Carolina Hurricanes: Takeaways from the Win Over the Flyers

1st Period Takeaways

Scoring

The Carolina Hurricanes flew out of the gates against the Philadelphia Flyers last night. Warren Foegele opened up the scoring midway through the first period, followed by Justin Faulk 2 minutes and 29 seconds later. Shortly thereafter, Oskar Lindblom beat Curtis McElhinney to cut the deficit in half. Teuvo Teravainen answered the phone within minutes, propelling the Hurricanes to a 3-1 lead heading into the second period.

Flyers’ Defense

The Philadelphia Flyers ran with a 7-defensemen lineup tonight, but still struggled to defend in their own zone. Flyers’ rookie netminder Carter Hart seemed to be rattled early on by a few loose-puck chances on his doorstep, but would redeem his shoddy early-game play by following up with a tremendous 2nd and 3rd period performance.

Hurricanes’ Defense

The Carolina Hurricanes had a few defensive missteps in the 1st period, one of which led to Oskar Lindblom’s backhand goal against McElhinney in the latter stages of the first period. Lindblom was relatively untouched in front of McElhinney as he shifted the puck to his backhand to lift it over McElhinney’s left shoulder. This would kickstart a potential comeback by the Flyers in the 2nd and 3rd periods.

2nd Period Takeaways

Flyers’ Offense

The Philadelphia Flyers began the 2nd period with two back-to-back goals in the first seven minutes of the period. Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier both scored in the second to tie the game and lay the foundation for a potential comeback.

Staal’s Game-Winning Goal

The dreams of a 2nd period comeback for the Flyers would be short-lived, however, as Dougie Hamilton found Jordan Staal with a beautiful pass in the slot that Staal rocketed past Carter Hart. The Philadelphia Flyers still managed to keep the puck in the offensive end for most of the 2nd period, but McElhinney and the Hurricanes’ defensive corps remained stout.

Smart Retaliation

Philadelphia Flyers forward Ryan Hartman took quite a few penalties in quick succession roughly midway through the 2nd period. After being called for interfering with Warren Foegele, Hartman threw an unnecessary cross-check on Foegele whilst heading to the penalty box.

This errant cross-check earned him a 10-minute Game Misconduct Penalty on top of his two minor penalties for interference and roughing, resulting in a total of 14 penalty mintues. Foegele did not retaliate, and chose to continue skating in the opposite direction, affording the Carolina Hurricanes a long powerplay.

Carter Hart

Jordan Staal’s lone goal in the 2nd period was the Hurricanes’ final goal of the game, but it wasn’t for lack of trying,. Carter Hart, after turning in a relatively lukewarm performance in the 1st period, showed up to play in the 2nd. Hart turned aside 15 of 16 shots in the 2nd period, which helped Philadelphia nearly stage a 2nd period comeback.

Two of these saves were absolute robberies against Lucas Wallmark and Nino Niederreiter. Hart remained solid heading into the third period, which saw the Hurricanes only taking one shot on goal.

3rd Period Takeaways

Hurricanes’ Lack of Offense

The Carolina Hurricanes finished up a second period that saw the tides turning in favor of the Philadelphia Flyers. Carter Hart seemed to be finally locked in, and the Hurricanes only managed to put one shot of 16 past him. In the third, the Hurricanes only managed to fire a solitary shot on goal, which was easily handled by Carter Hart.

Curtis McElhinney Shines Again

On the other side of the ice, the McElhinney and the Hurricanes’ blueliners needed to dig in, and dig in they did. Philadelphia had quite a few high-quality scoring chances, all of which were quelled by Curtis McElhinney.

After turning in a rough 2nd period, McElhinney rebounded and stopped all ten of Philadelphia’s scoring chances. The defensive corps around him seemed to regain their confidence, and played a much more physical brand of hockey than was present in the 2nd period.

Recap

The Carolina Hurricanes needed a win tonight, and they got it. Last night’s matchup was chippy to say the least, and the Philadelphia Flyers played an intense game. The onus was on the Hurricanes to not underestimate their opponents, a venture which the Hurricanes ultimately succeeded in.

The teamwork and chemistry on display last night for the Hurricanes was a breath of fresh air, and is another layer in the foundation the team has built heading into the playoffs. If the Hurricanes can play in the playoffs the way they played in the 1st and 3rd periods of last night’s game, we will have nothing to worry about, Caniacs.

Question for CC Readers: Heading into the playoffs, what aspect of the Hurricanes’ gameplay recently has been most impressive to you? Which aspect do you feel needs the most work?