The Carolina Hurricanes returned to PNC Arena for a short stay after a perfect three-game road trip, facing the Philadelphia Flyers as the visitors continue to fight for their postseason lives. The Canes faced an opponent with an equal amount of desperation on Tuesday night, beating the Islanders 4-1 on Long Island to sweep the trip.
With this being the first half of a back-to-back, Frederik Andersen got the call to start for the Hurricanes. Jesper Fast joined Teuvo Teravainen and Jack Drury as a scratch, bringing Tony DeAngelo back into the lineup as the Canes opted for seven defensemen. Samuel Ersson took the net for the Flyers. He made his NHL debut at PNC Arena last season and has carried the load for Philadelphia over the last two months.
The Hurricanes avoided an early disaster after Owen Tippett put home a third chance just 4:30 into the game, but it was overturned after a successful challenge by Rod Brind'Amour. Brendan Lemieux was robbed shortly after when Samuel Ersson turned the puck over but was able to recover to snag one. The Canes probably should've gotten a 5-on-3 after the Flyers got away with two penalties during one sequence, but only one was called, leading to an unsuccessful power play.
While the Hurricanes didn't get a 5-on-3, the Flyers did, forcing the Canes' penalty kill to kill 80 seconds of a two-man disadvantage. They got a little help from the iron as Frederik Andersen stood tall to kill it off, sending PNC Arena into an early frenzy. Martin Necas nearly wrapped one home, but he couldn't get it to go, sending the game into the break scoreless.
Another empty power play for the Canes didn't deter them from eventually getting the first goal. After Brett Pesce made a huge defensive play just inside the Canes' blue line, Martin Necas set up Jordan Martinook on a 3-on-2. Martinook went bar down to open the scoring less than four minutes into the middle frame. Almost immediately, the Flyers answered. Before the in-house goal announcement could be finished, Scott Laughton buried a breakaway, giving the Flyers their answer just 25 seconds later.
The lead went back in the Canes' favor a little past the midway point in the period on a goal very similar to their first one. This time, Jalen Chatfield made the play in the defensive zone, allowing Dmitry Orlov to push the puck up the ice. Sebastian Aho carried it in and stopped, finding Chatfield as he jumped into the zone. Chatfield stepped up and clapped one past Samuel Ersson to make it 2-1. A few big stops from Frederik Andersen, including one on a 3-on-1, allowed the home team to enter the third period with a one-goal lead.
The Flyers' desperation poured out in the third period, spending a lot of time in front of Frederik Andersen. The Danish netminder pushed through and stood on his head to keep the Canes ahead, getting a little more help from his goalposts on the Flyers' third power play. For all his efforts, the Flyers evened things up again. While Brett Pesce likely should've drawn an interference call on the play, Travis Konecny put home a loose puck at the side of the net to tie it. The Flyers outshot the Hurricanes 17-6 in the period as both teams ensured they'd finish the night with at least one point.
Overtime was all Hurricanes. All three chances went the Canes' way. After Sebastian Aho and Jake Guentzel were denied, their linemate came up with the winner. Seth Jarvis finished a 2-on-1 with Brent Burns to seal the win less than 90 seconds into overtime, earning the Canes the second point in a 3-2 win.
The consensus from the entire team seemed to be that this wasn't a great game on their part. Who am I to disagree with them? They didn't look great for the full 60+ minutes like they did on Long Island on Tuesday. They had spurts of brilliance, but Frederik Andersen was the only guy on his game the entire night. As he has been since returning from his medical emergency, Andersen was stellar. If not for his efforts, the Canes likely don't even earn a point.
Despite both teams being desperate for points, there was a clear difference between the Islanders and Flyers. The Canes steamrolled the Islanders in the final eight minutes of the first period on Tuesday, breaking their spirits for the rest of the night on their ice. The Flyers came into Raleigh and put together a solid game. You could make a case that they were the better team at PNC Arena on Thursday, and there's no doubt they were the better of the two in the third period.
Regardless of your stance on the game, the fact is that the Hurricanes won, and that's a great thing. Having to play 11/7 can affect a team's flow, and that was very apparent in this one. For a team that has been connecting on offense lately, Jesper Fast's exclusion from the lineup meant things would be shuffled. The top line remained consistently strong. Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho picked up points, and while he won't get an assist for it, Jake Guentzel helped create the turnover in overtime that led to the winning goal.
There's no downtime for the Hurricanes as they are back in action on Friday night for the first of two homecoming games for the newest members of the team. First, Evgeny Kuznetsov will make his return to Washington as the Canes battle the Capitals in D.C. After Toronto comes to Raleigh on Sunday, Jake Guentzel will play his first game in Pittsburgh next Tuesday.