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Wrap: Flyers Defeat Hurricanes in Raleigh |
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Wrap: Flyers Defeat Hurricanes in Raleigh
Playing against the NHL's No. 1-ranked puck possession team -- a club that entered the evening undefeated on home ice -- the Philadelphia Flyers figured to spend a lot of time without the puck as they faced off with the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Wednesday.
The Flyers bent. They didn't break. It took a stellar 32-save performance from Carter Hart and 30 blocked shots in front of him but the Flyers skated off with a 3-1 victory. Playing with a lead nearly the entire night, the Flyers received goals from Owen TIppett (6th) and Travis Konecny (10th) in the first period and Ryan Poehling (1st) early in the second as they built a three-goal lead. Thereafter, the Flyers had to figuratively batten down the hatches to withstand a barrage of attacks from Rod Brind'Amour's club.
Philly had a strong night on the penalty kill, going 3-for-3. They got great goaltending whenever they needed it, regardless of manpower situation. Travis Sanheim, among others, played stout defense when Carolina was able to maneuver into one-on-one situations. Despite a 32-10 disadvantage in scoring chances, the Flyers limited the Canes to a manageable 11 high-danger chances (Philly only had four, but thankfully were playing from ahead).
When all was said and done, the Flyers snapped an eight-game winless streak against the Hurricanes (0-5-3) that dated back two seasons. They received goals from three different lines on a night where head coach John Tortorella juggled combinations mid-first period and then altered some combos again in the middle stanza. They won more faceoffs than they lost against a Carolina club that had utterly dominated them at the dot when the teams played in Philadelphia on Oct. 30 (a 3-2 loss for the Flyers). Most importantly, the Flyers won each of the final three games of a four-game road trip that started with a loss in San Jose.
For a period-by-period recap, analysis, highlights and stats from Wednesday's game, see the
Postgame 5 on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com.
The Flyers will now return home to practice on Friday and then play back-to-back games at the Wells Fargo Center against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday and Columbus on Sunday.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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