Hurricanes eliminate Flyers from playoff contention

RALEIGH, N.C. --The Philadelphia Flyers were eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention with a 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Saturday.

The Hurricanes (43-28-7) moved within two points of the Pittsburgh Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan Division and maintained their one-point lead for the first wild card in the Eastern Conference, ahead of the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Teuvo Teravainen and Brock McGinn each had a goal and an assist for Carolina.,Petr Mrazek made 30 saves and is 9-2-0 in his past 11 starts.
WATCH: [All Flyers vs. Hurricanes highlights]
"The first two periods were really good," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I wished we were up by another one because it was a little too close for comfort. It was a pretty good game all the way."
Claude Giroux and Oskar Lindblom scored for the Flyers (37-33-8), who are 3-6-0 in their past nine games. Cam Talbot made 27 saves in his first start since March 1.
"The poor start is the reason we're in this position," Giroux said of failing to make the playoffs. "Every year, it feels like it's the same story. We need to figure it out."

The Flyers were 15-22-6 on Jan. 8
"Right now, we're in a position obviously that we're not making the playoffs," said coach Scott Gordon, who replaced Dave Hakstol on Dec. 17. "We've got to find a way to play the game the right way and finish the year out doing the right things."
Giroux gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 12:05 of the first period. After James van Riemsdyk broke up a pass in the Philadelphia defensive zone, Corban Knight carried the puck on a 2-on-1 before feeding Giroux across the slot.
Carolina scored two goals 21 seconds apart to take a 2-1 lead. Teravainen scored on a net-front scramble to tie it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 13:35, and Dougie Hamilton followed Jordan Staal's shot to score inside the right post at 13:56 to make it 2-1.

"A lot of times, it's just trying to get open for the four of them and hoping that they find you," Hamilton said. "A strong part of my game is joining the rush. I pride myself on that."
The Hurricanes allowed 15 shots on goal through two periods.
"The defense did a great job," Mrazek said. "The offensive guys supported them in the (defensive) zone, getting pucks in and out. It makes life easier."
Justin Faulk scored a power-play goal with a one-timer to make it 3-1 at 11:57 of the third period.

Lindblom scored to make it 3-2 at 13:12 with a power-play goal. He chipped the puck at the top of the crease after a short pass from van Riemsdyk.
Mrazek made 16 saves in the third period. He stopped Travis Sanheim with a right-pad save on the back door at 6:36 and made seven saves in the final three minutes.
"Really good, key saves," Hurricanes captain Justin Williams said. "We just seem to expect it. I love our goalies' competitive fire. [Curtis McElhinney] is a little more calm, and Mrazek is a little more fiery, but together they've been phenomenal for us."
Jaccob Slavin scored a shorthanded empty-net goal to make it 4-2 with 1:55 remaining. Brock McGinn made it 5-2 with an empty-net goal with 19 seconds left.
"It's exciting to be in the playoff race, and it's exciting to play meaningful games," Williams said. "This is what we love to do. It's an important game (Sunday against the Penguins) and probably a bigger one the next game after that."

They said it

"When you look at most teams that are in the playoffs, it's two or three goalies, max. How many points were lost just because of that being unsettled? You'd like to think (with) a healthy (Michael Neuvirth and Brian Elliott) from the start of the year to the end, that's a pretty good combo. No one's to blame. That more than anything is the difference in not being in the playoffs."-- Flyers coach Scott Gordon on Philadelphia using eight goalies this season
"On to the next one and try to get as many points as we can. You can't let your foot off the gas until there's an X beside our name. [Pittsburgh] is right in front of us too. You never know what can happen in the standings. We'll see what happens." -- Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton

Need to know

Giroux tied Brind'Amour for 10th on Philadelphia's goals list with 235. ... The Hurricanes scored a power-play goal for the first time in 10 games; they were 0-for-15 in their previous nine. ... Hamilton's 13 goals since Jan. 1 are the most among NHL defensemen. ... Nino Niederreiter assisted on Teravainen's goal to reach 50 points for the second time in the NHL (2016-17, Minnesota Wild).

What's next

Flyers:Host the New York Rangers on Sunday (12:30 p.m. ET; NBC).
Hurricanes:At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; NHLN, ATTSN-PT, FS-CR, NHL.TV)