Wrap: Flyers Weather Storm, Defeat Hurricanes 4-1
The Philadelphia Flyers bent but didn't break, thanks to strong goaltending and some opportunistic offense, going on defeat the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1, at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night. The Flyers never trailed but were outplayed significantly in the first period and to a lesser extent in the middle frame. Philadelphia stepped up to play a strong third period, retake a one-goal lead early and pull away in the latter portion.
With the win, Alain Vigneault's Flyers improved to 7-5-2 on the season. Rod Brind'Amour's Hurricanes dropped to 9-5-1.
"Carter [Hart] gave us a chance to start playing, to execute, to make a few plays. He played a real sound game where you could tell he was in control. It reflected in our group in the second and third period where I felt we were better. That’s a real good team there and that’s a quick team. They put a lot of pressure on you. I thought we handled it a lot better in the second period and the third, as far as being able to break out of our end and go and spend some time and get some opportunities in their end," Vigneault said.
Goaltender Carter Hart led the way for Philadelphia, making 32 saves on 33 shots. His toughest period was the first, where he was severely tested in making 14 stops.
"I was just feeling the puck. We did a good job of clearing guys out of the net front so I could see the pucks and do my job. It was nice to see some of the boys score some nice goals at the end," Hart said.
Sean Couturier (power play, 4th), Travis Konecny (7th), Joel Farabee (2nd) and Claude Giroux (4th) scored for the Flyers. Matt Niskanen, who played a strong all-around game, had a pair of primary assists on shots that were either deflected home (Couturier) or rebounded to the goal scorer (Konency). Shayne Gostisbehere, Couturier, Giroux, James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Pitlick and Phil Myers collected one assist apiece.
"I think the reason we came out in that 3rd is we wanted it more. It was easy to see that we were the more determined team to get pucks below their goal line and just go to work. I think that’s a big reason why we got a lot of chances and if you keep them in their own zone, they are going to make mistakes, and that is what happened," Farabee said.
Lucas Wallmark (2nd) tallied the lone goal for Carolina, assisted by Trevor van Riemsdyk and Martin Necas. Petr Mrazek took the loss in goal for Carolina. The former Flyers' goalie stopped 24 of 28 shots.
Special teams favored the Flyers on this night. Philly went 1-for-3 on the power play, scoring on their first man advantage and generating heavy pressure and some momentum on the third despite not scoring. The second one was very brief before ending with an Ivan Provorov penalty trying to slow down Sebastian Aho on a shorthanded breakaway. The Flyers PK went 3-for-3, including a vital third-period kill while protecting a 2-1 lead at the time.
The Hurricanes had five quick shots off the hop to start the game -- two-shot and three-shot sequences, with a couple of scoring chances in close -- but Hart stepped up and made the saves. An early save on Warren Foegele from prime scoring range stood out in particular.
After Konecny was high-sticked by Joel Edmundson, a Couturier re-direct of a Niskanen right point snap shot gave the Flyers a power play goal on their first shot at 3:30. The sequence started with a D-to-D pass from Shayne Gostisbehere to Niskanen.
The Flyers struggled to exit their defensive zone -- or clear the puck from it -- in the first period. Some of the turnovers were under heavy forechecking pressure but several were just poor execution under little pressure. Philly was charged with nine giveaways to just one for the Hurricanes. First period shot attempts were 24 (14-4-6) to 16 (10-5-1) in Carolina's favor but Hart helped the Flyers get to the locker room with a 1-0 lead.
"They play with a lot of pressure on their forecheck. There’s not a lot of free ice to make plays. A lot of consecutive chips to get the puck out of the zone, it’s kind of ugly hockey but effective on their part. If you stay with it though, eventually you’ll get some breaks," Niskanen said.
The teams traded off early second period chances, with Mrazek making two of his three best saves of the game during this stretch. The first was a stop on Kevin Hayes on a 2-on-1, the latter was an outstretched one-on-one pad save on Konecny off a great pass by Giroux (who was down on the ice but still executed the plass). In between, Hart denied the dangerous Aho on his shorthanded semi-breakaway opportunity.
At 6:17 of the second period, Carolina drew even on a point-blank tap-in goal by Wallmark. Gostisbehere and Justin Braun were both caught on the same side of the ice and center Hayes was left outnumbered in front. Michael Raffl was also a half-stride behind the rush higher in the zone. Before the goal was scored, Walmark knocked the stick out of Hart's hand.
The Flyers had a case to challenge the play for goaltender interference but did not.
"I was a little confused because [Wallmark] just went through me and if I wouldn’t have dropped my stick I would have completely turned, so maybe I should have [objected more strenuously], I don’t know. There is nothing you can really do," Hart said.
Vigneault felt the contact, which took place outside the crease, could have been ruled incidental without materially affecting the goal being scored (Rule 69.4), so he did not want to risk a challenge.
Second period shots were 9-5 in Carolina's favor.
Mrazek gave up a few generous rebounds in the first two periods, but none that the Flyers were able to pounce on. Finally, at 1:12 of the third period, the rebound of Niskanen's shot went right to Konecny at the doorstep for a slam-dunk and a 2-1 Flyers lead. The secondary assist went to Couturier. Oskar Lindblom did not earn a point on the play but appeared to at least partially take Mrazek's eyes away on the sequence and Konecny had a tap-in.
Shortly after the Konecny goal, Joel Edmundson took his second penalty of the game. The Flyers could not score on the power play but pressured heavily.
Philly came up with a big penalty killing effort with Provorov in the box for tripping.The kill energized the crowd and the Flyers' bench.
At 12:59, the Flyers got some insurance at the end of a shift that had not started out well. The Giroux line started the shift with an offensive zone faceoff but ended up having to defend for much of the shift after a Canes breakout and entry. Farabee broke up a pass in the defensive zone and the Flyers then moved back the other way. James van Riemsdyk was mighty close to being offside -- and may, in fact, have been just offside -- as the puck entered the Carolina zone.
Finally, Farabee took the puck right to the house. Mrazek made the initial save but Farabee followed up his own rebound to open a 3-1 lead. The Hurricanes looked at the play from their bench to see if JVR was offside but ultimately decided not to risk a penalty if it was unsuccessful.
"I looked at the iPad on the bench really quick and thought maybe it could have been. But I was kind of hoping they would just drop the puck. [Carolina] waited too long almost. I was kind of shaking, I thought maybe it was off[side], but happy that one went in," Farabee said.
Philly's close-out was strong. Carsen Twarynski blocked a shot out of the defensive zone, relieving pressure. After a long cycling shift by the Couturier line, Giroux put an exclamation mark on the win with a breakaway goal through the five-hole at 17:36. Pitlick and Myers got the assists.
Third period shots were 13-11 in the Flyers favor.
The Flyers will hold a noon practice in Voorhees on Wednesday. Following practice, the Philadelphia Flyers players and coaching staff will be taking the time to meet with more than 100 members of the military and their families as part of the team’s military appreciation efforts. Among the players meeting with the military members will be goaltender Brian Elliot, whose wife is a veteran. Patrick Murphy (U.S. Army Veteran & Hiring our Heroes Toyota Ambassador) will also participate in the event.
During the event, the Flyers will also present the group with tickets to the Nov. 16 Toyota Military Appreciation Night game at the Wells Fargo Center. As part of Military Appreciation Night, representatives from all major branches of the Armed Forces will be honored with video dedications and live recognitions. More than 200 active military and veterans will be in attendance at the game.