Just a few days after eliminating the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Philadelphia Flyers look to kick off their second round series against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at 8:00 PM (EST).
Heading into their series against the Penguins, the Flyers were the overwhelming underdog with the majority of the nation siding with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. More of the same is to be expected against the Hurricanes, considering the fact that they won the Metropolitan Division handily, were the best team in the Eastern Conference, and came second to only the Colorado Avalanche league-wide.
Nevertheless, the Flyers can take some solace in the fact that their 4-game series against the Hurricanes was extremely close, with all 4 games going past regulation. Carolina edged the Flyers in their first meeting after a controversial no-goal call against the latter. They then won back-to-back shootouts on the 13th and 14th of December, before falling in a shootout on April 14th as the Flyers clinched their playoff berth.
Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina is a completely different beast than what the Flyers faced off against with Pittsburgh in the first round. The Hurricanes are known for their puck possession and high volume shooting, on top of having amazing special teams, and a very well balanced offensive attack.
The Hurricanes fielded seven 20-goal scorers, 13 players hit double digit goals, six players reached the 50-point mark, and none of their current crop of players finished with a plus-minus below 0. In fact, the lowest of any player that played in more than 38 games was Andrei Svechnikov’s +1 rating.
In the playoffs, it’s been more of the same, as the Hurricanes took care of business on the defensive end against Ottawa en route to their first round sweep. They outscored the Senators 11-5 as they were paced by their second line of Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall, and Jackson Blake, who combined for 7 goals and 16 points.
Look for Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Nikolaj Ehlers to join the aforementioned trio as they were the Canes’ top-4 scorers on the season. Aho paced the team with 80 points, Ehlers tallied 71 in his first season in Raleigh, Jarvis led the team 32 goals, and Svechnikov was right behind him with 31.
Where the Series Can Shift
Similarly to their first round matchup, the series will hang in the balance for the Flyers with Dan Vladař. The Flyers should have the edge in between the pipes, which can go a long way, as evidenced by his 42-save shutout in their Game 6 clincher that ended as a 1-0 overtime win.
Unfortunately, Carolina doesn’t possess as big of a wild card like Stuart Skinner, but Frederik Andersen isn’t necessarily solid as a rock either.
He did come through with a sensational first round performance, where he posted a .955 SV% and a 1.10 GAA, allowing only 5 goals on 110 shots, which included a double overtime game. However, he posted a wobbly .874 SV% and 3.05 GAA through 35 regular season games and a slightly better .901 SV% over the last two postseasons, including a .895 SV% in 2023-24.
If the Hurricanes have a weakness, it will be in between the pipes, but the 36-year-old carries 89 games of postseason experience with him despite his recent hiccups.
Vladař on the other hand had just two games of experience before the first round. However, he was the key cog in the Flyers securing their first postseason series victory since 2020. He posted a .937 SV% and a 1.61 GAA with 2 shutouts, which was a continuation from his strong regular season.
Vladař went 1-0-1 during their regular season matchups with a .931 SV% and 1.86 GAA, which included the all-important playoff-clinching victory in the Flyers’ penultimate game of the season. If he can hold down the fort, the Flyers stand a much better chance, but it’s a tall task against the high-flying Hurricanes.
Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia won’t blow you away offensively, as evidenced by what we saw against Pittsburgh, but they still possess a lineup that can make you pay, especially at even strength.
The Flyers roll their lines pretty evenly, but what really helped them out down the stretch and into the post-season was their fourth line with Sean Couturier, Luke Glendening, and at times Garnet Hathaway.
The veterans were tasked in shadowing Sidney Crosby and did a relatively good job through the course of the 6-game series. Whether it’s Hathaway or Tyson Foerster on the other wing, look for the fourth line to keep tabs on either the Aho or Stankoven line.
As for where the offense comes from, the Flyers are going to need all hands on deck against Carolina. To their credit, every player chipped in with a point outside of Foerster and Emil Andrae, but they’re going to need more from the likes of Trevor Zegras, Owen Tippett, and Travis Konecny, who combined for 3 goals against the Penguins.
On the plus side, they got a lot of offensive jump from their back-end, which included Rasmus Ristolainen’s team-leading 5 points and Travis Sanheim’s team-high 2 goals. Jamie Drysdale added 3 points along the way and of course Cam York had the overtime winner in Game 6.
While the Hurricanes boast a more veteran-laden team, the Flyers’ focus will come down to the youngsters, primarily Porter Martone and Matvei Michkov. The duo will be tasked in creating offense, especially on the power play, but they’re also going to be dealt tough defensive scenarios playing alongside Christian Dvorak and Noah Cates, respectively.
To their credit, Martone scored the first two game-winning goals of the series and Michkov earned the primary helper on the series clinching goal, however their offensive games were muted for the most part.
Where the Flyers and Hurricanes Differ
Special teams will always be a talking point when discussing the Flyers, as they have to go head-to-head with Carolina’s 4th-ranked power play during the regular season and 11th-ranked penalty kill. The former was kept quiet against Ottawa scoring just 2 goals at a 13.3% clip, but the latter shined as they collectively killed 95.5% of their penalties.
Conversely, the Flyers finished with the most anemic power play at just 15.74% compared to their 22nd-ranked penalty kill at 77.55% during the regular season, but their penalty kill was a much better 84.2% against the Penguins. However, the power play remained worsened to the tune of 11.8%.
It remains to be seen why the Flyers don’t adapt on the power play, but until they do, they will remain a momentum-killing special teams unit. Beyond the lack of face-off wins and inability to enter the offensive zone with pace, they refuse to set up one-timers and their incessant need to balance out their units will forever be a sticking point.
However, every game presents new opportunities, but there’s virtually no chance the Flyers come out on top in this series if the power play remains powerless.
Additionally, watch for the Hurricanes forecheck to be a nuisance for a Flyers team that likes to play along the boards and slowly in their own zone. Carolina comes in waves and their goal is to get as many pucks on net as possible, which leads to a mass amount of rebounds or fortuitous bounces, if they’re not cleanly seen by the goaltender.
On the season, Carolina finished second with 2,637 shots on goal and first in shots against at just 1,961. Conversely, the Flyers finished 28th with 2,088 shots but a far better rank in shots against with just 2,087, which was good for 4th.
The even trade-off between shots for and against continued in the playoffs for the Flyers, who fired 155 shots towards the Penguins’ goal versus 158 shots against. Carolina on the other hand had 135 shots in 4 games versus 110 shots against.
Final Thoughts
It’s going to be a tough battle for both sides, as evidenced by their season series being so tightly contested. However, the Flyers will have to be wary of the Hurricanes’ forecheck and offensive game, which has a tendency to be very annoying to play against.
In their penultimate game of the season, where the Hurricanes rested a set of players, they still forced their will for the first half of the game, before the Flyers finally got on the board and tilted the momentum their way.
With everyone healthy and in the lineup, it’s going to be a different beast altogether, but if they can keep their penalties in check, somehow get on the board with their power play, and continue to get solid goaltending from Vladař, they’ll make this series very interesting.
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