POSTGAME 5: Flyers Fall 0.3 Seconds Short of Victory

The Philadelphia Flyers suffered a wild 5-4 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday evening after being less than a half-second away from winning, 4-3, in regulation. Carolina tied the game with 0.3 second left on the regulation clock and then Sebastian Aho completed a hat trick with the game winner on the first shift of overtime. It was a highly entertaining game with a crushing finish for the Flyers.

Carolina built a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Sebastian Aho (28th) at 14:52 and Brady Skjei (15th) at 16:51. At 4:51 of the second period, Tyson Foerster (1st NHL goal) narrowed the deficit to 2-1.After Aho (2nd of the game, 29th of the season) scored on a delayed Flyers penalty, Noah Cates potted a 5-on-3 power play goal (11th) at the other end to send the game to the third period with the Flyers' deficit reduced to 3-2.At 3:33 of the third period, Joel Farabee (11th of the season) tied the score at 3-3. Philly took a lead for the first time at 5:50 as Brendan Lemieux (2nd) scored into a gaping net off a goalie turnover behind the cage.
Martin Necas (27th) beat the buzzer with his power play goal (27th) at 19:59.7 of the third period. Aho then scored off the rush at 0:28 of sudden death (third of the game, 30th of the season) to end the game.
Felix Sandström remains stuck on just one win this season. On Saturday, he stopped 29 of 34 shots in a losing cause. Frederik Andersen was the winning goalie, making 29 saves of 33 shots.
The Flyers went 1-for-4 on the power play. The Hurricanes were 1-for-1.
FLYERS STARTING LINEUP
21 Scott Laughton - 49 Noah Cates - 74 Owen Tippett
86 Joel Farabee - 48 Morgan Frost - 52 Tyson Foerster
25 James van Riemsdyk - 13 Kevin Hayes - 22 Brendan Lemieux
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 58 Tanner Laczynski - 57 Wade Allison
9 Ivan Provorov - 45 Cam York
6 Travis Sanheim - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
24 Nick Seeler - 77 Tony DeAngelo
32 Felix Sandström
[79 Carter Hart]
TURNING POINT
The Farabee rebound goal and Lemieux go-ahead tallies put the Flyers in the driver's seat. After the Necas tying goal in the final 3/10 second, the game was decided in OT.
Jordan Staal won the center ice faceoff against Laughton. At the 28-second mark, after Aho put the puck through DeAngelo's legs and went around him on the rush, the Finnish forward completed his hat trick and ended the game.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) Shots on goal through the first 6:13 of the game were 4-3 Carolina. Lemeux was set up for a point blank chance by JVR at :2:30. Sandström erased a scoring opportunity after a Ristolainen.At 4t 4:50, Laughton dropped a pass to DeAngelo for a chance from the slot.
Starting from the defensive zone, Foerster flipped a pass ahead to Frost. Battling a bouncing puck all the way to the net, Frost was stopped by Andersen's right pad. Shots on goal midway through the period were 6-4 Flyers.
At 14:01, Jalen Chatfield pinched in untouched from the right point. The Flyers caught a break as his shot drew iron. A stoppage ensued as the puck went out of play. Shots on goal were 6-6.
The Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead at 14:52. Carolina applied forechecking pressure and the Flyers were unable to get organized in their end zone. Provorov was on the right side around the circle. Cates moved down low to help out York behind the net. There was no one in front defensively to support near the net. From the slot, Aho took a pass from Martin Necas and beat Sandström from prime range. The assists went to Necas and Brady Skjei
At 15:32, Frost gained the offensive zone with speed and fired a shot on net using the defender as a screen. Andersen was handcuffed but fought off enough of the shot for the save,. At the other end of the ice, Sandström stopped Jesse Puljujärvi from a tight angle.
Carolina made it 2-0 at 16:51. Allison attempted to clear the puck up the boards, but Skjei held it in. From the top of the circle, Skjei put a shot on net that beat Sandström over the glove to the far side. The goal was unassisted. The Flyers' goalie may have been partially screened but it was a save that needed to be made.
Seeler broke up a developing Carolina scoring chance and Cates made a second defensive stop to keep the Hurricanes at bay.
In the last minute of the period, Lemieux turned over the puck going up the middle with a pass into the neutral zone.
2) First period shots on goal were 12-8 Carolina. Shot attempts were 26-12 Carolina. Scoring chances were 12-8 Hurricanes. High-danger chances were 5-3 Carolina. Faceoffs were 13-11 Carolina. The Flyers were charged with nine giveaways and the Hurricanes credited with two takeaways as Philly was guilty of 11 turnovers. Philly repeatedly tried to make stretch passes in the period. They had some early success in connecting but it didn't work too well as the period progressed.
3) Cates was stopped on a wraparound and a followup stuff-in attempt on the opening shift of the second period. Tortorella made a line change with Farabee ou with the Cates line, Lemieux taking the next shift with the Frost line and Laughton with the Hayes line.
Tippett ripped a shot on net from the right dot at 4:32.
The Flyers cut the deficit to 2-1 at 4:56. Frost and Foerster attacked the zone in transition. Frost sent a pass to Foerster on a give-and-go. Foerster elected to shoot, firing low and beating Andersen just above the pad for his first NHL goal. Frost and Lemieux drew the helpers.
Through 10:42, the Flyers had a 5-1 lead in shots on goal. Shortly before an icing, Tippett had promising-looking rush but was knocked down by Skjei.
Sanheim turned puck over near the defensive blueline. Sadndström stopped Seth Jarvis. At the other end of the ice. Tippett had another prime chance as he powered the puck to the net.
Exiting the defensive zone to go off on a line change, Tippett needlessly tripped a Cane and was called for a delayed penalty. However, the Canes scored on the delayed penalty. Aho skated down the slot and had time and space to beat Sandström at 13:55. The assists went to Stefan Noesen and Shayne Gostisbehere.
The Flyers went on the game's first power play at 16:37. Kotkanemi tripped Ristolainen as the Philadelphia defenseman went back in the D zone to pursue the puck. On the man advantage, Foerster had a good chance from the left circle after a clean entry on the other side. With 31 seconds left, after a PP2 entry (Frost), DeAngelo was tripped by Skjei for a two-man advantage.
Philly cashed in at 18:16. From down low, Tippett passed to Foerster in the slot. Andersen made the stop, but Cates knocked it home in front to make it a 3-2 game. The assists went to Foerster and Tippett. As 5-on-4 play commenced, Frost sliced through the defense on an entry and created a scramble as Andersen made saves on Frost and JVR.
4) Second period shots on goal were 13-5 Flyers, who really had their feet moving in this frame. Shot attempts were 17-11 Flyers. Scoring chances were 13-4 Flyers, with a 4-1 high danger edge to Philly.
5) Sanheim made a nice-looking rush with the puck on the first shift of the third period, Shots were 3-2 Flyers through the first 3:02,
The Flyers knotted the score at 3-3 at 3:33. Tippett fired a shot from the right side and Farabee banged home the rebound from the doorstep. He now has goals in back-to-back games after a 26-game drought. The assists went to Tippett and Cates.
On the next shift, Frost created a shot on goal for himself. Andersen made the stop and also denied Lemieux on a long rebound. They didn't miss on their next chance.
Foerster dumped the puck in deep and Andersen turned it over to Frost. A centering pass later to an open Lemieux, the play was finished off into an open net, Frost drew the lone assist as Philly took a 4-3 lead at 5:50.
Sandström stopped Kotkaniemi on a rush attempt. Seeler then hit Kotkaniemi in the corner. Kotkaniemi retaliated with a slash, but no penalty was called. At the other end, Frost fired wide of the net on a give-and-go with JVR. The teams continued to trade chances. Through 11:30, shots were 9-5 Flyers.
The Hurricanes generated a scramble around the Flyers net. Kotkaniemi cross-checked DeAngelo to the ice and received a minor penalty at 12:38. As the penalty expired, York threaded a shot through on net. Tippett was unable to score on a rebound from a tight angle.
Philly went back to the power play at 14:54 as Ago was called for a defensive zone hooking penalty. The Flyers were unable to extend the lead.
At 17:44, Sandström cut down the angle and denied a shot by Jarvis, The Hurricanes called timeout and pulled Andersen for a 6-on-5 attack. Necas was stopped from the left circle. There was a massive scramble near the net, but Sandström found the puck and covered it with 1:51 left on the clock. Provorov blocked a shot and iced the puck with 49.1 seconds remaining.
At 19:53, Laughton was called for holding in the neutral zone. The Hurricanes' Staal won the draw against Cates. Sandström made a save on Gostisbehere. Ristolainen blocked another attempt by Gostisbehere. With 0.3 second left on the clock, Necas scored on a buzzer beater to force overtime.
Third period shots on goal were 17-11 Carolina. Shot attempts were 29-16 Carolina. Scoring chances were 13-12 Carolina with a 6-5 high-danger edge to the Hurricanes. Through regulation, faceoffs were 35-31 Carolina.