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.
BOOM pic.twitter.com/n3ISeNR9EA
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) April 7, 2019
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.