Hurricanes defeat Flyers in Game 3, on verge of Eastern Conference Final

PHILADELPHIA -- Jordan Staal and Andrei Svechnikov each had a goal and an assist for the Carolina Hurricanes, who are on the verge of advancing to the Eastern Conference Final following a 4-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3 of the second round at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday.

The Hurricanes, who have yet to lose in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (7-0), lead 3-0 in the best-of-7 series. Game 4 will be here on Saturday (6 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).

"It's been a great start to the series," Staal said. "We've played the way we've wanted to play. It's part of our whole identity as a group and we want to continue to build on that."

Jalen Chatfield and Nikolaj Ehlers also scored for Carolina, which is the No. 1 seed from the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. Shayne Gostisbehere and Jordan Martinook each had two assists, and Frederik Andersen made 18 saves.

Trevor Zegras scored for Philadelphia, which is the No. 3 seed from the Metropolitan Division. Dan Vladar made 26 saves.

"We just can't worry about anything else other than winning one hockey game," Philadelphia forward Christian Dvorak said. "You win one and then the pressure starts to flip. We know we have it in this room. We're not going to quit. We're going to bring our best effort and just do what we can Saturday."

Staal gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 17:27 of the first period. Svechnikov's shot from the right circle hit Travis Sanheim and went wide of the net, but the puck caromed off the end boards back out front, where Staal knocked it under Vladar's glove.

It was the first power-play goal in the playoffs for Carolina's captain since June 3, 2021. It was also his first multipoint playoff performance since May 9, 2023.

"Everybody looks at the score sheet to judge people for the most part, but that's not how he impacts us on a nightly basis," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Tonight he did. He does everything for this team. It's nice that he gets on the score sheet and we can talk about him, but it's pretty much every night."

Zegras tied the game 1-1 at 2:31 of the second period. Porter Martone's shot from high in the zone hit off Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae in front and deflected to Zegras, who was able to chip a shot over Andersen's glove with his forehand from the bottom of the right circle.

Chatfield put the Hurricanes back ahead 2-1 with a short-handed goal at 15:59. The Flyers won an offensive-zone face-off to start a power play, but Martinook dove to knock the puck away from Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale at the left point. Staal then jumped on the loose puck and started an odd-man rush before sending a backhand feed across to Chatfield, who roofed a shot under the crossbar.

"Just saw a lot of open space and I just jumped up and it was unbelievable," Chatfield said. "Just had to shoot the puck. That's it."

Svechnikov made it 3-1 at 3:52 of the third period, one-timing a cross-ice pass from Sebastian Aho in the right circle during a 4-on-3 power play.

"We had a great first, and then it was all power play and penalty kills," Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. "We took nine penalties. ... I thought we were the better team, and then the power plays and penalties. That's two games in a row just a penalty fest (Philadelphia was short-handed six times in a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 2 on Monday). We're not equipped for that."

Carolina finished the game 2-for-9 on the power play. Philadelphia was 0-for-5, including generating just one shot on goal during a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:15 late in the second when trailing 2-1.

"Obviously, it was a big moment of the game," Dvorak said. "Would have been nice to create a little bit more and worst case get some momentum."

Ehlers scored on a breakaway to extend the lead to 4-1 at 7:08 of the third.

The Hurricanes are now one win away from reaching the conference final for the third time in four seasons, though they understand just how much work remains.

"It's just how we've been approaching every game since the start of the playoffs," Staal said. "It's a brand new challenge. The fourth one is always the hardest to win, and no one wants to go home. It's going to be another brand new challenge, brand new start and we're going to have to find ways to win the game."

NOTES: The Hurricanes are the 13th team in NHL history to begin a postseason with seven straight wins. The last team to do so was the New York Rangers in 2024. ... Svechnikov's assist on Staal's goal was his 50th playoff point. ... Andersen is the 12th goalie in NHL history, and the second born outside North America (Igor Shesterkin), to start the playoffs on a seven-game winning streak. ... Carolina forward Taylor Hall had his point streak end at six games (three goals, six assists). ... It was the first time the Flyers had hosted a second-round playoff game since Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2012.