Fun fact: this is the first time that the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers have faced each other in the playoffs. If you go back to when the Canes were the Hartford Whalers, they clashed just once in 1986. So despite being Metropolitan Division rivals since the 2013-14 season, both teams are new to postseason play versus each other. There has been no major beef yet, as neither team was good when the other one was.
That could change this series. This is going to be different than Pittsburgh. Carolina is a tougher team; one of the Eastern Conference's best. They topped the Flyers in three of their four meetings this year. However, each one was a dogfight. All four games went to overtime, and three of the four ended in a shootout, including one near the end of the season where the Canes thankfully rested their starters. The Flyers won that game and would earn a playoff berth.
Still, this upcoming series warrants a proper breakdown. Let's take a look at how each team stacks up against the other. What's interesting is how similar these two teams really are.
The Forwards
The interesting thing is that it almost seems as if these two teams have been prepping their rosters for each other. That said, Carolina will tell you that their roster has been built to combat and compete against Tampa Bay and Florida, the two teams that have stymied them in the past few seasons in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Neither team has a player you could say is a Connor McDavid, David Pastrnak, Alex Ovechkin, or Sidney Crosby type superstar who can single-handedly change a game; although a lot of good that did the Penguins. Instead, each team possesses three solid scoring lines that can hurt you, plus a checking line that is more than just a checking line. They are eerily similar.
Side by side, let's take a look at the four lines.
Flyers | Hurricanes |
|---|---|
Foerster - Zegras - Tippett | Svechnikov - Aho - Jarvis |
Konecny - Dvorak - Martone | Hall - Stankoven - Blake |
Barkey - Cates - Michkov | Ehlers - Staal - Martinook |
Glendening - Couturier - Hathaway | Carrier- Jankowski - Robinson |
That first line is one of the best in the game. Combined, they scored 90 goals. Much like the Flyers, they lack a 40+ goal scorer. However, Carolina has seven players over 20. Taylor Hall was close with 18. As a team, they scored the second-highest total of goals in the NHL (291) and took the second-most shots (2,639) in the league. One of their hallmarks is just assaulting the goalie with a flurry of shots. The maxim goes that you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Carolina's strategy is to wear a goalie down by maximising shot totals.
In contrast, Philly had only four players above 20 goals and nobody over 30. Christian Dvorak and Noah Cates were close as both posted career-high 18 goals. But there are some things to consider. Tyson Foerster was out for most of the season and was on pace for 30 when he went down. Also, the arrival of Porter Martone changes things up as he is full of energy and is playing fearless hockey
What this honestly comes down to is youth vs. experience. The Hurricanes have been making deep playoff runs for the last few seasons now and are usually one of those teams that people expect to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, if not the Stanley Cup itself. The Flyers players lack the playoff experience, but you didn't see that faze them during the Penguins series. The young guns of Philly came to play. That energy could carry over to this series, too. The Flyers will need every drop of that energy if they can move ahead.
Ultimately, this will come down to which team is not making mistakes. Whoever can avoid making bad passes or taking bad penalties will win these battles.
No clear advantage, but perhaps a slight advantage towards the Canes.
The Defense
Carolina's defense, clearly on paper anyway, should outclass the Flyers. Carolina, as they have in the last few seasons, was one of the best teams in not giving up goals (5th best in the NHL). Former Flyers' Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere lead the way for a very good defensive unit. Jaccob Slavin, K'Andre Miller, and Alexander Nikishin aren't slouches either. They were the tops in the NHL in giving up just 23.86 shot attempts per game. They are a smothering defense that forces you to make a mistake and then transition over to the offense.
Good thing the Flyers' defense is fourth best with 24.40 shots per game. None of Philly's defenders are really battle-tested as far as the playoffs are concerned. Travis Sanheim had some experience, but that was a long time ago. Rasmus Ristolainen is new to the postseason, along with Nick Seeler, Cam York, Emil Andrae, and Jamie Drysdale.
Experience will probably go a long way here, especially considering Gostisbehere is the QB on the power play unit. Slavin is, quietly, one of the best defenders in the NHL. Philly has a way of surprising you, though. They have started to gel together more down the stretch. Noah Juulsen has played well, filling in for Andrae during the Pittsburgh series.
Still, Carolina's crew is probably better, overall. Don't count out the Flyers, however, the Hurricanes will really suffocate Philly's attempts to score.
Slight to moderate advantage for Carolina.
The Goalies
This is one area where the Flyers are light-years ahead of Carolina. Dan Vladar has been an absolute beast this season. I would think every Flyers fan hopes he is signed to a multi-year extension this offseason. The Flyers have goalie prospects waiting to come up, but we've heard that song and dance before and have spent 30 years looking for "the one". Right now, we have a great goalie who looked like a friggin brick wall against the Penguins.
As for Carolina, be careful. Frederik Andersen is showing his age. He had an off year (.874 save percentage, 3.05 GAA) and was injured (as usual), but is in the net in the playoffs because of his experience. When the game matters, he comes to play, and he shines. Andersen is 36 and reliable. After him, Brandon Bussi has been the primary backup, and Pyotr Kochetkov has spelled in the net for a while. Both are decent, but are streaky.
Andersen is a big game goalie and this is a big series. He's a great goalie who is probably nearing the end of his career. He can be trusted to stop most of what Philly will throw at him. However, Vladar is younger and playing well. He's playing at a very high level right now. Even then, I'd trust Sam Ersson over the Carolina backups any day.
Strong advantage Flyers.
Special Teams
Carolina had the fourth-best power play unit in the NHL during the season (24.9%), and the 11th-best penalty kill unit (80.5). Philly had the worst power play unit at 15.7%, and the 21st best penalty kill unit at 77.6%. That was before the playoffs began, though.
Despite this, the Canes are much better offensively and defensively when up or down a man. That's not going to change in this series. Philly's gotten better, but the power play and penalty kill have been Carolina's bread and butter since Rod Brind'Amour took over as coach.
BIG advantage Hurricanes.
The Coaches
Flip a coin. Both Brind'Amour and Rick Tocchet are carbon copies of each other. They are both Flyers greats. They both won Stanley Cups elsewhere. Each has won a Jack Adams Award as best coach in the NHL. They both were hard-nosed, tough guys who could score but were fundamentally solid. Both are borderline Hall of Famers (probably a better case for Brind'Amour).
However, the Hurricanes were a garbage franchise until Brind'Amour became the head coach. Since then, they have been a juggernaut. Likewise, the Flyers have stunk for half a decade; if not more. Tocchet has resurrected this franchise, just like he did in Vancouver.
Each coach is evenly matched. I would give Carolina a slight edge as Brind'Amour has taken the Hurricanes to the postseason for the last eight consecutive seasons. There may be pressure on him, at some point, to take his team to hockey's holy land, but I don't think they've reached that point in Raleigh.
Slight advantage Carolina.
The Intangibles
The Hurricanes are a spitting image of their head coach. They are fundamentally sound. They were the 19th most penalized team in the NHL during the season, while the Flyers were 7th. They were 16th best on faceoffs at 50.1% (Philly was 18th at 49.5), which was unusual for them, but they have fallen to just 41.5% for the playoffs. That is the worst of all the teams in the playoffs.
As for penalties, they don't usually take stupid penalties. Unlike Pittsburgh, Carolina will get physical, but they don't become unhinged and lose their cool. The Ottawa series, however, took a toll as both teams decided to beat the ever-loving snot out of each other. It was an extremely physical series that left Alexander Nikishin injured with a concussion, and he remains questionable for Round 2. The Canes still are probably banged up, but the time off may have helped to heal those boo-boos. Meanwhile, it could have cooled them off somewhat.
Philly had a hard-fought series with Pittsburgh. Their youth is propelling them, and they still have momentum. Once again, it will be youth vs experience. It will be momentum vs steadiness.
There is probably more pressure on the Hurricanes to get out of the second round than Philly. Hell, we shouldn't even be here. That lack of pressure could be an X-factor for the Flyers, though.
No clear advantage to either team
Final Verdict
It's been a nice run. Carolina is a bulldog, however. Although you always have that team that everyone sleeps on and looks past. Carolina was that team in 2018-19 and rode that to the Eastern Conference Finals before being swept by the Bruins. Of course, they also got run over in 2022-23 by the Panthers, who also shouldn't have been there.
Philly could be that team that unseats them and puts pressure on the Canes. That is the key. If the young players can stay unintimidated by the Goliath that is Carolina, they have a chance. However, the Hurricanes really don't have a weakness you can exploit.
The Flyers will steal some games and frustrate Carolina greatly. This could be the beginning of the next big rivalry. However, I think the Canes will take this in six games.
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