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The Philadelphia Flyers entered their Eastern Conference Semi-Finals series against the Carolina Hurricanes in a bit of a quandary.
One part of that managing the emotions of their first round victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins from Wednesday night.
The other was knowing that they had to deal with a very quick turnaround against the Hurricanes, the best team in the conference. Could they find the pace to deal with a rested and loaded Carolina lineup, especially without the services of winger Owen Tippett?
Unfortunately, the answers came pretty quickly. The Hurricanes dispatched them easily in Game One, shutting them out 3-0, to take a 1-0 series lead.
Rough Opening Period
From the moment the puck was dropped, the Flyers were outpaced by Rod Brind’Amour’s team in the first period. Carolina’s withering forecheck forced the Flyers into multiple icings and miscues in the early going.
As a result, they would take full advantage of them only 91 seconds in. Following a soft clearing attempt by Matvei Michkov, winger Jackson Blake picked up the puck and passed it defenseman Mike Rielly. Center Logan Stankoven’s deflection beat goalie Dan Vladar to give Carolina a 1-0 lead.
Six minutes late, Carolina added to their lead. Taylor Hall lifted a backhand pass out of his own zone past defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. Blake took the puck in stride and blew past Michkov and cut to the inside of Travis Sanheim. He got Vladar to come off the right post just enough to backhand the puck past him, giving the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead at 7:30.
Philadelphia wouldn’t get their first real shot attempt until 12 minutes into the period on a Denver Barkey missed shot. Despite getting a power-play opportunity later in the period, they couldn’t dent Hurricanes goalie Freddie Andersen. It was a theme that would continue for the rest of the game.
Stankoven Snuffs Out Hope in the Second Period
In the second period, the Flyers seemed to get a good forecheck going, had transition opportunities, and played decent defensely in their own end. It almost seemed as if they were able to slow the Hurricanes down. However, one mistake is all it took to put them back on their heels again.
Seth Jarvis hounded defenseman Noah Juulsen from behind the net and forced into a defensive zone turnover. He would find Stankoven’s hot stick on a one timer that gave the Hurricanes an insurmountable 3-0 lead. As a result, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet shifted all three of his forward lines late in the period.
Flyers Get Chippy and Nasty, But Not Enough To Dent Andersen
And with a three goal deficit, things started to get chippy and nasty in the third period. Multiple skirmishes erupted, starting with Blake and Trevor Zegras. Both got tossed with misconducts following slashing, elbowing, and cross-checking incidents. Defensemen Nick Seeler and Shayne Gostisbehere also received misconducts follow the later’s slash on Luke Glendening.
Despite chasing the game in the final period, the Flyers started to build on their play more, making better decisions with their passing, and slowly putting more pressure on the Hurricanes.
Finally after the Flyers got a power-play at 15:12 on a Andrei Svechnikov cross check on Porter Martone, Vladar was pulled from the net. Despite a six on four advantage, Philadelphia still couldn’t score on Andersen over the final four minutes.
A rough Game One for Philadelphia, who will try to even the series up on Monday night.
The Good
- Sean Couturier continues to be the Flyers best forward in these playoffs, finishing this game with a team-leading five shots. He, Luke Glendening, and Garnet Hathaway were the only line getting effective ice time against Carolina. He got a scoring chance in the first period, creasing the Hurricanes defense. Couturier also made a great play at the blueline to spring Hathaway and Glendening with the first really dangerous rush.
- Philadelphia’s penalty killing units continued their recent good run of postseason play. They successfully held Carolina’s power-play to an 0 for 4 performance.
- Some solace can be taken that the Flyers aren’t going to back down from the Hurricanes when it comes to physical play. They gave as good as they got in this one and showed a willingness to get traffic in front of Andersen.
The Bad
- Unlike their first round series with the Penguins, the Flyers are playing at a considerable disadvantage to the Hurricanes at even strength. The first goal of the game was clear evidence of that. If Philadelphia is going to have any chance in this series, they need to have less periods like the first and more like the third.
- While Dan Vladar was fine for most of the game, the first period goal he gave up to Blake was one he’d like to have back. Coming off the right post on the Canes’ forward was the kind of error that he didn’t make often in the regular season.
- During the Penguins series, the Flyers forwards struggled to get accurate shots on goal when they had possession of the puck. Against the Hurricanes, Philadelphia will have less opportunities to do so, so they will need to cash in on the chances that they do get. That didn’t happen in Game One, especially on transition opportunities. So it’ll be interesting to see what additional adjustments Tocchet makes for Monday night.
- Losing Owen Tippett for Game One took away the one forward with the speed to match up with the swift Hurricanes. That plainly showed throughout the night, especially on entries.
The Ugly
- After having a solid rebound in Game Six of the Penguins series, Matvei Michkov was “back in the mud” against the Hurricanes. His early soft clearing attempt led to the Hurricanes first goal. He was also completely blown away by Blake on the second goal and finished the evening with a minus three rating. Does Tocchet consider sitting him again if Tippett is ready to play on Monday?
- The Flyers power-play continues it’s run of ineffectiveness, going 0 for 4 while being forced to make bad decisions by Carolina’s effective penalty killing units.
- Noah Juulsen’s turnover to Seth Jarvis on Stankoven’s second goal put the game out of reach for the Flyers. Against Carolina, he was easy pickings for a situation like that. While he’s a physical defenseman, his shortcomings makes you wonder if Emil Andrae or perhaps Oliver Bonk will get a chance to play on Monday.
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