'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. 

Desperation, luck gives Flyers OT, series win over Penguins

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

By the time the clock ticked down inside of three minutes to play in the first overtime period of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Wednesday night, all the rabbits feet were worn to a nub, each of a hundred thousand promises to a higher power spent, chants and curses falling silent from trembling lips, all fantasies gone flailing aground. 

There was nothing for 20,000-plus fans inside the arena and millions across Flyers Nation to do but sit. 

And wait. 

For the inevitable.

A crushing loss and a winner-take-all road Game 7. Or their first series win on home ice in 14 years and the next cleared hurdle in the maturity of this young core.

“It’s hard to say the words, but it’s been a long time, there’s been a lot of frustration. Obviously I’m happy for the guys,” said Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet after they closed out the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 1-0 overtime victory that needed to come with its own trigger warning.

“It’s huge for the young guys’ development. To play … in this kind of pace, this atmosphere, overtime, tense, this is huge for the young guys to taste it. I’m really proud of them hanging in there for us.”

The Orange and Black were swimming in slow motion through Sahara-deep sand ever since taking control of the back half of the second period. The effort was clearly taxing on all involved. The green light that signified the end of regulation rescued them from a steady-rolling possession game by the Pittsburgh Penguins which suggested the next break in the game and the series would be theirs.

After working statistically even through the first two periods in a scoreless deadlock, the ice and the basic numbers that tell the game story were tipped in the Pens’ favor: a 13-5 shot edge in the final 20 minutes of regulation and 10-5 through 17:31 of the extra session. 

Every overtime hinges on the one break that makes the red light glow, but in the frenzy and desperation of scoreless tie, during a potential elimination game, knowing one mental mistake can be the difference, the breaks don’t always go to the team with the most pressure. 

Sometimes the club back on its heels makes the most of their one good shot.

And that one good shot came from defenseman Cam York. His first career playoff goal was also the OT and series winner. York was stationed about a step or two inside the blue line, took a somewhat-risky backhand pass from Matvei Michkov and launched a line-drive wrister. 

Since d-man Nick Seeler’s seeing-eye laser from the left point sailed by a screen and past Pens goaltender Stuart Skinner for the hosts’ 3rd goal in a Game 3 victory, the Flyers had largely failed to produce sufficient traffic in front of Skinner and replacement Arturs Silovs.

In Game 6, they only managed 2 or 3 bona-fide screens in front of Silovs. The third and last one saw Flyers winger Noah Cates disengage from Pittsburgh’s Ryan Shea for a second, slipping behind Shea as York fired from deep out on the right side. The rising shot found the back of the net, never touching a jersey, body part or pad en route to history. 

Only Ruslan Fedotenko had ever won a 1-0 overtime playoff game for the franchise, in Game 1 of the Eastern quarterfinals against Ottawa on Apr. 17, 2002. Never mind what else didn't happen in that series.

The spontaneous explosion of emotion radiated down through the 25-year-old, 5th-year backliner, who raced to center ice and threw his stick like a javelin to parts unknown into the lower bowl. 

"I just hope everybody's okay. I don't want a lawsuit," York joked.

It was poetic and karmic justice, as the home squad’s only other bona-fide chance to end things came on the previous shift as rookie Porter Martone’s backhander from in close was denied as Silovs dove and threw his stick, legally, to deaden the puck. 

“I like these games, I love it when there’s so much at stake,” Silovs admitted when asked about how he dealt with the pressure of a win-or-go-home contest. He was less forthcoming when asked to describe what he felt on the winning score.

The visitors did a better job all game of crashing the net, screening Vladar, maintaining possession around the crease, as if they were not bothered by needing to extend this series to a Game 7 back in Pittsburgh. 

But some hairy moments over the game’s final 37 ½ minutes – which would have been a serious momentum-shifter for the Penguins – were avoided by unfocused chances, forceful defensive sticks along with Dan Vladar’s motion and vision.

“It’s unfortunate. I thought especially in the second half of that game, we had some really good looks,” a downbeat Sidney Crosby said postgame with a disappointed shrug. “We were a shot away from going back to Pittsburgh for Game 7. It comes down to bounces sometimes, but putting yourself in that position (to have to come back from 0-3 down) is tough.”

Vladar, who ended up stopping all 42 shots, etched his name in the record books, joining Bernie Parent, Pelle Lindbergh, Ron Hextall, Roman Cechmanek and Michael Leighton as Flyers goaltenders to register at least 2 shutouts in a best-of-seven series.

“I don’t really care if it’s 1-0 or 8-7. For me, it’s just a winning mentality. There was never a doubt. I think I can speak for the entire locker room,” Vladar said in the locker room. “I cannot try to stop the puck harder. Good things happen to good people and we are good people in here.”

Nobody knows whether Vladar opens doors for little old ladies or helps the blind to see, but the iron was kind to Vladar twice, the last and most crucial time when Penguins forward Egor Chinakhov unloaded a shot from the wing midway through the third stanza. 

Of all his 42 stops, nowhere was the influence of the hockey gods more evident than a series beginning with 3:39 remaining in the third. First, he flashed a pad and stretched a skate to stop a doorstep offering from Bryan Rust, then two pokes from Rust and Crosby failed as a mass of humanity collapsed around him.

The capper to the late-season 18-7-1 run which secured a playoff berth couldn’t have been met with a better opponent at a better time.

Tell me with a straight face a postseason baptism for this club, and a subsequent win, would have been as satisfying against any other team in either conference.

That luck of the draw won’t help the Flyers in the next round against the Hurricanes. There is no history, there is no animus, there is no rivalry and a smothering forecheck led to three Carolina wins beyond regulation earlier in the season. 

If there are any lessons to be gleaned from 2012 and applied to 2026,  it’s that a surprise series victory over the Penguins in a hate-filled, loosely-played matchup was followed by a surprise series defeat to the more disciplined, tighter-checking Devils. 

There are only so many prayers to be answered, so many locals who travel to Rome and present Popes with custom jerseys before the luck runs out. Belief is a common factor in the Flyers’ run, and it worked out. 

Once the high wears off, it’s time when belief needs to translate to confidence and then results.