Regular Season, Game 50: Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers

With today being Presidents' Day, the Hurricanes will play yet another afternoon game as they travel to Philadelphia just 24 hours after playing in Pittsburgh. It got close at the end, but the Canes were able to escape yesterday's game with the Penguins with a 4-3 win to take sole possession of the division lead. Ten different players recorded a point and Antti Raanta stopped 31 shots to earn his 100th win in the NHL. The Hurricanes and Flyers are meeting for the third of four matchups. The previous two games took place in November. The Flyers traveled to Raleigh on November 12 and Carter Hart goalied the Canes, stopping 39 of 40 shots in a 2-1 win for Philadelphia. The Canes returned the favor when they last visited Philly on November 26. The game was back-and-forth to begin, with the Flyers leading 2-1 after the first period and 3-2 1:16 into the second period. The Canes would then score four unanswered to win 6-3 as Aho, DeAngelo, and Kotkaniemi recorded multi-point games. Frederik Andersen is going to be in the net for this matinee. Ian Cole will also be in the lineup for Brendan Smith after his scary injury yesterday while blocking a shot with his head. Seth Jarvis will be the healthy extra up front, with Derek Stepan taking his spot. 

The Flyers are coming in on a cold streak. They've lost four in a row (0-3-1), last falling on Thursday to the Washington Capitals, 5-3. Four Capitals recorded multiple points, including a three-point game for Garnett Hathaway. Gerry Mayhew scored twice for the Flyers and Martin Jones allowed four goals on 24 shots in the loss. This is the front end of a back-to-back for the Flyers as St. Louis comes into town for a game tomorrow night. While they haven't been seeing the results, Philly will be getting Rasmus Ristolainen and Patrick Brown back in the lineup today. Carter Hart was supposed to start today, but it has been reported he has an eye infection. This means the Canes will see Martin Jones for the first time as a Flyer. With games in hand for the Canes, it's important to capitalize on yesterday's win to put some distance between them, the Penguins, and the Rangers will three days off ahead. I'm curious which Canes team we'll see show up. They're likely to be tired but with time off looming, they should be going all out today to earn these two points. 

1st Period

Scoring

None

Thoughts

The shot chart would indicate that the Flyers were the dominant team and the period was primarily spent in their zone. They definitely had the better chances, but they also blocked a lot of shots on the other end as the Canes managed just two shots on Jones to the Flyers' 11 on Andersen. Andersen made two huge saves on Konecny and Ratcliffe early in the period and then a save in close on James Van Riemsdyk late. The defense has been responsible for both of the Canes' shots and it wasn't until more than halfway through the period before Ethan Bear made Jones do some work. There were plenty of opportunities, the best being the fanned shot by Teravainen on a 2-on-1, but very little got through the traffic and onto Jones. The good news is that this isn't something the Flyers can sustain for three periods, so shots are bound to get on the net. I expect a very different period for the Canes after the intermission. 

2nd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 0:24- Nino Niederreiter (15) (assisted by Jesper Fast (9) & Jaccob Slavin (26))

(PHI) 0:59- Gerry Mayhew (6) (assisted by Justin Braun (10) & Ivan Provorov (14))

(CAR) 12:13- Teuvo Teravainen (13) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (26) & Sebastian Aho (31))

Thoughts

It might not have been nine seconds into the period, but I'll settle for 24. Niederreiter breaks the ice on a weird play as the puck bounces off the boards and right in front of Jones for Nino to put it top shelf. The Flyers turned it around quickly and got a bounce as Mayhew played one off Aho's stick and into the net. The Canes then killed a penalty, held steady, and got a goal from Turbo after a beautiful pass from Svechnikov to get the Canes ahead going into the break. Andersen looked great again and the Canes generated more shots, but the Flyers spent more time in their zone again this period. With DeAngelo out of the game, the Canes are going to be a man down for the third game in a row. It's not ideal, since he runs the first power play, but the defense was able to step up yesterday when Smith went down, so I have faith in this team. They need to put together a better period to finish this one. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(PHI) 5:19- Patrick Brown (2) (assisted by Isaac Ratcliffe (3) & Rasmus Ristolainen (10))

(CAR) 7:15- Vincent Trocheck (14) (assisted by Martin Necas (19) & Ian Cole (11))

(PHI) 15:07- Oskar Lindblom (7) (assisted by Travis Konecny (22) & Travis Sanheim (14))

Thoughts

While it's a little disappointing they couldn't get the job done in regulation, I think you'll take the point being a man down and have to play with just four defensemen late in the period. I didn't love the Ian Cole fight, or whatever you want to call that, but I really think it was a slight lapse in judgement y Svechnikov that led to the tying goal after he played a puck that had been knocked down by a high stick. The Canes looked a little tired as the period went along, so I'm not too sure how to feel about the overtime session. They've faced a lot of shots from a very energetic Flyers team. They need to get the job done and get this second point by any means necessary. 

Overtime

Scoring

(CAR) 4:42- Brett Pesce (4) (assisted by Vincent Trocheck (21) & Jordan Staal (13))

Thoughts

That was one of the most exciting overtime sessions of the season for the Canes. They held onto the puck for the entirety of the first two minutes, but couldn't break Jones. Philly had four or five good chances, including a 3-on-1 that Andersen stopped. The winner was the result of a beautiful saucer pass from Trocheck to Pesce, who goes high to the glove of Jones for the winner. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Frederik Andersen (38 Saves on 41 Shots)

The Flyers were relentless all afternoon, outshooting the Canes 41-31. Andersen was up to the task and played extremely well. All three goals were dirty goals that he couldn't do much about, but he helped to prop up the defense when they were tired. He made some huge saves in overtime, especially on Atkinson before the goal. He continues to put the team on his back when they need him to. 

Second Star- Brett Pesce (Goal)

His statline shows a -1 for the game, but I don't feel that gives an accurate assessment of how he played while on the ice tonight. He was up in the play quite a bit and lead the defensemen in shots with four. He scored the game-winner over Jones' glove for his first overtime winner in the NHL. He had to step up with DeAngelo exiting early and played 27:37 this afternoon. 

First Star- Vincent Trocheck (Goal, Assist)

He was probably the best forward on the ice for the Canes this afternoon and the scoresheet will reflect it. He led the team with five shots and scored in the third period to give them the lead. It's his pass in overtime that was the highlight of the game as he sauced one to Pesce over a couple of sticks to lead to the winner. 

Final Thoughts

I really think the Canes got lucky today to get another two points. The Flyers gave them everything they could handle, overcoming three one-goal deficits, to force overtime and earn a point. They outplayed the Canes for most of the game and outshot them badly. The Canes were tired coming into the game, had to play a man-down for most of the game, and still managed to earn the second point. 11 different players recorded a point, Trocheck being the only player with two points for the Canes. I don't think this was their best effort, but they battled hard and won. All eyes will be on Brendan Smith and Tony DeAngelo to see what their status is for the next few days. The team won't play again until Columbus rolls into Raleigh on Friday night. This will be a well-needed break for the team as they prepare for the final 32 games. They positioned themselves further ahead in the Metropolitan Divison for the time being. It wasn't pretty, but two points nonetheless.