WRAPUP: FLYERS PLAY WELL ENOUGH TO LOSE, 3-1, TO CAROLINA
Sometimes in hockey, one team can outplay the other but the combination of a costly gaffe or two, a couple unfortunate bounces and stellar play by the opposing goaltender can leave them with nothing to show at the end of the night. That is why teams cannot afford to put themselves in the type of position the Philadelphia Flyers find themselves in late February: where every game is a virtual must-win to inch their way uphill in the playoff chance.
On Tuesday night in Raleigh, the Flyers did a lot of things well especially in the opening 40 minutes. They churned out a workmanlike first period, outshooting (13-8) and outchancing the Carolina Hurricanes and taking a 1-0 lead to the locker room. Philadelphia dominated most of the second period, applying heavy forechecking pressure, generating odd-man counters off Hurricanes turnovers and racking up a 15-7 shot edge along the way with a large percentage of the shots being high-quality scoring chances.
The trio of Nick Cousins, Scott Laughton and Matt Read -- especially Laughton, looking comfortable on the wing, generating numerous scoring chances with his speed and scoring the only goal of the first period -- was the Flyers' best line by far. Sean Couturier, making his return to the lineup from a lower-body injury, had some good moments, too, as did Jakub Voracek and Shayne Gostisbehere. However, it was the aforementioned trio who looked the most dangerous.
Laughton's goal, scored at 17:45 of the first period, was a fluky one that was not even his best scoring chance of the night. Read made a patient play as he carried the puck in and quickly surveyed his options before passing on the tape to Laughton. From the left circle, Laughton fired a low and seemingly stoppable shot that eluded Cam Ward. Radko Gudas go the secondary assist on Laughton's fifth of the year.
That was the only mistake Ward made, however, and he went on to stop 36 of 37 shots. For much of the second period, Ward was the primary reason why the Hurricanes even stayed in the game. At one juncture, the Flyers seemingly had the goalie beaten with plenty of room high to the short-side as Laughton made a cross-ice pass to Read on a 2-on-1 rush. Ward made a diving stop, helped by the fact that Read's shot was a more floating changeup than blazing fastball and was shot right into the goaltender.
At the 8:09 mark of the second period, Flyers goaltender Michal Neuvirth made a puckhandling gaffe. Stopping the puck behind the net, he attempted to make an outpass but intended weakly sent it weakly to the only player in close range --Joakim Nordström, who needed only to guide the puck into a yawning net to tie the game at 1-1.
With 1:34 left in the second period, the Flyers were victimized by a bad bounce. A routine dump in by Carolina's Brett Pesce suddenly turned very dangerous as it bounced of the referee's skate in the right corner and went directly to the red-hot Jordan Staal, who beat Neuvirth from 12 feet to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead.
Carolina did a strong job of protecting the lead in the third period. While they generated just three shots of their own -- one of which was an insurance goal -- the Hurricanes limited the quality of Philadelphia's chances and the Flyers had nine mostly routine shots. The better chances were either blocked or missed the net.
At the 14:11 mark, the Hurricanes put a stranglehold on the game, as the rebound of a Jay McClement shot popped high in the air off Neuvirth. The previously struggling Eric Staal knocked the puck down just over the height of the crossbar then got it again on the way down with his stick at legal height. The play was briefly reviewed in the situation room in Toronto but the good goal ruling on the ice was correctly upheld. McClement and Elias Lindholm got the assists on what was just Eric Staal's 10th goal of the season.
While Neuvirth could only really be faulted for the giveaway on the first Carolina goal, he was nevertheless outplayed by Ward and finished with 15 saves on 18 shots. A late push by the Flyers created little of significance. The franchise rookie and NHL rookie defenseman record 15-game point streak of Shayne Gostisbehere came to an end.
One area where the Flyers did not look good all night was the power play (0-for-3). The absence of Claude Giroux at its most obvious when the Flyers were on the power play with their number one catalyst on the man advantage. However, special teams were a wash on this night as the Flyers went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
At the end of the night, the Flyers had 66 shot attempts to Carolina’s 37. While that looks lovely on a Corsi/Fenwick chart, it mattered not a whit on the scoreboard at the end of the night. That's all that matters, especially this time of year.
With a regulation win, the Flyers would have leapfrogged the Hurricanes in the standings. Instead, they fell three points out on the night they played their final head-to-head meeting of the season with the Canes. Moreover, even though the Flyers went 3-1-0 in the season series, they only earned one more point (six to five) from the games than the Hurricanes did because all three Flyers' win came in OT and Carolina's win was in regulation.
In some ways, Tuesday's outcome was a case of the breaks evening out. Back in the first meeting of the season, it was Carolina who controlled most of the game but out-of-nowhere goals by now-former Flyers Luke Schenn and Simmonds off a great play by Gostisbehere forced overtime before Voracek won it. On this night, it was Carolina that had some self-made puck luck on their side. That's how it goes in hockey sometimes.
The Flyers return home to the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday to start a six-game homestand. First up is a match against the Minnesota Wild, with interim head coach John Torchetti behind the bench following the Feb. 13 dismissal of embattled Mike Yeo.
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FLYERS ALUMNI TEAM UP WITH CHECKMATES HOCKEY FOR IBD BENEFIT
On February 27, the Flyers Alumni Team will face off with the Checkmates Hockey club in their second annual benefit game for supporting treatment and research of a group of conditions collectively known as IBD (inflammatory bowel disease).
Checkmates is a not-for-profit association that works to raise funds and awareness for many underfunded and often overlooked chronic and potentially fatal diseases, with a particular focus on gastrointestinal diseases including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease. For Checkmates CEO, Justin Mirigliani, the fight is one he knows first-hand, as he was diagnosed 13-plus years ago with ulcerative colitis and has dealt with the condition ever since
A devoted hockey fan and player, Mirigliani created the Checkmates hockey team, which plays various charity games in the Delaware Valley to raise money and awareness to its cause.
IBDs have also affected the extended Flyers family over the years. Former Flyers captain Kevin Dineen nearly saw his NHL career end prematurely due to Crohn's Disease -- a form of IBD -- before he was correctly diagnosed and given a treatment plan. Today, Dineen is a national spokesperson for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.
This year's game with the Flyers Alumni will be held at the University of Pennsylvania's Class of 1923 Arena on Sat., Feb 27. Game time is 7:30 p.m. ET. All proceeds will be donated to support the department of gastroenterology and hepatology at Thomas Jefferson University. For more information,
click here.
Earlier this week, Brad Marsh, the Flyers Alumni Association president and the Flyers director of community development appeared on NBC10 in Philadelphia to discuss with Vai Sikahema the upcoming benefit game and the cause it supports.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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