The Carolina Hurricanes keep on winning playoff games.
The Canes made it seven straight Thursday, taking a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
The Hurricanes, who swept the Ottawa Senators in four games to start the playoffs, will look to close out the Flyers in Game 4 on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
Goaltender Frederik Andersen continued his torrid run for the Canes, winning for the seventh time, and special teams were the difference, as they often are in the playoffs.
Canes captain Jordan Staal had a power-play goal in the first period for a 1-0 lead, and winger Andrei Svechnikov scored a 4-on-3 power-play goal in the third - his first of the playoffs. Then there was defenseman Jalen Chatfield, whose shorthanded goal in the second period pushed the Canes in front 2-1 and was the winning goal.
“Shorthanded goals are massive, especially in the playoffs,” Staal said.
Chatfield became the third defenseman in franchise history to score shorthanded in the playoffs. The other two: Brendan Smith in 2022, and Mike Commodore in the 2006 run to the Stanley Cup.
The Canes, protecting a one-goal lead late in the second period, killed off a 5-on-3 power play by the Flyers, allowing one shot. The Flyers were 0-for-5 on the power play in the game.
Winger Nikolaj Ehlers made it a 4-1 Canes lead with an even-strength goal seven minutes into the third, quieting the arena. Martinook picked up his second assist on the play - defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere also had two assists, both on the power-play goals.
“It wasn’t the prettiest of games for anyone, but that’s kind of been our calling card all year.,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Whichever way the game kind of goes, we’ve been able to adapt to it and figure it out.”
Trevor Zegras had the Flyers’ goal in the second period, tying the score 1-1.
The Flyers again played without injured forward Owen Tippett and will be without injured Noah Cates the remainder of the series. The Hurricanes, in turn, had defenseman Alexander Nikishin return to the lineup after his concussion in Game 4 against Ottawa.
There was some chippiness that surfaced late in the second period, and the Canes ended up with the better of it.
Taylor Hall began it with a hit on Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim along the boards that left Sanheim down on the ice. It and the Flyers players incensed at Hall. It was first called a five-minute major penalty, but after a lengthy review reduced to a two-minute boarding call.
The Flyers went to the power play, but it took the Canes 11 seconds to strike shorthanded. After a faceoff in the Canes zone, Jordan Martinook dived near the wall to knock the puck to Staal, who was on the move. He backhanded a pass to Chatfield, who buried the shot for his first goal of the playoffs and a 2-1 lead with 4:01 left in the period.
“An unbelievable pass. I just had to shoot the puck,” Chatfield said.
The power play continued and soon was a 5-on-3. When the Canes’ Seth Jarvis was called for high-sticking and the Flyers’ Jamie Drysdale for holding, Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour was highly animated on the bench and picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
“You usually get a warning. I didn’t get a warning,” Brind’Amour said. “We killed it. That’s the key. The guys bailed me out there. I appreciate it.”
The Zegras goal came after a fortunate bounce for the Flyers. Emil Andrae’s shot hit a body in front of the crease, the puck bouncing to Zegras to Andersen’s left and the net open.
The Canes played a solid first period punctuated by Staal’s power-play goal. Staal collected the carom of a Svechnikov shot, the puck bouncing hard off the end boards, to backhand the puck past goalie Dan Vladar.
The Flyers, playing on home ice after two losses in Raleigh, had plenty of jump and every chance to score the first goal, take an early lead.
Travis Konecny was denied by Andersen on an early breakaway. Porter Martone hit the post. Martone then set up Alex Bump on a two-on-none play that had everyone sensing a score, but Andersen anticipated the Martone pass and moved quickly to his left to stop the Bump shot.
Andersen got a big assist from Jaccob Slavin late in the period - the defenseman with another alert play and quick stick as he scooped the puck off the line behind Andersen.
“Five on five we were good. I thought we were the better team,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “Then the power plays and penalties ... That’s two games in a row that it’s a penalty-fest. We’re not equipped for that.”
