Flyers clipped by Hurricanes, lose third straight to begin season

Raleigh, NC -- Three games into the 2013-14 season, and the good news is, the Philadelphia Flyers are first in the National Hockey League in two separate categories: hits (97) and losses (3).

Unfortunately, neither of those directly result in goals, which are as precious a quantity as Canadian dollar bills.

Radek Dvorak netted the winner early in the second period and Anton Khudobin made 17 saves, as the Carolina Hurricanes recorded a 2-1 victory on Sunday.

Jay Harrison registered a first-period tally and Jeff Skinner added a pair of assists for the Hurricanes, who picked up their first win of the season.

"Guys came ready to battle tonight, worked hard and played the right way, said Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller. "The end result was a nice victory."

Khudobin, who bested the Flyers for his first NHL win as a starter while playing for Minnesota in February of 2010, was similarly successful in his Carolina debut.

Luke Schenn scored and Steve Mason was solid in defeat with 32 saves for the Flyers, who have gone 0-3 to start the season for the second consecutive year.

"I would think that it's pretty frustrating," said Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette of his club scoring only three times thus far. "There's not a lot of room out there. We haven't had a lot of attempts. We're too quick in the offensive zone. We're looking, but not coming up with anything. If you're not scoring, everything has to be perfect on the defensive side."

Laviolette is walking a tightrope, as he's the only coach in franchise history to open two seasons, let alone back-to-back years, without a win in three tries. The Flyers have never opened up with four losses in succession, but the revamped Florida Panthers are on the docket at home on Tuesday.
 
Down by a goal, the visitors only came up with an anemic three shots on net in the final 20 minutes.
Philly failed to click on its final power-play chance of the contest when 'Canes forward Alex Semin was sent off for high sticking with 8:03 remaining, then had the final 38 seconds wiped away due to a questionable boarding call to defenseman Andrej Meszaros.

Mason was sent off for an extra attacker with 1:27 on the clock, but Carolina's pressure in its offensive zone kept the Flyers from mounting much of an attack with six skaters.

"It's the same story, We just need to win. We have to stick with the plan, stick to what we do," lamented Flyers captain Claude Giroux. "Our legs weren't there but we have to fight through it. We're going to turn it around. There's no doubt in my mind."

Last season, the Orange and Black scored three goals in their first two losses, then were blanked in New Jersey before snapping out of the funk with a 2-1 home win against the Rangers. A 7-1 win on the road against the Panthers followed, but three more losses ensued and the season was considered shot.

Despite 20 hours to stew after Saturday's 4-1 loss at Montreal, Philly appeared to be dragging from the outset.

Harrison managed to sneak a shot through a screen and Mason's pads for a 1-0 Carolina edge at 8:11 of the first period. Though the Hurricanes failed to score again, they carried a 17-5 shot edge and the majority of play in their end of the ice after 20 minutes.

The visitors responded with 3:01 played in the second, as Kris Newbury won a left-circle draw and fed back to Schenn, who skated through the circle and flipped a shot over Khudobin's shoulder with a Max Talbot screen.

A miscue from the goal scorer proved to be the winning margin. Schenn's cross- ice pass from behind his own net caromed off Jeff Skinner's skate and found the stick of Dvorak in the left circle, and the veteran roofed it for a 2-1 Carolina edge at 8:20.

Notes: The Hurricanes opened their season with a 3-2 overtime loss to Detroit on Friday night...Philadelphia lost for only the seventh time in Carolina since the Whalers relocated prior to the 1997-98 season, falling to 19-6-1 with four ties since then...The Flyers also opened the 1989-90 and lockout-shortened 1995 campaign with three consecutive defeats...Newbury's first point as a Flyer was his first point in the NHL since an assist with the Rangers against the Capitals last March 24.