Flyers' narrowed focus didn't help in season-ending setbacks

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

Ahead of Game 4 on Saturday night, the first question Flyers winger Travis Konecny faced from assembled media was based on a quote the previous day from goaltender Dan Vladar, regarding how they can properly focus when facing elimination.

Vladar reportedly said, according to the writer who posed the question, “win the first five minutes, win the first period, win the second period” as a key to asserting control against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Here’s the problem as the Orange and Black stared into the abyss: they already *did* that. And still lost.

They owned the first five minutes of Game 2 in Raleigh on Monday night, scoring twice within 39 seconds. Even after giving up a power-play goal, they won the first period, headed to intermission with a 2-1 lead. They also won the second period, holding the hosts off the scoreboard. They still lost, 3-2 in overtime.

With the home crowd fully behind them on Thursday night back in Philadelphia, they owned the first five minutes. They owned the first 10 minutes. They even owned the first 15 minutes but “lost” the first period on a Jordan Staal power-play goal. They went on to lose the second period two goals to one and eventually fell by a 4-1 count. 

As for Konecny’s public face, these are apparently just blips on the radar, hiccups on the road to optimal execution.

“I think last game, there was a few breakdowns and obviously (the failure of) special teams,” He said offhandedly. “But, the way the game started, the 5-on-5 play, if we can replicate that start I think we’ll be in a good spot.”

I’m stuck on how any member of the Flyers, front-facing or otherwise, couldn’t fully understand they need to win in ALL aspects of the game – not just at even strength – to take not just the opening 20 minutes, but the whole of Game 4 and beyond. The officiating has been needlessly close-to-the-vest for both sides and was expected to continue this way, so intentionally trying to avoid the zebras’ notice really wasn’t on the table. 

The power play ended 1-for-18 against Carolina, 3-for-35 for the postseason as a whole. The penalty kill is less quantifiable, at 19-for-22 in this series and 35-for-41 overall, however, the failure is in the eye test as the kill has been mired by the near inability of Flyers checkers to match the Hurricanes’ speed and intensity. The chief reason the ‘Canes didn’t score more than 3 on the advantage is due to a high volume of errant or deflected passes.

Also in that pregame session, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet had little to offer about the precipice of season’s end except some tried-and-true cliches.

“The worst thing to think is you’re down 3-0, how do you come back,” Tocchet said. “That’s all negativity. We gotta think positively. I had a good talk with the young guys. They’re excited about playing this game. They should be."

He added another well-worn but hollow maxim: “Somebody told me you can’t climb Mount Everest without getting to the first camp base, right?” 

On Saturday, the Flyers started running up that hill from the puck drop, as they did 48 hours earlier. But the effort wasn’t sustained, again. They didn’t win the first five minutes. When Tyson Foerster recorded his first goal and point of the entire postseason less than 8 minutes in, it was the hosts’ third shot on ‘Canes goalie Frederik Andersen. 

They were ahead, 1-0, after the first period but did they really *win* it, despite an 8-5 shot edge and even territorial advantage? They definitely didn’t win the second period. Outscored 1-0. Outshot 15-4. Worse still, another glaring goose egg in the shots on goal column with a five-forward set during a 40-second 5-on-3 advantage before the midway point of regulation. 

“They had the puck a lot. It was a bend don’t break (situation),” an optimistic Tocchet said when asked if he was proud of the way his club responded with discipline from the Game 3 setback. “I was proud of the way we tried to keep them on the outside and get scoring on our chances.”

Courtesy of TSN.ca

The game was tied heading into the third period, but it might as well have been a Carolina lead, so confident was its pushback all series.

Even after a goalie interference call negated a potential Hurricanes go-ahead score early on, Logan Stankoven one-timed a Taylor Hall pass and the one-goal edge felt like two. Alex Bump broke his playoff cherry 99 seconds later to draw the Flyers even but, again, even a 2-2 tie felt like a Carolina lead. 

Going into overtime, the inevitable felt closer than ever.

Jackson Blake put an end to any questions of the Flyers’ ability to rise from the grave once more, 5 ½ minutes in. It’s exceedingly difficult to win any portion of a playoff game when you can’t possess the puck long enough for sustained attack, or win more than a 5-minute portion of any period, when you rarely score more than one goal at a time during an offensive burst, when outshot 40-17, battered in the battle of total shot attempts, 82-38. 

“This team’s played well for eight months,” said Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour about his 53-win squad. “They didn’t just get hot at the end or just start (in the playoffs). It’s been night in, night out. That’s the biggest takeaway for me.”

And about Konecny’s supposed confidence in their 5-on-5 play, how ‘bout this red flag: shot totals 37-15 in favor of the Hurricanes.

However, if you’re gonna lose, may as well make it memorable and historical. 

Saturday’s Game 4 loss was the Flyers’ first playoff series-and-season-ender decided at home and beyond regulation since 2002 when they absorbed a 5-game Eastern quarterfinal loss to Ottawa. They hadn’t suffered a season-ending loss in a sweep as the host since dropping the last of 3 straight defeats to the Washington Capitals in April, 1984.

It had been almost 50 years since an opponent finished off a 4-game sweep in Philadelphia – that honor falling to the Montreal Canadiens who won the first of 4 consecutive Cups here on May 16, 1976.

In the offseason, the focus for Tocchet and his coaching staff, as well as the Flyers’ front office, has to run both narrow and wide. The problems across the board exposed in defeat are obvious; the solutions yet to be determined. Part of the price of optimism of what may be in the coming years, is the cautiousness of believing they will be addressed to satisfaction. 

"It's a great experience, but it's something that you have to do year after year now," Flyers captain Sean Couturier said about the youth movement gaining momentum and experience. "I think we're back on the map and the expectations are we're gonna be in the playoffs every year, with the young group that we have."

'Trust in the process' means different things for Flyers, Hurricanes

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

Take a mental note and frame it, because one moment in an overtime the Philadelphia Flyers simply dominated turned into a second straight loss on the road to begin their best-of-seven series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

This one happened 15 minutes and 15 seconds into the extra session. That blur in the middle of the screen in your mind is Travis Konecny, sprung on a lead pass by Trevor Zegras and behind four defenders. Konecny, the first-line winger, he of the 1 goal on 8 total shots through 8-plus games in the postseason. He’s blowing in on ‘Canes goaltender Freddie Andersen, the game on his stick.

And he not only fails to record a shot on goal, he misses completely because he's shooting prematurely. You can drive yourself nuts with multiple rewinds of the replay. You can even choose to believe what one beat said about inside information from a "source with access to inside data."

Travis Konecny had the game on his stick here. pic.twitter.com/1xRiIiCRMZ

— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) May 5, 2026

 

Then, with 66 seconds remaining until the green light to signal the end of a period would have saved the Flyers for the third time in this postseason, Taylor Hall squeaks a rebound through Travis Sanheim’s legs and past Dan Vladar to give the hosts a 3-2 win in Game 2 of this Eastern Conference semifinal and a 2-0 series advantage. 

“I should have finished that,” an expressionless Konecny said – but in a low tone and with some urgency – when asked what he could do as a leader to keep his teammates from being demoralized. “It should have been over and we’re going home with a win, but we’re going home to our fans and we know what it’s like there. We’re excited.”

Clearly this is a case of the front-facing leadership putting on a stoic face in the midst of serious adversity. What’s unstated is their faith in the *process* of scoring although the results speak for themselves.

It was the last and most important missed opportunity which dogged the Orange and Black since they tallied twice in a 39-second span early in the contest. After Jamie Drysdale’s power-play strike just over 4 minutes in, seven other opportunities with the advantage, including one in the extra session whose aggression was neutered by a lack of precision, fell by the wayside.

As it turns out, those two early goals essentially bought the visitors the rest of regulation, as Vladar continually worked to erase the imaginary line of Hurricanes’ momentum that crept away from Andersen and ever closer to him for the final 55 minutes, 19 seconds. 

The creep began 5 minutes, 40 seconds after Sean Couturier’s even-strength goal, when Nikolaj Ehlers one-timed a shot home on the advantage and cut the hosts’ deficit to 2-1. It caught up to Vladar when Seth Jarvis netted the equalizer with 8:39 to play and it was bona fide clench time from there. 

In the interim, Couturier missed a partial breakaway. Porter Martone couldn’t get the handle on a sliding puck within 5 feet of Andersen. Another Sanheim chance in close missed the net.

By the end of regulation, Carolina led in shots on goal, 35 to 21, while doubling up its foes in total shot attempts, 64 to 32. The hosts also won 34 of 58 faceoffs and spent considerably more actual playing time inside the offensive zone than Philadelphia. 

In Game 2, the Flyers attempted to flip on its head what the Hurricanes did in Game 1, use a quick burst of scoring to subdue a willing opponent. But it ended up slowly exploding in their faces. 

Where the ‘Canes gained strategic and physical strength from their 2-0 advantage in the first period on Saturday, the Flyers’ strength on Monday seemed to be chipped away minute by minute. The only phase of their game visibly unimproved from Saturday’s opener was the penalty kill, which only surrendered the one score, but each chance demonstrated the Hurricanes’ commitment to puck movement and the Flyers’ commitment to moving like monuments. 

It didn’t matter the momentum swung in the other direction with the visitors racking up an initial 9-1 shot edge and 15-8 overall during the fourth period. As we all know, in playoff OT, it never matters who has more or the better of play and scoring chances. The one that goes in counts and it belonged to Hall. 

Let’s not forget Andersen, who ended the night having stopped the final 33 shots he faced.

“To be down two and just kind of stick to our game and wait for our opportunities and capitalize, that was huge,” Jarvis said. “It speaks a lot to our leaders, to Roddy (head coach Brind’Amour) to keep everyone calm and trust in the process. I’m really proud of how we did that tonight.”

The OT loss on Monday marked the 11th time in franchise history the Flyers dropped the first 2 games on the road in a best-of-seven series. Nine of the previous 10 times, they came up short. 

Included in this string of woe was a memorable run to Game 7 of the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals that featured a moral victory in defeat, as well as the record-setting triumph 16 years ago in Boston after rallying from an 0-3 series hole.

This series simply doesn’t feel like either of those. Don’t tell that to Konecny.

“We’ve played in the big one that advanced us here,” Konecny said when asked how their overtime approach on Monday was different from regulation. 

And what about the future? “Be confident. We want to make plays with the puck. Back each other up when there’s mistakes and we go from there,” he added.

If you listen to or read team-friendly personages on social media, the set-up is already there. 

The Flyers skated with the Hurricanes better this time, but were victimized by bad luck. After all, didn’t they go beyond regulation in all four regular-season meetings? Surely they’ll put it together with better effort and better execution on home ice. Once Owen Tippett’s back he’ll provide the necessary jump. Forget they lost the first three and in the last one, the Flyers needed it way more. This time, it’ll be different. 

Carolina’s trust in the process on home ice netted them actual results and an almost iron-clad series edge. Philadelphia’s trust in the process seems to be mired in the theoretical, hidden behind false confidence, and is running out of time. 

Tocchet, Brind'Amour share brief Flyers history

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

One of the internal factors which doomed the final month of the 1990-91 season for the Philadelphia Flyers, was a lack of depth at forward.

Head coach Paul Holmgren had poked and prodded and cajoled his team within 7 points of first place in the Patrick Division by March 1, solid playoff footing in an era when whoever finished first through fourth made the playoffs, regardless of record.

But with former 50-goal scorer Tim Kerr sidelined again for a majority of the campaign, defensive leader Mark Howe out for all but 19 games that year and notable names such as Dale Kushner, Craig Berube, Mark Pederson and Normand Lacombe drawing regular shifts, collapse was imminent. 

And collapse they did, going 2-10-2 over the final 29 days of the regular season, dropping from second to fifth and missing the postseason by three points.

General manager Russ Farwell, overmatched as he was in the transition from a front office guru in the Western Hockey League of Canadian juniors to the National Hockey League, was able to pull off a minor coup just as the following season’s training camp began.

Taking advantage of the St. Louis Blues’ belt-tightening in the wake of a second-overall finish exploding into a second-round playoff loss, on Sept. 22, 1991, Farwell unloaded captain Ron Sutter and defenseman Murray Baron in exchange for veteran winger Dan Quinn and young forward Rod’Brind’Amour.

Heading into his 8th pro season, Rick Tocchet had a front-row seat to the Flyers’ sudden implosion. 

In the space of two seasons, from surprise Wales Conference Finals entrant to one of five teams which *didn’t* advance to the playoffs in a 21-team league, two years running. One of Keenan’s Kids who developed into a bona-fide threat with his hands, Tocchet led the Flyers in goals (37), assists (59) and points (96) in 1989-90, then in goals (40) and points (71) in 90-91.

Brind’Amour, who was targeted as a into a verifiable two-way, winger/center behind Brett Hull and Adam Oates in the Gateway City, became a Tocchet clone once he set foot in Philadelphia despite some complaints over a perceived over-reliance on conditioning and some bad feelings from Blues management after winning a salary arbitration case.

“It was a relief to be out of there. I really didn’t care where,” he told local beats after arriving. “I put a lot of pressure on myself and didn’t play as well as I could have. I didn’t come out very well, then the Blues stuck me in a third-line role.”

Although Holmgren named Tocchet captain, there were reservations based on the latter’s method of message sending.

“If we didn’t give it to him, we’d lose him,” Holmgren said to Jay Greenberg in the Daily News and reprinted in Full Spectrum. 

In a season which saw their best defensive forward (Steve Kasper) lost early on with a season-ending knee injury, Holmgren bounced in early December in favor of the avuncular Bill Dineen toward the end of an 0-7-1 skid, Tocchet injured, then traded to a division rival, Brind’Amour was the model of constancy.

He set career bests in goals (33), assists (44), and points (77) while participating in all 80 regular-season contests – like Tocchet, all of which led the Orange and Black – but the Flyers missed the postseason for the third season in a row. 

Tocchet wasn’t around to see the end of the 91-92 season on the east side of Pennsylvania. On Feb. 19, 1992, with the Flyers mired in the bottom five offensively, he was dealt along with goaltender Ken Wregget and defenseman Kjell Samuelsson and a third-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for center Mark Recchi and defenseman Brian Benning. 

This upset Tocchet to no end. He’d been named captain only months before in the wake of the Sutter trade. He played in just 42 games, sidelined by a sprained knee that cost him a spate of games after Thanksgiving, then a stress fracture in his left heel which dogged him since before the All-Star break and cost 10 games over 4 weeks. The trade came just 4 games after his return, in which he posted 4 points.

Although he suffered a broken jaw shortly after his Steel City tenure began, Tocchet was quoted in Full Spectrum as saying he “hoped the Pens would win by 10 goals” in their rematch on March 31 in Pittsburgh. He scored once in a 6-5 home side triumph. 

However, over the 42 games that both Tocchet and Brind’Amour were in the lineup that 25th anniversary season, the Flyers weren’t in bad shape, posting a 15-19-8 record. 

On three occasions, they managed to score in the same game: a 5-4 loss at the Islanders on Oct. 12, then twice on the road against the North Stars, a 5-2 win on Oct. 24 and a 3-0 decision on Dec. 21. The former and latter evenings saw Tocchet and Brind’Amour score in the same period. 

Tocchet remained on “seethe mode” against the Flyers for most of his Penguins tenure. He and Brind’Amour even managed to square off during the 1993-94 exhibition schedule:

These rugged ships narrowly passed in the night once more at the end of the decade. According to reports at the time, Bob Clarke – once again implanted as Flyers GM – was rumored to be interested in acquiring Tocchet from the Phoenix Coyotes at the end of the 1998-99 season. He’d settle for retreads Steve Duchesne and Craig Berube. 

After years and years of trade rumors slanted in his direction, Brind’Amour also eventually received the Tocchet treatment. After a broken foot and resultant surgery sidelined him for the first two months of the pivotal 1999-2000 season, Clarke struck only 12 games after his return in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes to deepen the center position by acquiring holdout Keith Primeau. 

The deal, consummated on Jan. 23, 2000 has been dissected ad nauseam for the impact it made on both franchises. Tocchet was eventually re-acquired in exchange for former Legionnaire Mikael Renberg on March 9, 2000.

When it came time to honor each players' respective service to the franchise, Brind’Amour was enshrined first, entering the Flyers Hall of Fame in November 2015, while Tocchet finally gained his laurel 6 years later. 

Briere's OT winner gets Flyers past Hurricanes

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor 

Sometimes all it takes is a little luck to push things in the right direction.

After a listless third period which saw the Carolina Hurricanes tie the score and send the game into overtime, Danny Briere's fluke tally at the 1:47 mark of the extra session sent the Philadelphia Flyers home victorious on Saturday afternoon.

Briere was walled off as he skated from the left wing into the slot, but shot anyway, and the puck deflected off the near post, then caromed off the back of Cam Ward, before trickling over the goal line.

His second goal of the season, and second in the span of a week and both coming against Carolina sent the hosts to a 3-0-1 homestand just prior to a six-game road trip.

"Some of the bounces didn't really go our way, but overall I thought it was a pretty good game," Briere said. "When I cut to the middle, like I did at first, my plan was to drop it. I realized that their defenseman was up, and the second defenseman and forward were backchecking, lunging to go toward Kurtis (Foster), as well, so I decided to keep the puck. There was a little opening in the slot to shoot it in."

Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 30-of-33 shots for the win. Brayden Schenn, Matt Read and Jakub Voracek also lit the lamp for Philadelphia, which was coming off a shootout loss to Florida on Thursday.

Ward allowed four goals on 32 shots in defeat, less than 48 hours after posting a season-high 45 saves in a victory at Ottawa. Jiri Tlusty, Jeff Skinner and Joe Corvo lit the lamp in the loss.

We were skating better, moving the puck better, creating a higher tempo (in the third period)," said Carolina head coach Kirk Muller about his team elevating their play. "We talk about being a team that plays 60 minutes...but this is always a tough place to play. We need to win more one-on-one battles, that was the strength of their hockey club. But to pick up a point on the road, during a long road trip, is a positive sign."

Carolina silenced the crowd only 17 seconds after the opening faceoff, when Tlusty banged home the rebound of a Corvo right point blast. Eric Staal set up the play by winning a right-circle draw back to the slick blueliner, and the goal-scorer took advantage of a seam in coverage.

The masses were moved at the 6:34 mark, when Carolina's Tim Wallace unleashed a vicious check from behind on Tye McGinn along the right wing in the Flyers' defensive zone. The aggressor was shown the gate on a major for boarding and game misconduct, and the hosts got a three-minute power play after Braydon Coburn was sent off for roughing when he tried to answer for his teammate.

A short time later, a tripping call to South Jersey native Bobby Sanguinetti produced a 4-on-3 which then became a two-man advantage for 1:37. Timonen hit the near post from the left circle early into the 5-on-3, then Claude Giroux rang one off the pipe and Ward was strong during two other scrambles in the crease.

"We got what we wanted, but the pipe got in the way," said Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette of the puck motion on the two-man edge which didn't result in a score. 

The Flyers did even the score with 6:08 remaining as Schenn moved from the slot to the left circle for a redirection to the far side of a Timonen wrister at the left point. 

Read put the hosts on top with 1:33 played in the second period. Forechecking deep in the Hurricanes' zone, Mike Knuble was in perfect position to force a bad clear on the right wing by  Staal, and the puck found the sophomore, who skated in and beat Ward with a wrister from the slot.

Skinner tied the game once more during a 4-on-4 situation on a wraparound attempt which snuck through the crook of Bryzgalov's arm as he tried to seal off the crossbar at 11:17, but 15 seconds later, Voracek tipped home a pass to make it 3-2.

Schenn's rush up the left-wing side had the 'Canes backing in, and he zipped a pass across the ice just in front of the stick of Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason for the easy score by the Czech winger.

The visitors tied the game, 3-3, at 7:58 of the third period, when Corvo's high wrister from the right point caromed off bodies in front of the Philadelphia net and trickled over the goal line.

Bryzgalov made his biggest save of the contest seconds into a Nicklas Grossmann elbowing minor with just under eight minutes to play, gliding across his crease to shut off a Staal one-timer from in close. 

Read had two golden chances to end it with seconds to go in regulation. Voracek had a step on a defender in the Carolina zone, but turned back in the right circle to find Sean Couturier, who fumbled the puck a bit before slipping a blind, backhand pass to his teammate, all alone on the left side.

Ward closed the pads on the first shot, but the rebound came out to the near post, and Read lifted his next chance high and wide of the near side as time expired. 

"Ithought we played pretty solid for two periods and then they got better a little bit in the third," Voracek said. "I think we were a little bit lucky to get it to overtime."

Notes: Schenn added two assists for his first 3-point effort of the season, and first since his goal and two assists in a 4-3 OT win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 11, 2012 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in Pittsburgh...Briere's OT strike was his first since January 7, 2012 in a 3-2 OT win against Ottawa, where he finished off his hat trick with the game-winner...Wayne Simmonds returned to the lineup after a three-game absence, playing 15:41, generating two shots and two hits... Sanguinetti, along with Jay Harrison, were game-worst minus-threes, while Schenn was a game-best plus-three...The Flyers begin their road swing on Monday in Toronto, where Luke Schenn returns for the first time since the offseason deal which saw him come to Philadelphia for James van Riemsdyk...The Flyers improved to 20-4-3 with three ties against Carolina at home since the franchise relocated from Hartford in 1997, and have won  eight of their last nine as the host against the Hurricanes...Tlusty's opening score was the quickest allowed by the Flyers since Sidney Crosby tallied 15 seconds into Game 2 of the Eastern quarters in Pittsburgh...Skinner and Corvo led all players with seven shots apiece.

Flyers regain footing, beat Hurricanes; Simmonds concussed

 

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor 

Mike Knuble scored his first goal of the season and his first during his return to the Orange and Black in the second period and Claude Giroux added another tally in the frame, as Philadelphia topped Carolina, 5-3, on Saturday.

Kurtis Foster, Braydon Coburn and Danny Briere lit the lamp in the opening 20 minutes for the Flyers, who put the brakes on a three-game skid.

"Early in the season, it seemed our starts were not where we wanted to," Briere admitted after his club limped to a 2-6-0 record. "Tonight, it was very good. Overall, that first period was much better."

Ilya Bryzgalov continued his solid play, stopping a season-high 39 shots. The win came mere hours after the NHL handed down a three-game suspension to Capitals defenseman John Erskine for his elbow to the head of Wayne Simmonds in last night's 3-2 loss in Washington.

Simmonds was proclaimed out for the contest with head and neck issues in a pregame update, but Flyers GM Paul Holmgren disclosed later on that the diagnosis is a concussion with no timetable for return.

Joni Pitkanen, Eric Staal and Patrick Dwyer tallied for the Hurricanes, who opened up a six-game road trip with their second loss in three outings overall.

Dan Ellis was pulled after yielding four goals on 12 shots in just under 21 minutes of play. Cam Ward finished with 11 saves in relief.

arolina closed within 5-3 on a power play as Staal fed Dwyer at the right post with 3 1/2 minutes gone in the third period, but the Hurricanes failed to click on three successive manpower edges. The struggling club still couldn't solve Bryzgalov down the stretch despite a significant shot advantage and territorial edge.

Ward was called to the bench with 1:39 to play, and coincidental penalties seconds later made it a 5-on-4 for the visitors. Nonetheless, the Flyers avoided turnovers and gave Carolina little in the way of quality chances.

"It's pretty obvious where we need to be stronger and that's special teams," Staal admitted. "Our penalty kill wasn't good enough and our power play wasn't good enough and that's going to win games for you in this league and it did for them tonight."

Foster's blast from the right point on the game's first power play just over five minutes into the contest provided a 1-0 lead for the hosts, but Pitkanen evened the score on a wrister from the left circle at 8:47.

Coburn made it 2-1 when he joined a rush and crashed the net to fuel a 3-on-1 break, and shoveled home the rebound of Jakub Voracek's initial chance at 14:27.

After some interesting moments preventing Carolina's short-handed chances, the Flyers went up 3-1 on a power-play opportunity 58 seconds later as Briere poked home a Giroux pass from inside the crease for his first of the year.

"When everyone knows what they're doing on the ice, I think it's a lot easier. We've been working hard on it," said Giroux about new line combinations clicking suddenly.

Staal, though, converted a turnover and slipped a backhander past Bryzgalov for a 3-2 game just 33 seconds after Carolina stared down a two-goal deficit.

Knuble's first since returning to Philly made it 4-2 at the 52-second mark of the second period and Ellis was benched for Ward. Matt Read did the work which led to the score, stripping 'Canes defenseman Justin Faulk and feeding to the 40-year-old in front.

"I wouldn't say 'must-win', but you've got to start making progress," Knubles said about the importance of such an early-season matchup with an equally- struggling opponent. "We've got to climb the ladder. It was good to come out and respond with a win."

Giroux then put the Flyers up 5-2 when he unleashed a wrister from the bottom of the left circle for another man-advantage score with 7:17 left in the period.

Notes: Knuble's last regular-season goal with Philly came on Apr. 11, 2009 in a 3-2 win at Nassau Coliseum over the Islanders... he Flyers scored a season-high three power-play goals on three attempts...Carolina was credited with 91 attempted shots, with the Flyers blocking 32 of those for a possible record, according to Elias, which cannot find an instance of a higher number since it began tracking the stat in 2005...With the Schenn brothers (Luke & Brayden) facing the Staals (Eric & Jordan), it marked the first time in Flyers history since an Apr. 1, 1986 game between Philadelphia and the New York Islanders (Sutter brothers Rich, Ron, Brent, Duane) that two sets of siblings played against each other ...Ellis had recorded his first shutout since 2010 in his last start, a 1-0 decision against Ottawa on Friday...Bryzgalov's last performance of 39 saves or more came on March 29, 2011 with Phoenix when he stopped 45 shots in a 2-1 win vs. Dallas.

Hurricanes get last laugh, snap nine-game losing skid to Flyers

Special to the Phanatic

Erik Cole scored the go-ahead goal with 3:03 left in the third period to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to their first victory against Philadelphia in more than two years, a 3-2 decision at RBC Center.

Cole's tally came a little more than two minutes after the Flyers' Braydon Coburn tied the game, and helped Carolina snap a nine-game losing streak against Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia. The Hurricanes had not beaten the Flyers since November 28, 2008, and also recorded their first regulation victory against them since December 19, 2006.

The victory came on the night that the Hurricanes retired Rod Brind'Amour's No. 17. Brind'Amour played with Carolina from 2000-10, after spending eight- plus seasons with Philadelphia. He won a Stanley Cup in 2006, when current Flyers coach Peter Laviolette was the Hurricanes' head man.

Chad LaRose and Jeff Skinner also scored for Carolina, currently the eighth seed in the East, which opened a four-game homestand. Cam Ward made 21 saves.

Blair Betts also lit the lamp for Philadelphia, which lost for just the second time in its last seven outings. Sergei Bobrovsky played well but came up just short in the loss, stopping 26 shots. Mike Richards was a late scratch with what the club termed "flu-like symptoms."

Carolina gained control by scoring twice early in the first period, but Philadelphia worked to tie the game, getting on the board 2:57 into the second period with a short-handed goal.


With forward Andreas Nodl in the box for hooking, the Flyers got a chance when Betts carried into the Carolina zone in a 1-on-1 with a Hurricanes defenseman. Betts skated up the center, shifted to his left and wristed the puck over Ward.

Carolina maintained its lead into the third period, but the Flyers' pressure paid off down the stretch.

"Momentum can change very quickly... sometimes within a shift or two," Cole said. "You have to be able to have a short memory and continue to play hard."

Scott Hartnell kept the puck in the zone at the left point and passed to Ville Leino, who moved toward the goal line before centering into a scrum of players. Coburn, meanwhile, was waiting at the inside edge of the right circle and moved into the slot to meet a rebound, blasting it in with 5:11 to play.

However, Philadelphia's defense was caught out of position a few minutes later.

Jussi Jokinen picked up the puck in the neutral zone and skated up the left side of the ice on a 2-on-1 with Cole. Jokinen made a perfect cross-ice pass to enable Cole's game-deciding one-timer.

The Flyers tried to net another equalizer in the remaining minutes, but Ward made all the necessary saves, including a stop on Jeff Carter's backhand try with about 90 seconds left.

"I liked the way we played in the second period, third period, we were able to tie it up," Laviolette said. "Tough break on that last one. We're pressing, it just comes back. But I would say that early on they grabbed the energy of the building and the energy of the night. They had us a little bit in the first five minutes."

Perhaps flush with the competitive spirit that Brind'Amour showed during his entire 20-year NHL career, the Hurricanes got the jump on Philadelphia with two quick scores early in the contest.

LaRose tipped in Joe Corvo's point blast at 4:12, and Skinner beat Bobrovsky five-hole from the left circle at 6:37.

Notes: Richards' consecutive games streak ended at 169, a far cry from Brind'Amour's still-standing club record of 484 straight starts...Earlier on Friday, Carolina traded defenseman Ian White to the San Jose Sharks for a second-round pick in 2012...The Hurricanes also acquired defenseman Derek Joslin from SJ for future considerations...Carolina went 0-for-6 on the power play, while Philadelphia was 0-for-3...Brind'Amour became the third player in Hurricanes history to have his number retired, joining Ron Francis (10) and Glen Wesley (2)...He was dealt from the Flyers to Carolina on January 23, 2000 and spent the remaining 10-plus seasons with the franchise.

Hurricanes, Flyers to join in celebration of Brind'Amour

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

Prior to Friday's game in Raleigh against the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia Flyers, the Carolina Hurricanes will honor Rod Brind'Amour by officially retiring his Number 17.

Brind'Amour came to the franchise formerly known as the Hartford Whalers in a much-maligned (at the time) trade with goaltender Jean-Marc Pelletier and a second-round draft pick for Keith Primeau and a fifth-round pick on January 23, 2000.

“I felt real good about that trade, but you’re always concerned about it,” said Carolina general manager Jim Rutherford.

The 40-year-old Ottawa native, who was a first-round pick of the St. Louis Blues in the 1988 NHL draft, ended up playing for 20 NHL seasons (1989-2010) with the Blues, Flyers and Hurricanes. He racked up 452 goals and 1,184 points in 1,484 regular-season games, and also contributed 51 goals and 111 points in 159 playoff appearances.

A durable presence committed to fitness, Brind'Amour participated in a full slate of NHL games on seven different occasions, and suited up for at least 80 games in a season 10 times.

Though voted an All-Star just once -- in 1992 when he was the lone Flyers representative to the mid-season game at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Brind'Amour nevertheless set the tone with his solid two-way play that was only recognized late in his career with back-to-back Selke Trophies in 2005-06 and 2006-07.

After being a key cog in the wheel of the Flyers's resurgence in the middle 1990s, Brind'Amour then was key in establishing an identity for the Hurricanes franchise, which had only arrived from Hartford three seasons prior. He came to the club in its first year playing in Raleigh after two seasons in Greensboro and almost immediately put his stamp on the locker room with his work ethic and leadership.

It all finally paid off as Brind'Amour, now as team captain, was instrumental in bringing the Stanley Cup to North Carolina in 2006 after an unsuccessful Cup Finals appearance in 2002. The Hurricanes topped Montreal, New Jersey, Buffalo and Edmonton to reach the summit of the profession, under current Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette five years ago.

"When you win, there's nothing greater than that, and there's no better way to be remembered," Brind'Amour said at a press conference earlier this week. "I know that I'll be remembered as a Hurricane, and that image I guess of me being able to hold that Cup is something that, around here, is quite etched in stone. This is my home now, so I realize that and I'm just grateful that I'm remembered at all, to be honest with you."

Despite a solid role as a second-line winger with more of a passing touch than scoring prowess, the man tabbed "Rod the Bod" was a subject of trade rumors virtually every season he played with the Orange and Black. It finally came to fruition in January of 2000, amidst lurid rumors (and still unsubstantiated claims) of his wife and Eric Lindros engaged in some extra-curricular activities.

At the time, it was unthinkable to deal away one of the most popular and dedicated players in Flyers history, and one who had returned the previous month from being out for the season's first eight weeks with a broken foot. It was questioned even more since Primeau had not played at all to that point in the season, embroiled in a contract dispute with Carolina where he made it clear he would not return to play for the club.

“I was pretty devastated,” he recalled. “At the time, I bled orange and black.”


However, with Lindros diagnosed with the first in a series of infamous concussions the week prior, Bob Clarke pulled the trigger on the deal. It took roughly two months to see the wisdom of the transaction, once Lindros' way out from the Flyers was paved by a severe concussion suffered in early March. It wasn't until four years later, when Primeau put together a monster 2004 playoffs, that the trade from the Philadelphia end was fully justified.

Brind'Amour completed his Flyers career with 235 goals and 601 points in 633 regular-season games and set a still-standing franchise record for playing 484 consecutive games. He still ranks ninth in total scoring in franchise history. He ended up tied for 12th in all-time playoff scoring with 51 points in 57 games, and may be most notable for tallying a club-high three goals during a four-game sweep defeat at the hands of Detroit in the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals. That playoff season, which ended with so much unfulfilled promise, saw Brind'Amour -- and not Lindros or John LeClair -- lead the club with 13 scores.

The very next season, he unofficially wore the "C" when Lindros was forced to miss more than a month in March and April with a Grade 3 concussion supplied by a Darius Kasparaitis elbow. Even with the extra burden, Rod kept the club afloat with 36 goals and 74 points.

In Carolina, Brindy will be immortalized in the rafters of RBC Center alongside franchise icon and assistant coach Ron Francis (#10), and long-time Whalers and 'Canes defenseman Glen Wesley (#2).

Over 10-plus seasons with the Hurricanes, the Campbell River, British Columbia-raised forward compiled 217 goals and 583 points in 851 games. In 72 playoff games, he totaled 18 goals and 38 points.Rod Brind'Amour Red Reebok NHL Premier Carolina Hurricanes Jersey

Former Flyer Brind'Amour retires

by Jeff Kruczynski
Special to The Phanatic Magazine

Carolina Hurricanes center Rod Brind'Amour called it a career on Wednesday, announcing his retirement after a 20-plus- year NHL career.


Brind'Amour, who turns 40 in August, had one year left on the five-year contract he signed in 2006 after captaining Carolina to the franchise's only Stanley Cup title.

"I feel very fortunate to play as long as I have," said Brind'Amour, who had nine goals and 10 assists in 80 games last season.

His minus-29 rating was the second worst in the league. The Ottawa native will accept a position in Carolina's front office.

"For 10 years, Rod Brind'Amour has represented the best of Hurricanes hockey," said club president and general manager Jim Rutherford. "He helped the franchise reach two Stanley Cup Finals and led the team to its first championship. His work ethic set the bar for what is expected in our locker room, as did his professionalism and leadership. I look forward to working with Rod as he begins his next chapter in hockey."

Brind'Amour was dealt to Carolina from Philadelphia on January 23, 2000 in a trade that sent forward Keith Primeau to the Flyers. He registered 174 goals and 299 assists in 694 games with the Hurricanes.

Originally drafted ninth overall by St. Louis in the 1988 draft, Brind'Amour registered 452 goals and 732 assists in 1,484 career games. He added 51 goals and 111 points in 159 playoff contests.

Once one of the most talented two-way players, Brind'Amour captured back-to- back Frank J. Selke Trophies as the NHL's top defensive forward in 2005-06 and 2006-07.

Though best known as a Hurricane, Brind'Amour's single-season personal bests in goals, assists, points, plus-minus and penalty minutes all came during his tenure with Philadelphia (1991-2000). In addition, his lone All-Star selection occurred in 1992, his first year with the Flyers.