It was clear from the opening facoff that the Flyers were not quite prepared for this. One of the things they learned was that Carolina is not Pittsburgh. This is a figgerent sort of team. As a result, the Flyers got smacked around in a 3-0 loss.
The Hurricanes have not been behind at all during the postseason yet. They have won five straight in a very convincing fashion. Perhaps taking a week off in between games helped them out a bit, as the Canes looked rested and ready to go.
This team came at Philadelphia in waves. In turn, the Flyers did not. They had one measly shot on goal in the entire first period. The Hurricanes had 23 shots during the game. While the Flyers picked it up later on, they mustered up just 19 shots on net.
How the Flyers Can Recover in Game Two
If you watched the game, you would've seen that Carolina clogged the center ice, almost reminiscent of the neutral zone trap style of hockey employed by the New Jersey Devils in the 1990s. There were times you could see the team line up at center ice, and then each player chose a man to go after. Passing lanes were taken away, and each Flyer was attacked by an aggressive forecheck. This forced the Flyers to turn the puck over, allowing the Hurricanes to go on the offensive attack. This is a style of hockey predicated on patience and waiting for the other team to make a mistake. This is how Carolina scored three goals.
It wasn't until the third period that the Flyers actually began to penetrate the stifling defense of the Hurricanes. It was a tough game to watch. It wasn't that the Flyers played badly. Instead, the team ran into a very disciplined team that stood its ground. So, how do you overcome it?
The solution is not super easy. Philly has to rely on its speed. It lost some of that when Owen Tippett was sidelined with an injury. Hopefully, he'll be back and ready to go for Game 2 or 3, as his presence was missed.
But the team will need to use their speed to break through the wall of men that Carolina is deploying. By being able to send two or three attackers at a time, it might be harder for the Hurricanes to concentrate on the puck than if one guy is heading into the zone.
Carolina thrives on putting pressure on the other team. Each goal they score puts the team down one more goal. A 2-0 hole was going to be hard to overcome. Being down 3-0 in the middle of the second was virtually insurmountable. You could see the desperation in the Flyers as they began to rush passes in a vain attempt to close the gap.
If the Flyers can use their speed, they can generate chances. By generating more scoring chances, they create opportunities for themselves to score. With at least two of the goals Carolina scored, they set up screens, making it hard for Dan Vladar to block. So, set up a screen in front of Frederik Andersen and make him uncomfortable. Don't give him easy shots to block. Get under the skin of the Hurricanes and put them down a man.
Game 1 is over. Learn from what happened, watch the video, and make adjustments. Don't get caught along the boards with the puck. Every time a Flyer broke into the offensive zone, he would soon see himself surrounded by two or three Hurricanes and would lose the puck, either from an intercepted pass or having lost control of it along the boards.
With better offensive tactics, the Flyers might come out of Raleigh with one win. If not, they will be down two games to win quickly.
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