It never gets old when Flyers winger James van Riemsdyk faces his brother Trevor

RALEIGH, N.C. – Flyers left winger James van Riemsdyk opposed his brother, Trevor, a Carolina defenseman, for the sixth time time in their NHL careers Monday.

It’s doesn’t get old, James van Riemsdyk said before the teams met at PNC Arena.

“It’s pretty cool still,” said van Riemsdyk, 29, who trains with his brother in the offseason. “When you play every day against each other [as kids] in your basement and in your driveway and all that stuff and you never really expect this is going to happen and now it does.

"His story is pretty cool. He wasn’t sure coming out of high school if he was going to just play Division III and focus on academics or give hockey a good shot. And obviously he wanted to give it a shot – and it took off from there.”

After spending two years in juniors, Trevor, now 27, followed his older brother’s footsteps and attended New Hampshire. He went undrafted but signed with Chicago as a free agent in 2014 and spent three seasons with the Blackhawks and is in his second season with Carolina.

Their young brother, Brendan, 22, is a junior forward at New Hampshire, “and he keeps getting better every year,” James van Riemsdyk said.

The van Riemsdyks grew up in Central Jersey, and their parents attended Monday’s game in Raleigh. When James played for Toronto, his father used to attend games and wear a hat with the Original Six logos on it that included his sons’ teams, the Maple Leafs and Blackhawks.

Before the Hurricanes' 3-1 win Monday, James van Riemsdyk said “you want to win every battle” against your brother. “You don’t want him to make you look bad.”

James van Riemsdyk took six shots and was minus-2 in the game, while his brother had an “even” rating. Neither had any points.

Goalie Brian Elliott, who hasn’t played since Nov. 15, is making progress from an apparent hip/groin injury.

“Brian is doing well. This is the best he’s felt in a long time,” general manager Chuck Fletcher said, adding he was hopeful Elliott could return to action in about three weeks.

Fletcher said Elliott will not need surgery.

Goalie Anthony Stolarz, sidelined with a suspected knee injury, is also making progress but is a few weeks away from returning, the GM said.

The Flyers were charged with a season-high 29 giveaways, including four by Claude Giroux (minus-2) on Monday. ... Justin Williams, selected by the Flyers in the first round of the 2000 draft, played in his 1,200th game, joining Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Matt Cullen, and Zdeno Chara as the only active players to reach that milestone… Wayne Simmonds played in his 800th career game. ... The Flyers are now 9-6-2-2 in New Year’s Eve games in their history.