Flyers can’t solve Hurricanes, fall into 3-0 second-round series hole originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Rick Tocchet didn’t hide from the daunting thought of a 3-0 series deficit against the Eastern Conference’s top seed.
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To put it simply, the Flyers needed to win Game 3 in this best-of-seven second-round matchup. Without dumping a load of pressure on his players before the game, the head coach knew it.
Once again, the Flyers were unable to crack the Hurricanes as they lost Thursday night, 4-1, at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Trevor Zegras made it a 1-1 game 2:31 minutes into the second period when he scored on a delayed penalty. But Carolina picked apart the Flyers on special teams with two power play goals and one at shorthanded.
“It’s tough to come back in a series 3-0, I’m going to be honest with you,” Tocchet said at morning skate. “We win this game, we’re back in the series. If we lose, now we’re really behind the eight ball.”
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They’re behind by three games and now have to be perfect for four straight if they want to somehow keep their season alive.
“We just can’t worry about anything else other than winning one hockey game,” Christian Dvorak said. “You win one and then the pressure starts to flip. We know we have it in this room, we’re not going to quit. We’re going to bring our best effort and do what we can Saturday.”
In the history of the NHL, only four teams have survived a 3-0 series hole. The Flyers, of course, were one of them. They pulled it off in the second round of the 2010 playoffs and made a run to the Stanley Cup Final.
“There’s not going to be any quitting, that’s for sure,” Sean Couturier said. “We’re going to keep battling, stick together and try to just get a win.”
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The Hurricanes have yet to lose in these playoffs. They’ve won all seven of their games and have surrendered just eight goals.
Going back to the start of the 2021-22 season, the Flyers have lost 19 of their last 22 games against Carolina.
• Dan Vladar made 26 saves on 30 shots.
The first dagger was from Andrei Svechnikov on the power play, which put the Flyers down 3-1 just 3:52 minutes into the third period. Cam York was in the penalty box for goaltender interference.
The final dagger came from Nikolaj Ehlers, who padded the Hurricanes’ lead on a breakaway. Rasmus Ristolainen made a poor read when he pinched in the neutral zone.
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Jordan Staal handed Carolina a 1-0 first-period lead with a power play goal. Couturier was in the penalty box for tripping. Jalen Chatfield swung the game in the second period when he gave the Hurricanes the lead on the penalty kill.
The Flyers were on the power play after Travis Sanheim was boarded by Taylor Hall. Sanheim and his teammates weren’t happy with Hall, who had a five-minute major penalty reduced to a two-minute minor.
“In a vulnerable spot and he decides to finish his check,” Sanheim said. “It just felt like his hands drove my head right through the wall. I thought it was a pretty dirty play.”
Carolina netminder Frederik Andersen stopped 18 of the Flyers’ 19 shots.
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The 36-year-old has held the Flyers to just three goals in the series. The Flyers have scored only eight goals over their last six games after putting up 11 through the first three games of the playoffs.
The Flyers had some quality looks early Thursday night, but they couldn’t shake their scoring struggles.
Travis Konecny was denied just 59 seconds into the action after he found his way behind the Hurricanes’ defense. Porter Martone hit the post 3:36 minutes later and then Alex Bump was denied in close with 8:11 minutes left in the first period.
Jaccob Slavin, one of the league’s top defenders, kept the Flyers off the board with 1:35 minutes to go in the opening stanza. After a Ristolainen shot snuck through Andersen, the Carolina defenseman corralled the puck and flung it away before it could cross the goal line.
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“In the first period, we should have been up 3-0,” Tocchet said. “Then all of a sudden penalties, miscues and giveaways start to creep in.”
• After giving up the go-ahead shorthanded goal, the Flyers’ power play had 1:15 minutes of a 5-on-3 opportunity. The Hurricanes’ bench was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The Flyers’ power play, however, failed to take advantage of a golden chance to tie the game.
A prevailing opinion coming into the playoffs was that the league-worst power play would cost the Flyers at some point. It absolutely did in Game 3.
“I think just overall they executed at a higher level and it showed,” Jamie Drysdale said. “That was the name of the game tonight, it felt like there were people in the box the entire game.”
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The Flyers have gone 3 for 33 on the power play in the playoffs.
“That’s two games in a row, a penalty-fest,” Tocchet said. “We’re not equipped for that.”
• The Flyers have missed Owen Tippett, who hasn’t played in the series because of an undisclosed injury. They also started life without Noah Cates, who suffered a series-ending lower-body injury in Game 3.
• The series picks back up Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena with Game 4 (6 p.m. ET/TNT).
