Flyers ‘spanked' by Hurricanes in 3rd period of 4-1 loss

Flyers ‘spanked’ by Hurricanes in 3rd period of 4-1 loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers endured a brutal third period Wednesday night as the Hurricanes handed them a 4-1 loss at the Wells Fargo Center.

Carolina ripped off three goals in the opening seven minutes of the final stanza to take complete control of the game. The Flyers were outshot 17-4 in the third period.

“They spanked us in the third,” John Tortorella said.

Ryan Poehling scored his first goal of the season on a sneaky shot in the second period to draw the Flyers even at 1-1.

But the Hurricanes regained their lead only 1:03 minutes into the third period. Owen Tippett was a little too cute in the defensive zone with a pass to Erik Johnson, which led to a turnover and Sebastian Aho scoring an unassisted goal.

“He puts E.J. in a tough spot,” Tortorella said, “but we have people running away from the puck, too, we have no puck support.”

Aho’s shot squeezed through Ivan Fedotov.

“He made some really good saves tonight — I’d like to see a save there,” Tortorella said.

The Flyers (8-10-2) have dropped two in a row after winning a season-best three straight. Tortorella’s club is 1-2-0 on its five-game homestand. The other loss was a 3-2 decision two days ago to the Avalanche, a defeat that left Tortorella aggravated.

Rod Brind’Amour’s Hurricanes (14-4-0) are 2-0-0 against the Flyers this season. The clubs meet once more March 15 back in Philadelphia.

“They just play fast, I think they’re all connected,” Poehling said. … “They make you work for everything you get and I think that’s why they’re such a good team.”

With a system predicated on constant pressure and speed, Carolina has been a perennial contender under Brind’Amour. Is it a blueprint for the Flyers?

“We’re playing basically the same style, checking forward and all that,” Tortorella said at morning skate. “I’m not sure how Roddy teaches it, but we want to press, we want to check forward, we want to take chances. I think it looks similar. I don’t think we’re as fast, I think they’re a bit deeper team than we are, but that is going to be the blueprint. As long as I have the opportunity to coach this team, that is going to be the blueprint.

“I think it’s important to have that blueprint for management as we start drafting players toward that, too. The style of play is a very important thing. It gives management and scouts the opportunity to kind of zero in on what type of players we’re looking for.”

• Through 20 games, the Flyers have scored 2.70 goals per game and surrendered 3.50.

Last season, they were 10-9-1 in their first 20 games, scoring 3.15 goals per game and giving up 2.90.

They have not consistently been hard to play against this season. Not nearly enough.

• Fedotov converted 33 saves on 37 shots.

Jordan Staal and Jack Roslovic put the Hurricanes firmly in the driver’s seat with goals in a 55-second span of the third period, turning a 2-1 game into a 4-1 stranglehold for Carolina.

“The thing that bothers me the most and I think it’s the biggest correction we have to make is we have to manage the puck better in the neutral zone,” Tortorella said. “That team there wins so many sword fights in the neutral zone, the 50-50s, they have such good sticks.

“The turnovers are what bother me. We spent a lot of time talking about it before the game, that we’re going to have to be clean through the neutral zone. We are not good enough, we are not good enough to play that type of game — trying to beat people. We need to bring support over, make simple, little plays. If we have no play, we need to get it in.”

The Hurricanes first cracked Fedotov only 30 seconds into the game when Jalen Chatfield fired a shot through all kinds of traffic.

The 6-foot-7 netminder had an acrobatic finish to the second period as he made a sprawling save with 12 seconds left to keep the game tied at 1-1. But Carolina took over in the third period and Fedotov was not sharp.

He came in 3-0-0 with a 2.22 goals-against average and .918 save percentage over his last three starts. In his three starts prior to that, he went 0-3-0 with a 5.35 goals-against average and .821 save percentage.

Samuel Ersson, day to day with a lower-body injury, missed his sixth game of the season and fourth in a row.

Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov entered 3-1-0 with a 2.02 goals-against average and .909 save percentage lifetime against the Flyers. The 25-year-old stopped 18 of the Flyers’ 19 shots Wednesday night.

• Scott Laughton played only 8:25 minutes. He had a turnover on the first shift of the game that allowed Carolina to get back to work in the offensive zone for the game-opening goal.

“We were talking about playing forward, playing straight ahead. Laughts turns it over, first shift of the game,” Tortorella said. “I need him to lead the way in what we’re trying to do against a good team like that. And it’s not just that one, there were a couple of others within his game.

“I can’t have a Scotty Laughton just turn one over on the first shift after we just spent the whole meeting talking about it.”

• Cam York (upper body), Jamie Drysdale (upper body) and Emil Andrae (mid body) took part in the team’s optional morning skate. All three defensemen are considered day to day.

York, who has been practicing and skating in full, has missed the last 13 games. Drysdale has been practicing in non-contact fashion and has missed the last five games. Andrae has missed the last two games.

“It’s difficult when you’re banged up like we are,” Travis Sanheim said after morning skate. “A lot of new faces, different partners and playing with different partners in games. I think we’ve done a pretty good job with how banged up we are, with the guys stepping in. … It’s nice to see that we have the depth and the ability for guys to be able to step in and play right away. Hopefully we can get some of these guys back here in the near future.”

• The Flyers are scheduled to practice Friday at 11 a.m. ET before welcoming the Blackhawks on Saturday (1 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

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