The Flyers had a full team morning skate at the RBC Center, and are ready to open the 2009-10 season tonight against the Hurricanes (7:00 p.m., TCN-HD).
It appears that the healthy scratches for tonight will be Riley Cote and Arron Asham. James van Riemsdyk will be making his NHL debut on a line with Claude Giroux and Darroll Powe, while Chris Pronger, Ian Laperriere and Ray Emery will all be playing their first regular season game with the Flyers.
Van Riemsdyk mentioned after the skate today that a number of his friends are making the drive down from New Jersey. Tomorrow night, when the Flyers face the Devils at the Prudential Center, his personal cheering section could exceed 100.
On the injury front, the Flyers are still without Brian Boucher and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen. Carolina will be without former Flyer Joni Pitkanen, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on September 10.
Philadelphia finished 3-0-1 against Carolina last season, with Jeff Carter leading the way with six points (2g, 4a). Further, the Flyers are 6-0-1 in their last seven games overall against the Hurricanes at the RBC Center.