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The Philadelphia Flyers are on the brink of being knocked out out of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Following a 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday night, the Flyers trail their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series three games to none.
After a crushing overtime loss in Carolina on Monday, Rick Tocchet’s team had a couple days to adjust, but also were dealing with several injuries to key players.
For the third consecutive game, top goal scorer Owen Tippett did not play (day-to-day), but center Noah Cates was also ruled out of the series with a lower-body injury suffered in Game Two. In addition, center Christian Dvorak came into the game somewhat compromised by an injury, but was able to play.
As a result, Tocchet made a series of line-up adjustments to compensate.
Energetic Start, But Penalties Pile Up
came out with good energy and pace in the first period. Philadelphia had two shots ring off the post behind Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen. Travis Konency rang one off the right post on a brief break-in, while rookie Porter Martone would hit the left post shortly after.
They also mixed in some physicality, as evidenced by a big Rasmus Ristolainen hit on Seth Jarvis.
However, following a Sean Couturier tripping penalty, Carolina would take a 1-0 lead on the power-play. Winger Andrei Svechnikov fired a shot that went wide and off the back-board. But center Jordan Staal was in the right spot to get it by the left post to get the puck and put it behind Dan Vladar.
The Flyers nearly got a response goal shortly after. Ristolainen fired a hard shot that eluded Andersen, but defenseman Jaccob Slavin was in the crease and was able to sweep the puck away from danger.
Philadelphia came out quickly in the second period, putting pressure on from puck drop. After a few chances in the Carolina end, Trevor Zegras scored to tie the game at 1-1. After an initial shot by Martone hit a scrum, defenseman Emil Andrae found the Flyers center closing in for the one-timer.
Subsequently, the Flyers kept pushing the play. Martone overwhelmed Gostisbehere on the rush and got in tight to Andersen for a chance. Shortly after, Denver Barkey got in for one of his own.
A minute later, Alex Bump got a rush chance, barreled into Andersen, then Martone intercepted the puck at the blue line and found Bump at the right post. Much like in Monday’s game, Philadelphia seemed to have momentum on their side.
Power-Play Failures, Lack Of Discipline
But the air would go out of the Flyers proverbial balloon later in the period.
Following a Taylor Hall boarding penalty, the Hurricanes got a short-handed goal by defenseman Jalen Chatfield to give them a 2-1 lead.
The Flyers won an offensive zone draw, but defenseman Jamie Drysdale tried to make a play. However, his turnover was picked up by Staal for a shorthanded rush with Chatfield trailing. He fired a pass back to the defenseman for a one-timer that he blasted past Vladar.
Philadelphia would get several more opportunities on the power-play in the period, including one from Taylor Hall’s dangerous boarding hit on an exposed Travis Sanheim that got the ire of the Flyers bench.
However, despite that and one five-on-three chance, Philadelphia’s power-play struggled. They couldn’t muster more than two shots on goal, while the puck exited the offensive zone twice.
With a chance to get something going in the third period, the Flyers tried more desperation passes, but also began to loosen their defensive coverages as well.
And that played directly into Carolina’s hands.
After a pair of roughing penalties following a Konecny-K’Andre Miller skirmish, the Flyers got a four on four offensive zone chance. However, Cam York clipped Freddie Andersen coming through the crease, giving the Hurricanes a four on three power-play.
Winger Andrei Svechnikov fired a ripper of a shot that beat Vladar at the left post to give the Hurricanes a 3-1 lead. Sebastien Aho found him from the left point, as the Canes center worked the puck with Gostisbehere.
The Hurricanes would pad their lead at 7:08 when Nikolaj Ehlers scored a breakaway goal. The Flyers lost the offensive zone draw, Miller got the puck up ice to Jordan Martinook. The puck caromed off of defenseman Travis Sanheim’s skate to a full-speed Ehlers to make it 4-1.
Frustration Boils Over
As the final minutes ticked down on Game Three, frustrations from the Flyers began to boil over. Travis Konecny decided to let out some frustration after getting ridden into the boards by Sean Walker. He took a couple whacks at K’Andre Miller with his stick and tried to headlock the much bigger Carolina defenseman.
With a little over 25 seconds remaining, defenseman Nick Seeler threw gloved punches at Logan Stankoven, after the Canes forward was engaged with Ristolainen. Shayne Gostisbehere and Ristolainen would go at it as well, along with Garnet Hathaway.
All of which served notice as the final horn blared that the Flyers were looking at a nearly insurmountable task. Come Saturday, can they somehow take a least one game from Carolina in this series?
The Good
- Porter Martone seemed to come alive in this game. After a relatively quiet performance in the first two games of the series and end of the Penguins series, he picked up an assist on Zegras’ goal. More than that, he was especially active in attacking the offensive zone. Following Zegras goal, Martone overwhelmed Gostisbehere on the rush and gets in tight to Andersen for a chance. He also got an interception at the blue line and found Alex Bump at the right post. He was a physical presence as well, with five hits.
- The Flyers actually did a good job at five on five in this game, which especially showed well during the opening 20 minutes of the game. They seemed to take Tocchet’s advice on shooting the puck and being more active to heart.
- Despite his compromised status, Christian Dvorak had a good game on face-offs, winning seven of nine. He made up for a rough Game Two in that department.
The Bad
- The refereeing in the series remains questionable. The first period Drysdale interference call when he was tangled up with Staal and Cam York getting an goalie interference call when it looked like Andersen left his right leg out to get clipped were prime examples.
- There was no excuse for the team’s veterans — the players who are supposed to set the tone for managing adversity — completely lose their composure and discipline the way they did. Unfortunately, Travis Konecny has become the poster child for Flyers’ players playing on adrenaline and emotion rather than with poise. He’s now played 31 career playoff games. In that span — five playoff series totaling 31 games to date — he has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) and 50 penalty minutes. Back in 2018, there was an excuse. He was 21 years old and playing his first playoff series. Today, at 29, there are no excuses. It’s worn thin.
- On the flip side, Sean Couturier has been the Flyers best and most consistent player in these playoffs. He also has a history of playoff success, dating all the way back to his rookie playoff run at age 19. He’s been very good in this series. Unfortunately, he looked gassed in Game Three. The will and smarts were there, but his legs arrived a half stride too late.
The Ugly
- At this point, if the Flyers are awarded a power-play, they should decline it. That’s how bad they’ve been, going 0 for 5. Yes, the Hurricanes penalty killers are incredibly disruptive, but Philadelphia struggles to get even basic zone entries correct. At one point, Tocchet put Cam York with Ristolainen in an attempt to get shot generation from the point. None of it seems to matter. The Flyers power-play has been their fatal flaw all season and is a major factor in why they’re facing an 0-3 hole in the series.
- However, there’s no avoiding the fact that the Flyers lack of discipline has put them in a disadvantageous position. Giving the Carolina Hurricanes nine power-play opportunities, allowing them to cash in on two of them, is the other nail in their proverbial coffin.
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