The Philadelphia Flyers’ backs are against the wall as they enter Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals tonight with a 3-0 series deficit to the Carolina Hurricanes. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00pm ET.
The Flyers are coming off a penalty-ridden 4-1 loss in Game 3 on home ice. After a strong start and responding to Jordan Staal’s opening power play goal with a Trevor Zegras tally on a delayed penalty, the officials really began calling everything in sight and thus began a special teams battle, which the Flyers were not victorious in. The Hurricanes scored twice on the power play and once shorthanded while the Flyers squandered all five of their power plays, which featured a 5-on-3 for 1:15 late in the second period that saw only one shot on goal.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers have battled hard throughout the first three games of this series but have succumbed to a poor power play and Carolina’s overall talent so far. A tough 3-0 loss in Game 1 led to a solid rebound in Game 2, where the Flyers led 2-0 early and had plenty of quality scoring chances in overtime before the Hurricanes eventually won, 3-2. Game 3 saw the Flyers host their first second round game since 2012 and it was a parade to the penalty box for both teams. Carolina converted on two of their nine power plays while the Flyers went 0-for-5 in a brutal 4-1 loss.
Owen Tippett remains out of the lineup injured, according to head coach Rick Tocchet. Tippett has not appeared in this series and the Flyers are desperately missing his speed and shot against a quick Hurricanes club. The rest of the lineup has yet to be determined.
“We’re still discussing it now. We’re trying to think of the best lineup,” said Tocchet this morning.
The Flyers’ crutch in this series has obviously been the power play. Throughout the playoffs, Philadelphia is operating at 9.1% on the power play, the worst percentage of any remaining playoff team. In this series, they are 1-for-16 (6.25%). If the Flyers want any chance at forcing a Game 5, 5v5 play is where this contest needs to be played. Carolina’s power play is just 3-for-19 in the series but if they get enough opportunities, they will burn you, as evidenced by their two power play goals on Thursday.
The Flyers came out of the gate with another strong start on Thursday. Travis Konecny hit the post behind Frederik Andersen just a minute into the game. They kept the momentum up and Porter Martone and Alex Bump had a great 2-on-1 opportunity that was shut down by Andersen, their best chance of the period. The Flyers will need to finish off these plays if they want to win, however. Andersen has been a monster in goal for Carolina and the Hurricanes don’t give you much space to work with, so entering the zone with poise and captalizing on scoring chances will be paramount for the Flyers in scoring goals and winning this game.
Dan Vladař is expected to start again for Philadelphia. The Flyers’ rock in goal all season long, Vladař owns a .896 SV% and 3.09 GAA in this series. He has done all he can to keep the Flyers alive, and they’ll need another strong performance from him to send this series back to Raleigh.
Carolina Hurricanes
The aforementioned Andersen has been dynamite for the Hurricanes throughout the playoffs. He is 7-0 with a .957 SV%, 1.02 GAA, and 2 shutouts. In this series he is 3-0 with a .959 SV%, 0.91 GAA, and 1 shutout. Andersen has only seen 19 shots each in the two games that didn’t go to overtime in this series. Philadelphia will need to find a way to be more aggressive and get more pucks on net to really test the best goaltender in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs so far.
The Taylor Hall-Logan Stankoven-Jackson Blake line was finally held off the scoresheet on Thursday, which is a step in the right direction for the Flyers. However, Carolina will come at you in waves with how deep they’re built offensively. When the Hurricanes weren’t scoring on special teams, their third line was the one that nailed the Flyers at even strength in Game 3 thanks to Nikolaj Ehlers on a breakaway of all chances. The Flyers need to make sure to keep all four Hurricanes lines in check and take control of the neutral zone in this game.
Carolina’s defense has stifled the Flyers at both ends of the ice. When they’re not busy shutting down zone entries, blocking shots, and forcing pucks away from the net, they’re contributing offensively as well. The Hurricanes defense has put up 1 goal and 7 assists in this series. Among D-pairs that have played at least 50 minutes together in the playoffs, Carolina’s third pair of Alexander Nikishin and old friend Shayne Gostisbehere have the second-best Expected Goals Percentage at 63.3 and best Expected Goals For Per 60 Minutes at 3.97, per MoneyPuck. Three Carolina defensemen have multiple points in this series as well (Gostisbehere, K’Andre Miller, Mike Reilly).
When: 6pm/ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena; Philadelphia, PA
Watch: TNT, TruTV, HBO Max
Series: 3-0, Carolina Hurricanes
Injury Report: Philadelphia Flyers
- Noah Cates (lower-body)
- Nikita Grebenkin (upper-body)
- Owen Tippett (undisclosed)
- Rodrigo Ābols (ankle)
Injury Report: Carolina Hurricanes
Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
#71 Tyson Foerster – #22 Christian Dvorak – #11 Travis Konecny
#20 Alex Bump – #46 Trevor Zegras – #94 Porter Martone
#91 Carl Grundström – #52 Denver Barkey – #17 Jett Luchanko
#41 Luke Glendening – #14 Sean Couturier – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#6 Travis Sanheim – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#8 Cam York – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#24 Nick Seeler – #59 Oliver Bonk
#80 Dan Vladař
(#33 Sam Ersson)
Projected Lineup: Carolina Hurricanes
#37 Andrei Svechnikov – #20 Sebastian Aho – #24 Seth Jarvis
#71 Taylor Hall – #22 Logan Stankoven – #53 Jackson Blake
#27 Nikolaj Ehlers – #11 Jordan Staal – #48 Jordan Martinook
#28 William Carrier – #77 Mark Jankowski – #50 Eric Robinson
#74 Jaccob Slavin – #5 Jalen Chatfield
#19 K’Andre Miller – #26 Sean Walker
#21 Alexander Nikishin – #4 Shayne Gostisbehere
#31 Frederik Andersen
(#32 Brandon Bussi)
