Postgame 5: Flyers Stormed by Hurricanes, 5-0

The Philadelphia Flyers were shut out by the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-0, at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday evening. The Flyers concluded a seven-game homestand with a 1-6-0 record.

The Hurricanes had the first four shots on goal through four minutes of the first period. At 4:24, Cam York was called for a phantom high-sticking penalty. Upon review, the penalty was rescinded, and 5-on-5 play continued.

Philly had the next four shots before Carolina grabbed a 1-0 lead at 12:31. The Flyers challenged for goaltender interference by Jackson Blake in the blue paint a tick or two before Sebastian Aho (25th goal of the season) scored from the low slot. The assists went to Blake and Seth Jarvis.

The challenge was unsuccessful and the Flyers were penalized for delay of game. Matvei Michkov served the minor. The penalty kill stepped up to keep the deficit at one goal.

A neutral zone kerfuffle resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct minor at 11:40. The Flyers had a shorthanded 2-on-1 for Ryan Poehling and Travis Konecny but Poehling's pass went off the heel of Konecny's stick.

At 15:46, the Hurricanes scored in transition to make it 2-0. Eric Robinson attacked down the right wing and put the puck at the net. It went off Samuel Ersson's stick directly to Mark Jankowski (7th) for a rebound goal. The secondary assist went to Tyson Jost.

On the next shift after Jankowski's goal, Poehling had a breakaway on Pyotr Kochetkov. The goalie got his glove on the puck. Later, Kochetkov made a skate save in close on Bobby Brink. For Carolia, Shayne Gostisbehere ripped a shot off the inside of the post.

First period shots on goal were 12-11 Flyers. Philly won 10 of 18 faceoffs, led by Sean Couturier (3-for-4). Philly also blocked 12 shot attempts. The big difference was that the Flyers were unable to finish some Grade A chances but Carolina did.

The Hurricanes went back to the power play just 10 seconds into the second period as Poehling was called for tripping. Nine seconds into the power play, at 0:19, Carolina opened a 3-0 lead as Taylor Hall (PPG, 12th) potted a rebound in the blue paint. The assists were credited to Aho and Gostisbehere. Blake did not get a point but made a really nice pass out of the corner to start the sequence.

At 3:26, Ersson made a one-on-one save on a Jalen Chatfield backhander. Second period shots to this point were 5-2 Hurricanes.

Carolina momentarily seemed to take a 4-0 lead as a wide-open Logan Stankoven scored from point blank range. However, a coach's challenge for an offside entry quickly resulted in an overturned ruling. The clock was reset to 5:39.

On the next shift, Kotchetkov denied a good scoring chance for Brink in the slot to keep Carolina ahead by three goals.

The Hurricanes made it 4-0 for real at 13:15 as Jankowski (second of the game, 8th of the season) sniped a rising shot over Ersson from the left circle near the dot. The assists went to Robinson and Gostisbehere.

At 16:51, a tussle near the Flyers' bench after a hit by Rodrigo Abols to a Flyers power play on a roughing minor called against Jankowski. Philadelphia pressured on the 5-on-4 but could not score. When 5-on-5 play resumed, Jakob Pelletier and Poehling could not dig the puck past Kochetkov in a scramble at the doorstep.

Owen Tippett appeared to take the puck off his left hand on a shot from the point in the defensive zone. He immediately skated off the ice and down the tunnel. He returned for the start of the third period.

Second period shots on goal were 10-9 Carolina (22-21 Hurricanes overall).

Cates took a tripping penalty in the defensive zone at 9:55. The Flyers killed it off. Philly went to the power play at 14:01 as Blake was called for a neutral zone trip.

With 31.6 seconds remaining in the game, Carolina's Scott Morrow (1st) made it 5-0. The assists went to Hall and Stankoven.

In a losing cause, Ersson made 26 saves on 31 shots. Kochetkov stopped all 26 shots he faced.

The Flyers went 0-for-2 on the power play to finish the homestand at 0-for-17. There were 3-for-4 on the penalty kill, going just 11-for-17 (64.7 percent) during the homestand.

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

74 Owen Tippett - 14 Sean Couturier - 39 Matvei Michkov

71 Tyson Foerster - 27 Noah Cates - 11 Travis Konecny

15 Olle Lycksell - 25 Ryan Poehling - 10 Bobby Brink

44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 18 Rodrigo Abols - 22 Jakob Pelletier

8 Cam York - 6 Travis Sanheim

24 Nick Seeler - 9 Jamie Drysdale

36 Emil Andrae - 5 Egor Zamula

32 Samuel Ersson

[82 Ivan Fedotov]

Scratches: 55 Rasmus Ristolainen (injury), 19 Garnet Hathaway (upper body).

PP1: Drysdale, Konecny, Cates. Foerster, Michkov

PP2: Andrae, Tippett, Couturier, Lycksell, Brink

TURNING POINT

The Flyers had some prime scoring chances but simply could not take advantage: an all-too-frequent issue during most of the homestand. The Taylor Hall power play goal early in the second period put a stranglehold on the destiny of the game just 20:19 into the match.

POSTGAME 5 ("RAV4 THINGS" REVISITED)

1. Lycksell-Poehling-Brink line: Coming off a big game against Tampa Bay on Thursday, Brink and especially Poehling (who played with outstanding pace) were in the middle of multiple scoring chances. This time, however, they were unable to score.

2. Breakout game for Konecny? The Flyers' leading scorer had a promising shorthanded scoring chance in the first period. His frustrations continued. Since the 4 Nations Face-Off, Konecny has four points (0g, 4a) in 11 games.

3. Cates and Foerster: Two-thirds of the Flyers' most consistently effective line since mid-November, Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster entered Saturday's game with just one point between them over the last five games. Against Carolina, neither player was able to get much going,

4. Working around Ristolainen's absence: Three (Cam York, Jamie Drysdale and Emil Andrae) of the six defensemen in the Flyers lineup on Thursday and Saturday are sub 6-foot players. On Saturday, the Zamula pairing with Andrae struggled in particular. However, Nick Seeler blocked six shots and York blocked five.

5. X-factor -- Pace and puck possession: Philly was charged with eight giveaways in the first period and gave up a transition rush goal.