RALEIGH, N.C. — After Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, coach John Tortorella said the team played well at five-on-five, they just couldn’t “freakin’ score.”
Two nights later, not only couldn’t the Flyers freakin’ score, they couldn’t generate much freakin’ offense.
The Flyers were held to just 19 shots on goal in their 1-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Twenty-three-year-old Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov earned the shutout, marking his fourth of the season. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers managed four high-danger scoring chances all game. The Flyers went on their first and only power play in the third period, but they squandered it.
On the flip side, the Flyers were strong defensively against the Hurricanes at five-on-five and kept them scoreless with both sides at full strength. The Flyers’ whopping 22 blocked shots helped keep the puck out of the back of the net. The Hurricanes had six high-danger opportunities of their own but couldn’t capitalize, allowing the Flyers to hang around for most of the night.
Backup goalie Felix Sandström made his first start in 25 days, and just his third this season that didn’t come on the second night of a back-to-back. After allowing a power-play goal on the first shot of the game, Sandström responded well and ultimately made 28 saves on 29 shots.
Déjà vu
Earlier this week, the Flyers put the Lightning on the power play three times in the first period alone. Ultimately, Flyers’ penalty kill went 3-for-6 on the penalty kill, and Tortorella lamented the team’s discipline after the game. However, the Flyers didn’t clean up their act much early on against the Hurricanes in the first period. The Flyers racked up three minor penalties in the opening frame alone — a Kevin Hayes offensive-zone holding, an Ivan Provorov defensive-zone delay of game, and a Morgan Frost offensive-zone tripping.
The Hayes penalty came first and occurred just one minute, 19 seconds into the period. The Hurricanes and their 13th-ranked power play struck quickly. On the Hurricanes’ first shot of the game, winger Andrei Svechnikov beat Sandström from the slot to put his team up, 1-0. Through 60 minutes, the Flyers went 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Offense stifled
Going into Thursday night, the Hurricanes ranked second in the league in goals against per game with their sound defense and strong goaltending. They brought those strengths into their contest with the Flyers, who lack offensive firepower to begin with (2.61 goals per game, ranked 29th in the league). The Flyers were solid in the puck possession department in the first period, notching eight shot attempts to the Hurricanes’ seven per Natural Stat Trick.
But in the second period, the Hurricanes surged, outshooting the Flyers 15-7 and dominating puck possession. While the Hurricanes generated 11 scoring chances, just two of them were considered high danger, and the Flyers kept them from scoring in the middle frame. The third period saw continued dominance for the Hurricanes in the puck possession department (22-6 shot attempts advantage at five-on-five).
Foerster flashes in debut
In his first NHL game, winger Tyson Foerster received plenty of responsibility from Tortorella, skating on the second line alongside center Noah Cates and left winger Scott Laughton and earning special-teams minutes. He made his presence felt in the first period while on the hunt for his first NHL goal. Eight minutes into the game, Cates warded off pressure in the neutral zone and entered the offensive zone with the puck on his stick.
Laughton received a pass from Cates at the top of the left circle and shot the puck on net, then Foerster tried to jam it home while Kochetkov attempted to stop the loose puck. Late in the second period, Foerster made a crucial block with his leg of a point-blank shot from Svechnikov, who had a wide-open net to score on. In total, Foerster finished the night with two shots on goal and 13:51 of ice time.
What’s next
The Flyers wrap up their road trip on Saturday when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at 3:30 p.m. (ABC/ESPN+).
