Flyers close in on playoff berth with win against Hurricanes

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Flyers moved closer to a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday.

The Flyers (41-26-14), who hold the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference, would have clinched with a win and a Florida Panthers loss, but Florida defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2.
WATCH: [All Hurricanes vs. Flyers highlights]
Philadelphia can qualify for the postseason with one point in its final game of the regular season, at home against the New York Rangers on Saturday.
"We had a lot of ups and downs this year, but we never gave up," said forward Jakub Voracek, who scored the game-winner with 5:45 remaining in the third period. "I don't think anybody expected us to get into the playoffs after [a 10-game losing streak in November], but we battled back. It's in our hands for Saturday. It's a great thing."
Voracek won it with a shot off the rush from the right side that went over Darling's left shoulder.
"I didn't see it go in, to be honest," Voracek said. "Just tried to get it at the net."
Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist, Michael Raffl and Ivan Provorov scored, and Sean Couturier and Shayne Gostisbehere each had two assists for Philadelphia. Brian Elliott made 19 saves in his first game since Feb. 10.

"It's almost like opening night jitters again, get back into it," said Elliott, who had core muscle surgery Feb. 13. "After the first period, I felt like I settled in there a little bit. … It's always tough coming back. It's always hard to replicate a game in practice. You do things, you're out of breath more than in practice. It's awesome to get a win out of it."
Klas Dahlbeck, Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal scored, and Scott Darling made 30 saves for Carolina (35-35-11).

"They were doing everything to get that win," Aho said. "I think we weren't quite there. We didn't have the same level."
The Flyers took a 3-2 lead on Giroux's goal at 10:18 of the third. He has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) during a nine-game point streak and passed Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning for second in the NHL scoring race with 99 points (31 goals, 68 assists), seven behind Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers. Fans were chanting "M-V-P," but Giroux said he didn't hear it.
"I think everyone is doing their job, everybody is doing what they're best at," Giroux said. "When everybody does that, we get wins. We're all on the same page here, guys want to play for each other. As nerve-wracking as the game was tonight, we had a great time doing it."
Staal tied the game 3-3 when his shot from a sharp angle found space between Elliott's right pad and the post at 13:41 of the third.
But the Hurricanes had three shots on goal during the final 6:19.
"I don't think we moved the puck all that well, especially early," Carolina coach Bill Peters said. "We made it hard on ourselves."
Dahlbeck gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 13:45 of the first period.
Raffl scored on a loose puck in front to tie it 1-1 at 14:38 of the first, but Aho chipped a backhand shot over Elliott's right shoulder at 14:52 to put Carolina ahead 2-1.

Provorov tied it 2-2 at 14:56 of the second period when he jammed a centering pass from Couturier under Darling.

Goal of the game

Voracek's goal at 14:15 of the third period.

Save of the game

Elliott stopping Jeff Skinner at 12:28 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Giroux's goal at 10:18 of the third period.

They said it

"Looked slow, looked like we didn't want to be out there. They looked real good out there, and we made them look good. But [goaltender Scott Darling] played good, and we had a chance at the end." -- Hurricanes forward Elias Lindholm
"This is what you play for all year long. I worked really hard. I rehabbed a lot and tried to get back. Luckily, the guys pulled it out there at the end for me." -- Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott

Need to know

Hurricanes forward Derek Ryan had an assist on Dahlbeck's goal to give him eight points (two goals, six assists) during a six-game point streak. … Before the game, Giroux was presented the Bobby Clarke Award as Flyers MVP, Gostisbehere was awarded the Barry Ashbee Trophy as best defenseman, and Couturier was given the Pelle Lindbergh Award for most improved player. … Gostisbehere has 64 points (13 goals, 51 assists), the most by a Flyers defenseman since Garry Galley had 70 in 1993-94.

What's next

Hurricanes: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, SUN, NHL.TV)
Flyers: Host the New York Rangers on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, NHL.TV)