If the Philadelphia Flyers (8-10-2) had a chance to compete with the Carolina Hurricanes, they would have needed a perfect performance.
John Tortorella knew his lineup had to check and possess the puck more than they did versus the Colorado Avalanche. A glaring indictment of the Flyers in the past two games is their lack of speed. They are not playing with the puck enough, and because of that, Philadelphia is not on their toes. They were on their heels in the neutral zone, not in a position to develop offense.
“We just need to manage the puck better. Against these teams; Colorado [and] Carolina, we got one coming next week in Vegas, we have to manage the puck better. Just too many turnovers.” – John Tortorella; 11/20/2024
Frankly, these were the lessons Tortorella spoke about since the loss to the Avalanche. The Hurricanes are an elite NHL team, and in an NHL Metropolitan Division battle, the Flyers could not make up any ground.
Scott Laughton took the brunt of that. Tortorella benched Laughton in the second period. After the game, Tortorella stated:
“The first shift of the game, we’re talking about playing forward; playing straight ahead. Laughts [Laughton] turns it over [on the] first shift of the game. I need him to lead the way in what we’re trying to do against a good team like that. It’s not just that one, but there were a couple [of] others within his game. That’s the hardest part for me; making sure that the game plan is the game plan and making sure we manage it. If we aren’t sharp enough to manage pucks through neutral zones really against any team, especially how beat up we are in our blue line, we’re going to struggle. It’s protect the injuries we have in our blue line, making sure we get through there. I can’t have a Scotty Laughton just turn one over in the first shift after we just spent the whole meeting talking about it.” – John Tortorella; 11/20/2024
Laughton missed a chunk of time in the first period. Sean Couturier doubled up. In the second period, Philadelphia got back into the game. However, Laughton participated in two more shifts and then sat for the remainder of the period.
First Period
Shots on Goal: 11-10, Flyers
Score: 1-0, Hurricanes
Jalen Chatfield opened the scoring within the first minute. Ivan Fedotov dealt with a lot of traffic from Carolina. The Hurricanes cycled the puck around the boards back to Chatfield. Chatfield shot the puck above the shoulder, stick side, 1-0, with 19:30 remaining in the first period.
Tyson Foerster served a minor penalty for delaying the game. He flipped the puck over the glass. Then, Andrei Svechnikov served a minor penalty for cross-checking. Svechnikov negated the Foerster penalty, simultaneously scheduling an abbreviated Flyers powerplay. There was no damage; Philadelphia finished 1/1 (100%) on the penalty kill and 0/3 (0%) on the powerplay.
Fedotov kept the Flyers in the game with more than a few acrobatic saves in the crease. Svechnikov and Jack Roslovic were in on Fedotov, two-on-zero, but he kept his patience. Pyotr Kochetkov did the same at the opposite end against Anthony Richard.
Travis Sanheim continued to be all over the ice. He was in on the attack and, at times, the last line of defense in front of Fedotov.
Brad Shaw, aware of the number of minutes, did not over-exert Sanheim versus Carolina.
Second Period
Shots on Goal: 20-15, Hurricanes
Score: 1-1
Ryan Poehling entered the offensive zone and put a wrist shot past Kochetkov, 1-1, 17:47 remaining in the second period. Noah Cates forced a takeaway from Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and then Nick Seeler passed to Poehling, completing the scoring play.
Again, Fedotov remained on the money in the second period, turning away every chance since Chatfield scored. He bailed Philadelphia out on a handful of occasions. Garnet Hathaway supported the goaltending effort, checking and blocking shots to help create momentum on the attack.
Joel Farabee and Matvei Michkov were around Kochetkov but did not add another goal. Opposite of the first period, the Flyers were able to get on the scoreboard early and hold off the Hurricanes. The goaltender duel continued. Fedotov kept up with Kochetkov, who ranks among the elite behind Connor Hellebuyck for the most wins in the NHL. Fedotov is developing confidence but needs the puck support in front of him.
Third Period
Shots on Goal: 37-19, Hurricanes
Score: 4-1, Hurricanes
Carolina outshot Philadelphia, 17-4, in the third period.
Erik Johnson failed to clear the defensive zone, and Sebastian Aho took advantage of the turnover. Aho skated in the slot and went five-hole on Fedotov, 2-1, with 18:57 remaining in the third period.
In the defensive zone, Jordan Staal won the faceoff. Chatfield moved the puck to Dmitry Orlov along the blue line. Orlov took the shot, and it deflected off the skate of Staal, 3-1, with 13:58 remaining in the third period.
Aho stripped Poehling in the neutral zone and then gained the entry. Aho did not put much on the shot, gathered near Seeler by Roslovic. Roslovic lifted the puck over Fedotov, 4-1, with 13:03 remaining in the third period.
How much the Flyers were on their heels in the third period could not be stressed enough. Everything Tortorella stressed regarding puck management and playing forward proved to negotiate the loss. These are two reasons why Philadelphia is 3-6-2 versus the top half of the NHL and 5-4-0 versus the bottom half of the NHL. There is much room for improvement on both sides of the coin.
Up Next
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, November 23rd, at 1:00pm/ET.
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