The Philadelphia Flyers lost a hard-fought 3-2 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Philadelphia spent much of the first period in bend-but-don't-break-mode and came on late to take a 2-1 lead to intermission. Carolina also had the edge in play in the middle stanza, and the game went to the third period in a 2-2 deadlock. The third period could have gone either way -- easily the Flyers' best -- and Philly had a slight edge in play and multiple scoring chances.
Ultimately, though, the Hurricanes pulled out the win on a late goal from point blank range by Teuvo Teräväinen (8th goal of the season). Earlier, the Hurricanes got a first period even strength goal off a Flyers' turnover and a second period power play goal by Michael Bunting moments after a faceoff win by Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
The Flyers got back-to-back first period goals to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead. First, a great backhanded saucer pass from Sean Couturier resulted in a goal from the right dot that Owen Tippett (2nd goal of the season) scored on a fluttering shot to the short side. The Flyers subsequently generated a hard-working goal that Garnet Hathaway (1st goal as a Flyer) jammed between goalie Frederik Andersen's pads.
The Flyers had an uneven night on the power play -- a few generated significant puck possession time and a couple of good looks at the net -- but the bottom line is that it ended up going 0-for-5. The Carolina power play was 1-for-1. The Flyers have allowed three opposing power play goals on their last three PK opportunities.
Carolina dominated the faceoff circle in this game across the board, but especially veteran center Jordan Staal (15-for-19). Kotkaniemi went 5-for-7. Seth Jarvis was 7-for-10. Sebastian Aho was 5-for-7. For the Flyers, Morgan Frost was 6-for-20, Sean Couturier was 6-for-16, Noah Cates was 1-for-9, and Scott Laughton was 2-for-5.
The Flyers generated many scrambles and top-grade chances in the third period. Tippett had a great look from the slot. Frost, who settled in after fighting the puck early and started creating several good chances, had two cracks in a scramble near the net. Travis Konecny had a good opportunity. Tyson Foerster (four shots on goal, one power play scoring chance in close, two at 5-on-5). The Cates line was the most consistent period-to-period line.
Philly simply couldn't solve Andersen again. This kind of game is one where top teams like Carolina find ways to win and teams where the Flyers are end up talking about near-misses and opportunities they couldn't quite bury.
Carter Hart (30 saves on 33 shots) held the Flyers in the game at junctures where Carolina could have pulled away. He gave Philly a real shot at coming away with points. Andersen might have liked Tippett's goal back and the Hathaway goal leaked through his pads but the goalie was lights out when the game was on the line in the third period.
Ultimately, the Hurricanes were just a bit better than the Flyers overall. The Canes pressured the Flyers heavily with very aggressive checking, especially in the first period and Philly ended up flat-footed for much of the period, The Flyers eventually settled in and pushed back but it always felt -- even in the third period -- that Carolina was close to making a "big" play. It finally came at 16:13 of the third period, and the Flyers never really threatened agan.
The Flyers finished the month of October with a 4-4-1 record. For a more in-depth period-by-period breakdown, highlights and recap, see the
Postgame 5 on the Flyers' official site.
The Flyers will hold a noon practice on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they start a home=and-home set against the Buffalo Sabres with a meeting at the Wells Fargo Center. The scene will shift to Buffalo on Friday.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»