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Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers (16-9-5) are in Raleigh to take on Rod Brind’Amour’s Carolina Hurricanes (20-9-2). On Saturday. Carolina overcame a 2-0 deficit to eventually beat the Flyers via shootout, 4-3 (1-0).
Bobby Brink (8th goal of the season) scored midway through the first period. Late in the frame, Trevor Zegras (12th) made it 2-0 Flyers. Near the midway point of regulation, Nikolaj Ehlers (8th) narrowed the gap. Five minutes later, Alexander Nikiskin (4th) tied the score at 2-2.
In the third period, Seth Jarvis (12th) gave Carolina their first lead. However, just 23 seconds later, Carl Grundstrom (2nd) re-tied the game at 3-3.
The shootout was scoreless through three rounds. In the bottom of the fourth round, Jason Blake scored to end the game.
Where to watch
Time and broadcast: 5:00 p.m. ET on NBCSP
Listen online: FlyersRadio 24/7
RAV4 keys to the game for Philadelphia: click here
In-game watch party (Maher Media): click here
Saturday: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Flyers finished 2-2-2 on their six-game homestand. Here’s a quick look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from the front end of the weekend home-and-home set with Carolina.
The Good
- First period. The Flyers actually beat the Hurricanes at their own game during the first period (and the early minutes of the second). The Flyers out-possessed the Hurricanes by a significant margin during the first portion of the game. They also got pucks and traffic to the net to build a 2-0 lead.
- Ersson gave the team a chance. Saturday’s game was yet another — fourth start in a row — where Sam Ersson played better than his stats would suggest (18 saves on 21 shots). When the play turned in Carolina’s favor, the game easily could gotten out of control if not for several excellent saves.
- Resiliency (again). The Flyers responded Grundstrom’s tying goal a mere 23 seconds after the Hurricanes took a 3-2 lead. Grundstrom has two goal and an assist in the three games since his most recent recall from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
- Timely shot blocking. Under Rick Tocchet and Todd Rierden, the Flyers focus much less on blocking shots than they did under John Tortorella and Brad Shaw. However, it was a necessity on Saturday. The ice was tilted in Carolina’s favor for most of the latter 33 minutes of the game. The shots on goal, however, remained virtually even. The reason: Philly blocked 20 Carolina shot attempts during regulation. Carolina threw a lot of rubber at the net from a variety of angles. Not much got to Ersson, however.
The Bad
- Tilted ice. The Flyers were very lucky to escape the second period tied at 2-2 (after leading 2-0). Once Carolina grabbed territorial control, they barely relinquished it. There were long stretches where the Flyers struggled to advance past the red line.
- Overtime. The Flyers did not execute very well in overtime. There was nothing they could do about the late 2-on-1 where Trevor Zegras hit the post. Overall, however, the Flyers seemed skittish during the 3-on-3. Alas, Philly went on to sustain their first shootout loss of the season.
The ugly
- Bad turnovers. The Flyers had some downright awful turnovers from the second period through overtime. None stood out more than back-to-back egregious decisions by Owen Tippett in OT. What’s hidden in the modest shot totals: Gifted chances and short ice for Carolina owing to Flyers unforced errors. Meanwhile…
- Decisions under pressure. In all three zones on Saturday (after the first period), the Flyers lost too many 50-50 battles. Philly also did not handle Carolina’s back pressure or forecheck particularly well after the first period. This needs to get a lot better on Sunday.
Leading scorers: Flyers (through 30 games)
Trevor Zegras — 30 points (12g, 18a)
Travis Konecny — 26 points (8g, 18a)
Christian Dvorak — 21 points (7g, 14a)
Owen Tippett — 19 points (9g, 10a)
Sean Couturier — 17 points (5g, 12a)
Matvei Michkov — 16 points (8g, 8a)
Noah Cates — 16 points (7g, 9a)
Bobby Brink — 14 points (8g, 6a)
Top goal scorers —Zegras (12g, 30 points), Tyson Foerster (10g, 13 points)
Injury report: Flyers
- Foerster is on IR for two to three months with an upper-body injury.
- Cam York returns to the lineup on Sunday.
- Rasmus Ristolainen has been on IR all season while rehabbing from triceps surgery. He, too, traveled on the road trip.
Confirmed Flyers Lineup (update)
Neither the Flyers nor Hurricanes will hold a morning skate on Sunday. The goalie matchup will put Dan Vladar against Brandon Bussi after Sam Ersson opposed Pyotr Kochetkov on Saturday. The lineup below is the default from Saturday, except for the goalie change. It remains to be seen if Cam York returns to the lineup. If he does, Ty Murchison may edit the lineup. In that case, the likely pairing on defense are York with Travis Sanheim, Emil Andrae with Jamie Drysdale, and Nick Seeler with Noah Juulsen.
Trevor Zegras- Christian Dvorak – Travis Konecny
Matvei Michkov – Sean Couturier – Owen Tippett
Nikita Grebenkin – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Carl Grundstrom – Rodrigo Abols – Garnet Hathaway
Cam York– Travis Sanheim
Emil Andrae – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Noah Juulsen
Dan Vladar
[Samuel Ersson]
Saturday’s scratches: Ty Murchison (healthy), Nicolas Deslauriers (healthy), Egor Zamula (healthy).
