravainen (23). The Flyers are not among the other four teams, which are Florida, Colorado, Winnipeg, and Calgary.

Things to know: Since the start of March, the not-playoff-bound Hurricanes have amassed one more point (17) than the Flyers. The Flyers sit in the same position they did Tuesday night: A win of any kind and a Florida loss would put Philadelphia into the postseason, as would one point and a Florida regulation loss. But if that sounds easy, you weren't paying attention to Tuesday. The Panthers beat Nashville – the best team in the NHL – 2-1, while the Flyers lost to a struggling Islanders team, 5-4, coughing up the lead seconds after a valiant rally from three goals down to tie the game. It should be good news that the Flyers' last two games are at home against non-playoff teams, whereas Florida must play the Bruins tonight and again on Sunday. But the Flyers have struggled mightily against the bottom feeders this season, and particularly down the stretch – each time saying they have learned their lesson. They have also amassed more points on the road than at home this season.

Head to head: The Flyers are 83-42-14 all-time against the Hurricanes. They are 45-19-5 at home. This the fourth and final game between the clubs this season. The Flyers won at Carolina in overtime, 2-1, on Feb. 6; the Hurricanes beat them in Philly at the start of March, 4-1; and the Flyers won March 17 on the road, 4-2. Carolina has scored three or more goals in eight of the last 10 games the teams have played and are 4-1-2 in their last seven games at the Wells Fargo Center.

Coming games:

Saturday, home vs. Rangers, 3 p.m.

(End of regular season.)