Postgame 5: Comebacks Fall Short in 6-4 Loss in Carolina

In the first stop of their three-game southern road trip, the Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-4, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh on Tuesday evening. The Flyers led 1-0, and later bounced back from 3-1 and 4-3 deficits before Carolina went back ahead to stay.

The game appeared to be headed for overtime entering the final minute of play. Carolina pulled out the win with 31 seconds left in regulation. Martin Necas (7th goal of the season) scored the game-winner as he pounced on a loose puck near the net.

After the first period, the puck was in the Flyers zone for most of the final 40 minutes. Carolina finished with 35 shots on goal among a staggering 87 shot attempts (32 missed the net, 20 were blocked). By comparison, the Flyers attempted 36 shots (16 on net, 10 missed, 10 blocked).

In a losing cause, Travis Konecny had a hand in all four Flyers goals, scoring twice and assisting on the other two.

Philadelphia assembled a solid first period, scoring first and doing well in the territorial battles. The game went to intermission tied at 1-1.

The Flyers took a 1-0 lead on a 5-on-3 power play rebound goal by Konecny (PPG, 6th goal of the season). The assists went to Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov. Morgan Frost provided an initial high screen on the Michkov shot.

Carolina rookie Jackson Blake (4th) one-timed home a centering pass from Jack Drury at 14:25 of the first period for a 1-1 tie. The second assist went to Dmitry Orlov. The Flyers' coverage down low broke down on the sequence with Egor Zamula chasing behind the net.

In the second period, Carolina took over the game from a territorial standpoint. The Hurricanes ultimately skated to the second intermission with a 3-2 lead.

On a transition rush (3-on-2 into a mini 2-on-1) Eric Robinson (2nd) elevated a Martin Necas setup to take a 2-1 lead at 8:56 of the middle frame Brent Burns got the second assist.

Just 54 seconds later, it was 3-1 Carolina. Jordan Martinook (1st) extended the lead, assisted by Jaccob Slavin and Burns. Emil Andrae missed a coverage in the sequence. The line of Sean Couturier, Konecny and Owen Tippett and the defense pair of Zamula and Andrew were out for both goals.

Tippett (2nd) got one of the goals back at 13:30, top-shelving a Konecny feed on the Flyers' 13th shot on goal of the game. Couturier, who had a strong shift overall, got the secondary assist.

Finally getting off the goal schneid, Morgan Frost (1st) tied the game at 3-3 at the 1:18 mark of the third period. Travis Sanheim made a great move and dished to Frost, who fanned on the shot but had it trickle over the line after the puck went off his leg. The primary assist went to Sanheim. With a secondary assist, Konecny picked up his third point of the game.

Jack Roslovic (7th) quickly restored the lead at the 1:47 mark of the third period. After a tremendous save on Sebastian Aho, the bounce went Carolina's way. The assists went to Svechnikov and Aho.

Philly drew even again in the final stanza, making it 4-4 at 9:17. Konecny forced a turnover and then re-directed a Couturier feed for his second goal of the game (7th of the season) and his fourth point. Couturier earned the lone assist.

Necas's goal in the final 31 seconds was supplemented by a Seth Jarvis empty net goal (4th) with less than two seconds remaining on the clock.

Aleksei Kolosov stopped 29 of 34 shots in absorbing the loss. Pyotr Kochetkov earned the victory with 12 saves on just 16 shots.

The Flyers went 1-for-3 on the power play. They were 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

71 Tyson Foerster - 14 Sean Couturier - 39 Matvei Michkov
74 Owen Tippett - 48 Morgan Frost - 11 Travis Konecny
86 Joel Farabee - 21 Scott Laughton - 10 Bobby Brink
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 27 Noah Cates - 19 Garnet Hathaway

6 Travis Sanheim - 9 Jamie Drysdale
24 Nick Seeler - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
36 Emil Andrae - 5 Egor Zamula

35 Aleksei Kolosov
[82 Ivan Fedotov]

PP1: Drysdale, Tippett, Frost, Konecny, Michkov
PP2: Andrae, Foerster, Couturier, Farabee, Brink

Scratches: 77 Erik Johnson (DND), 25 Ryan Poehling (personal reasons), 33 Samuel Ersson (lower body), 8 Cam York (IR, upper body).

TURNING POINT

On the sequence that led up the game winning goal, the Flyers got hemmed in their own end of the ice (as happened often in the latter 40 minutes of the game). The puck was loose after a Jesperi Kotkaniemi shot was stopped by Kolosov. However, Travis Sanheim's clearing attempt went to goal-scorer Necas near the net.

POSTGAME 5

1) Foerster had a scoring chance on the game's first shift, and Kochetkov lost his stick. The Flyers maintained forechecking pressure but were unable to score. On the next shift, Carolina pinned the Laughton line in the defensive zone.

2) The Flyers received the game's first power play on Andrei Svechnikov tripping penalty at 6:15 and then had a two-man advantage for 1:08 on a Jordan Staal high-sticking penalty. Konecny cashed it in. With play back at 5-on-5, Frost missed the net from point blank range. Late in the period, Tippett had a scoring chance near the net on a Couturier feed. Michkov made a nice move in the final minute of the opening frame. Shots on goal were 10-8 Flyers with four by Tippett.

3) Couturier and Frost swapped wingers entering the second period. At the other end of the ice, Kolosov made four saves over the first six minutes. Andrae came within a whisker of a goal on a shot that went off Kochetkov's shoulder. The fourth line got hemmed in the defensive zone off a sloppy change.

4) After the back-to-back Carolina goals in the second period, Frost had another near-miss chance (again missing the net). Tippett brought the Flyers back within 3-2 and then Carolina went the power play on a Couturier tripping minor at the 16:06 mark. The Flyers killed it off. Second period shots on goal were 13-3 Canes (21-13 Carolina through two periods). Through 40 minutes, Sanheim was credited with four takeaways, four hits and two blocks.

5) Defense partners shuffled around a bit for the Flyers in the third period. Ristolainen was paired with Drysdale. Through eight minutes, shots on goal were tied at 3-3 but Konecny's second tally of the game made it 4-4 on the scoreboard by the midpoint. A Farabee turnover and a Carolina shot off the net provided some nervous moments but the score remained 4-4. A short-lived Flyers power play, spent defending rather than attacking for 16 seconds resulted in an Andrae holding penalty at 13:58.