Wrap: Flyers Mathematically Eliminated in 5-2 Loss in Carolina
The inevitable finally happened on Saturday, as the Philadelphia Flyers were mathematically eliminated from a 2019 Stanley Cup playoff spot by virtue of a 5-2 road loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena.
Two power play goals by Carolina -- one in the first period, the other in the third -- were the difference maker in the game. Carolina turned an early 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead in the span of 21 seconds in the first period, and the Flyers spent the rest of the day chasing the game.
For most of the game, Carolina played a tight-checking game against the Flyers and won the majority of the puck battles. The Canes also won 62 percent of the faceoffs.
Teuvo Terà¤và¤inen (power play, 20th), Dougie Hamilton (16th), Justin Faulk (power play, 9th), Jaccob Slavin (shorthanded empty net goal, 7th) and Brock McGinn (empty net, 10th) scored for the Hurricanes. Nino Niederreiter (28th assist), Justin Williams (29th), Jordan Staal (15th), McGinn (14th), Sebastian Aho (52nd), Brett Pesce (21st) and goaltender Petr Mrazek (1st) collected one assist apiece.
Former Flyers goalie Mrazek wasn't tested all that much in the first or second periods but had to make several good saves in the third period. He finished with 30 saves on 32 shots.
Claude Giroux (21st) and Oskar Lindblom (power play, 14th) scored for the Flyers. James van Riemsdyk had two assists (19th and 20th), while Corban Knight (3rd) and Travis Sanheim (25th) had one apiece.
Cam Talbot was understandably rusty early in the game, struggling in particular with rebound control. Thereafter, he settled down and kept his team in the game in a losing cause. Talbot stopped 27 of 30 shots before the two late empty-netters for Carolina at 4-on-6 and 5-on-6.
The Flyers went 1-for-3 on the power play with a shorthanded ENG against. They were 0-for-2 on the power play.
At the end of a shift, JVR broke up a play in the defensive zone, and the Flyers counterattacked for what ended up as the game's first goal. Giroux took a feed from Knight and buried it in the back of the net for a 1-0 Flyers lead at 12:03 of the first period. The goal was the 235th of Giroux's career, tying him with Rod Brind'Amour for 10th in Flyers' franchise history.
The lead was short-lived. At 13:35, Carolina got the goal back on a power play scramble around that Teuvo Terà¤và¤inen finished off. Just 21 seconds later, offensive minded defenseman Dougie Hamilton made it 2-1 Carolina as he scored on the secondary rebound of a three-shot sequence for the Canes.
First period shots were 13-8 in Carolina's favor. The Hurricanes had their way in the second period, although they were unable to extend their one-goal lead. The Flyers' first power play of the game -- a marginal interference penalty on ex-Flyer Justin Williams drawn by Giroux -- did not get much going.
In the third period, a Scott Laughton cross-checking penalty was converted into an insurance goal for the Hurricanes. A Faulk point shot through traffic made it a 3-1 lead for the Canes. Right before that, Sean Couturier had a shorthanded scoring chance, and was tripped on the play by Mrazek as he got up. There was no call. Couturier isn't one to often complain about calls but did this time by slamming his stick and staring at the referee and was tagged with a 10-minute misconduct after the Carolina goal.
One minute and 15 seconds after the Faulk goal, the Flyers got a PPG of their own to cut the gap back down to one goal. Lindblom shoveled home a puck in front for a PPG to make it a 3-2 game. A nice pass by JVR after knocking down the puck set it up.
The Flyers applied furious 6-on-4 pressure on a power play with a chance to tie the game. A between-the-legs shot by Nolan Patrick was denied and the Flyers were later unable to come up with the puck on a scramble in front. Finally, Slavin scored a long-distance empty netter. Later, Brock McGinn scored another one.
Shayne Gostisbehere was a healthy scratch for the Flyers. He will be back in the lineup on Sunday at home against the New York Rangers with Samuel Morin not playing the second end of a back-to-back set. Carter Hart will get the start against the Rangers in what is now a meaningless game for both teams.
A season post-mortem blog and a look ahead to the offseason will follow in the days after the conclusion of what has been a disappointing season for the Flyers.