The Flyers blogs on Hockey Hot Stove are powered by Phans of Philly, Lights On Electric, New Balance of Mount Laurel, Cover All Exteriors, The Mens and Boys Store and Carl’s Cards and Collectibles. Welcome aboard our new playoff sponsor, Team Toyota.

Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers are in Raleigh on Saturday night for Game One against Rod Brind’Amour’s Carolina Hurricanes. The Flyers trail in the series, one game to zero.

In Game One on Sunday, goaltender Frederik Andersen and the Canes shut out the Flyers, 3-0. Early first period goals by Logan Stankoven (5th of the playoffs) and Jackson Blake (2nd) staked Carolina to a quick 2-0 lead in a dominant opening 20 minutes.

The Flyers stabilized things defensively a bit in the second period. However, they still had trouble getting to the inside offensively. A late second period turnover resulted in Stankoven’s second tally of the game (6th), and a three-goal deficit.

Right off the bat in the third period, the Flyers had a shorthanded 2-on-1 opportunity. Andersen slammed the door. As the third period progressed, Philly had a few more scoring chances but they were unable to muster a goal. Thus ended a frustrating series opener.

On the injury front, the Flyers have several banged up players. Most notably, the nagging lower body injury that affected Owen Tippett during the Pittsburgh series worsened enough for the speedy winger to miss Game One against the Hurricanes. Tippett remains day-to-day. 

In Game One, both Christian Dvorak and top defenseman Travis Sanheim were rocked by heavy hits. Both are expected to be available for Game Two.

Where to watch

Time and Broadcast: 7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN
Listen online: FlyersRadio 24/7
RAV4 Things: Click here

ECSF game-by-game

Game One: May 2 @ Carolina

Game One scoring

None

Game One goaltending

Dan Vladar: 20 saves on 23 shots

Game One special teams

Power play: 0-for-4
Penalty kill: 4-for-4

Flyers Playoff Scoring

Rasmus Ristolainen — 5 points (1g, 4a)
Travis Konecny — 4 points (1g, 3a)
Trevor Zegras — 4 points (1g, 3a)
Noah Cates — 4 points (1g, 3a)
Porter Martone – 3 points (2g, 1a)
Travis Sanheim — 3 points (2g, 1a)
Jamie Drysdale — 3 points (1g, 2a)
Sean Couturier — 3 points (0g, 3a)
Christian Dvorak — 3 points (0g, 3a)
Owen Tippett — 2 points (1g, 1a) — 6 games
Garnet Hathaway — 2 points (1g, 1a) — 6 games
Cam York — 2 points (1g, 1a)
Denver Barkey — 2 points (1g, 1a)
Noah Juulsen — 2 points (0g, 2a) — 5 games
Alex Bump — 1 point (1g, 0a) — 3 games
Luke Glendening — 1 point (1g, 0a)
Matvei Michkov — 1 points (0g, 1a)
Tyson Foerster — 0 points (0g, 0a) — 7 games
Emil Andrae — 0 points (0g, 0a) — 3 games

Flyers Playoff Goaltending

Dan Vladar — 7 GP, 4-3, 1.82 GAA, .928 SV%, 2 SO
Samuel Ersson — DNP

Flyers Lineup

The Flyers will not hold a morning skate on Monday. Rick Tocchet will speak to the media at 4:15 p.m. EDT.

Tocchet indicated after Sunday’s practice there would lineup changes — both in personnel and combinations — from Game One. On Saturday, the lines went into the blender after the first period. Most notably, the Flyers experimented with Denver Barkey at center. Trevor Zegras moved to wing. The lines below are a placeholder from Saturday’s starting lines. They will be adjusted and updated prior to the start of the game.

Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Travis Konecny 
Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Matvei Michkov  
Alex Bump – Denver Barkey – Porter Martone
Luke Glendening – Sean Couturier – Carl Grundstrom

Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler –  Emil Andrae

Dan Vladar
[Samuel Ersson]

Scratches: Owen Tippett (lower body), Noah Juulsen (healthy), Garnet Hathaway (healthy), Nikita Grebenkin (upper body), Garrett Wilson (healthy).

Flyers Daily: Monday with Meltzer (May 4, 2026)

In a 40-minute Monday edition of Flyers Daily, Jason Myrtetus and I break down Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series between the Flyers and Hurricanes. What specifically do the Flyers need to adjust to obtain a better result than Saturday’s 3-0 loss that saw the Flyers trail for 58-plus minutes.