2023-24 Regular Season, Game 10: Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers (Postgame)

After a successful back-to-back in Raleigh last week, the Hurricanes are back on the road, trying to get off to a great start against Metropolitan rivals. The trip begins in Philadelphia against the Flyers. The Canes are coming off a 3-0 win on Friday night against the Sharks behind a Teuvo Teravainen hat trick and a 20-save shutout by Antti Raanta. On top of it all, the team got Andrei Svechnikov back after a long absence. The Hurricanes will try and extend their win streak against a tough Flyers team. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (3:11)- Stefan Noesen (2) (assisted by Andrei Svechnikov (1) & Dmitry Orlov (4))

PHI (15:09)- Owen Tippett (2) (assisted by Sean Couturier (6))

PHI (18:23)- Garnet Hathaway (1) (assisted by Nicolas Deslauriers (1) & Scott Laughton (6))

2nd Period

CAR (9:02)- Michael Bunting (3) PP (assisted by Stefan Noesen (6))

3rd Period

CAR (16:13)- Teuvo Teravainen (8) (assisted by Michael Bunting (5) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (6))

My Thoughts

Sometimes, it takes a little Halloween luck to get a win on the road, especially after the scary performances from the Hurricanes during their long road trip. After two excellent performances last week in their return to PNC Arena, this was going to be an intriguing game. It being a division game only added to the importance. The result was akin to a horror movie. There was plenty of heart, and you badly wanted to see the villain defeated, but there were still some parts you needed to watch through your fingers because the music was swelling and things were getting intense. In the spirit of Halloween, a day that I detest with my entire body, I felt it appropriate to dissect this game from the standpoint of a horror movie, a genre of film that I enjoy despite my dislike of the holiday. 

The start of the game for the Hurricanes was like most standard horror flicks. Things were calm, and we saw the team at their best. Just 3:11 into the contest, Andrei Svechnikov, one of our plucky main characters, found the scoresheet for the first time this season, sliding a puck to Stefan Noesen, who opened up Carter Hart to get the scoring underway. For 15 minutes, things were going the Canes' way. They controlled the pace of play and carried most of the chances. However, like any film, we need a competent and willing antagonist to step up and provide some opposition. Tonight, that was the Philadelphia Flyers. They finally woke up in the final five minutes, putting up two goals that Frederik Andersen wants back. The villain ended Act I with the advantage, getting one over on our beloved main characters. 

Act II started with our heroes thinking they'd found an early workaround to defeat the villain. In our story, that came in the form of Jack Drury. With the Hurricanes pushing, Jalen Chatfield's shot never got to Carter Hart, but Drury was there to collect the puck and deposit it into the back of the net. For a second, the Canes thought they'd found the tying goal. Instead, the Flyers challenged the play for offside successfully, as Noesen was deemed to have entered the zone early. Instead of a tie game, we were back down a goal. However, like most villains, they have a weakness and find a way to slip up. In this case, Nick Seeler was called for interfering with Michael Bunting as he tried to race for the puck, resulting in the Canes getting their first power play of the night. Less than a minute into the man advantage, Bunting blistered a shot under the arm of Carter Hart to finally get things tied. The Hurricanes ended Act II on equal footing as our villain, setting the stage for a dramatic climax to our film. 

If we were looking for a big fight to close the night, it came in the form of both goalies playing out of their minds in the third period. Frederik Andersen and Carter Hart dueled for the better part of 20 minutes, kicking every puck they faced away to keep the game tied. It was like watching two evenly matched foes going at it in a long, drawn-out final battle. Eventually, one of them was going to crack. This is where we finally received our payoff. After playing on their heels the entire third period, the Hurricanes found a little daylight. Michael Bunting made a beautiful no-look pass to Teuvo Teravainen in the slot, and as hot as Teravainen is at the moment, there was no chance this puck wasn't go into the net. In the vein of famous final girls like Sydney Prescott, Laurie Strode, Ellen Ripley, and Nancy Thompson, the Hurricanes survived their scare in Philadelphia, winning 3-2 to earn two points and extend their win streak to a season-high three games. 

While the horror-film analogy isn't perfect, it gets across the message. This wasn't a pretty game for the Hurricanes, and things got a little messy, but the result was two points, and that's how this team will be judged. Tonight was especially rough for Brady Skjei. He was on the ice for both Philly goals in the first period, plus he committed two penalties, including one in the offensive zone. The Staal line was pretty average for most of the night, though they had a few strong shifts after the go-ahead goal to melt some time away. On the opposite side, the fourth line was effective, spear-headed by two points from Stefan Noesen and Andrei Svechnikov's continued presence. Michael Bunting also had his best night as a Hurricane. Atop the mountain was Frederik Andersen. He turned a tough ending to the first period into an incredible final 40 minutes to help the Canes win this game. His third period was extraordinary. The Hurricanes are celebrating now, but like any good horror franchise, the threat of the next big villain looms heavy in the back of their minds. This time, it's in the form of the New York Rangers. 

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Stefan Noesen- 1 goal, 1 assist

While he did play the Hathaway goal softly, Noesen's night offensively helps overlook that one moment. He made an incredible move to get Hart opened up on his early goal, then he helped win the face-off to get the puck to Bunting for his strike on the power play. 

2nd Star- Michael Bunting- 1 goal, 1 assist

Through ten games, Bunting has impressed as a Hurricane. He's been able to maneuver throughout the lineup and fit with the team's stars. Tonight, he made two special plays to get the Canes the win. His game-tying goal was a bullet, and his no-look pass to Teravainen for the game-winner was unreal. 

1st Star- Frederik Andersen- 26 saves

This win doesn't happen without the brilliance of Andersen, especially in the final 20 minutes. I lost count of the breakaways he faced, but only one managed to beat him. It's hard to pick his best save of the night, though his flurry of stops after the first commercial break in the third period stands out. 

Up Next- Thursday night's battle at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers is going to be a fight of epic proportions. The Rangers are one of the hottest teams in the league, completing a perfect trip of Western Canada with four wins. Thursday will be their first night back in town, but they'll have two days to recuperate. Once the fight at MSG is done, the Canes will be in Brooklyn to face the Islanders in a rematch of the 1st Round. This game will conclude the team's mini-trip to the Northeast.