Game 1 of Flyers-Hurricanes set for Saturday night
With no other NHL games available for TV on Saturday, the Flyers' schedule has been moved up to place them in prime time on ABC. Game 7 of 76ers-Celtics will be played around the same time on NBC.
Everything moves faster in the NHL playoffs … even the travel.
A little over 36 hours after eliminating the Pittsburgh Penguins for the team’s first playoff series win in six years, the Flyers will hop on a plane and head south to the Carolinas for the second-round series against the Hurricanes. Game 1 will officially be Saturday at 8 p.m. in Raleigh and will be televised on 6ABC.
The announcement, which didn’t officially come down until 1:30 a.m. Friday, means an ultra-quick turnaround for Rick Tocchet and his team. The Flyers likely wouldn’t have played until Sunday or Monday if either of the Minnesota-Dallas or Edmonton-Anaheim series had extended to Game 7. But the Wild and Ducks wrapped up those series on Thursday in Game 6s.
Saturday will mark the first time the Flyers and Hurricanes have played each other in the postseason. The NHL has yet to release the schedule beyond Game 1.
The Hurricanes, top seeded in the Eastern Conference, won the season series 3-0-1 against the Flyers, although all four games were decided either in overtime or a shootout. The Flyers won the most recent matchup between the teams, outlasting the Hurricanes in a shootout on April 13 to clinch a playoff spot. Carolina rested several of its regulars, including stars Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, and Jaccob Slavin, for that contest.
The announcement of the Flyers’ Game 1 start time, coupled with the 76ers’ home win over the Boston Celtics in Game 6, sets up a busy sports day for Philadelphia fans and local sports bars. The suddenly hot Phillies under Don Mattingly play the Marlins in Miami at 4:10 p.m. on Saturday (NBCSP Philadelphia), followed by a do-or-die Game 7 for the Sixers in Boston (7:30 p.m., NBC10), and Game 1 of Flyers-Hurricanes (8 p.m., 6ABC). Have those remotes ready.