Philadelphia Flyers show little effort in 3-1 loss to Hurricanes

The Philadelphia Flyers came into this matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes hoping to get out of last place in the Metropolitan Division.

Coming off a loss to the Florida Panthers, the Philadelphia Flyers looked to avoid a three game losing streak and end 2018 with a win as they faced the Carolina Hurricanes.

Carter Hart earned the start in-net after a 34 save performance against Florida and opposed Curtis McElhinney. McElhinney entered this game with a 7-5-1 record, a 2.31 Goals-Against Average, and a .922 save percentage. The Flyers needed better production out of their offense in order to defeat the Hurricanes, as they scored merely one goal in their last contest.

Carolina displayed a tenacious forecheck early on in the first which helped them dominate in terms of puck possession, but the Flyers still made the most of the opportunities that were presented with a five to three shots-on-goal advantage. The Hurricanes ended up taking the lead on a goal from Lucas Wallmark that Hart definitely wanted back. It was a pretty routine save to make but the 20 year old net minder seemed to be surprised at the location of the shot and the Flyers found themselves in a 1-0 hole after one period of play.

It didn’t take long for the Hurricanes to increase their lead, as Jordan Martinook scored just six seconds into the second period to make it a 2-0 game. The Flyers lost the opening face-off, which allowed Carolina to spring Martinook for the goal. 2018 second overall draft pick Andrei Svechnikov went on to give the Canes a 3-0 lead and Hart was pulled for Michal Neuvirth after letting in three goals on ten shots.

The Flyers generated a couple of chances on their second power-play opportunity of the game halfway through the second stanza but McElhinney stood tall, making key saves at the end of the man advantage for his team. Carolina continued to dominate the puck and still led the Flyers by three goals after 40 minutes of hockey.

Jakub Voracek finally got the Flyers on the board to begin the third with his tenth tally of the year after Wayne Simmonds had a nice pass to set him up for a one-time shot. That was all they could muster, though, as they fell the the Hurricanes 3-1.

Philadelphia’s lack of heart was the main reason why they lost this game. They seemed to be going through the motions through the first two periods of play and it wasn’t until the third that they actually showed some effort. This has been an issue with the team all season and one has to start wondering if moves need to be made roster-wise in order to truly wake everybody up.

The Flyers are now 15-18-5 and leave 2018 in last place in the Metropolitan Division. Next game is on New Years Day against the Nashville Predators.