The Flyers feel their mid-game adjustments vs. the ‘Canes can help ‘slow them down’ in Game 2

RALEIGH, N.C. — History was made on Saturday night, and not the kind the Flyers wanted. According to ESPN, Logan Stankoven’s goal, just 1 minute, 31 seconds into the first period, was the third-fastest playoff goal in the 54-year existence of the Hurricanes and the Whalers.

It set the tone for what was to come. After riding the high of Wednesday’s Eastern Conference quarterfinal win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Flyers fell flat three days later, with a 3-0 loss to Carolina that was far from competitive.

The Hurricanes outmatched them in almost every facet; on the power play, the penalty kill, in their pacing, passing, puck-handling. Entering this series, there was a thought that the Flyers would have the advantage in goal, given how solid Dan Vladař has looked (and how streaky Frederik Andersen has historically been).

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But as the clock dwindled down in the third period, it was Andersen with the shutout, as Carolina’s fans, twirling their rally towels, chanted his name.

If there is a silver lining, it is that the Flyers made productive adjustments as the game went on. They did a better job of creating offensive opportunities off the rush and keeping the Hurricanes to the perimeter.

Afterward, the players acknowledged that if there is a way to respond, it’s going to have to involve disrupting the rhythm and speed that Carolina is known for.

“I feel like [the first step is] just kind of playing like the last half of the game, getting in on the forecheck, holding onto pucks a little bit better,” said Noah Cates. “So, obviously, we knew they were coming, and they’ll come hard in that Game 2, but we’ve got to weather the storm a little quicker, get to our game a little quicker, and do that for more of a 60-minute effort.”

The center said that over the course of the second and third periods, the Flyers intentionally tried to put more pressure on Carolina, through increased forechecking and by attacking below the goal line.

“I think when we get in their zone, and we make them stop, that slows down their flips, and then their forechecks, and stuff like that,” Cates said. “So, that’s probably our best bet. Obviously to slow them down, and for us to create offense, getting them to stop, making switches, making reads that they don’t want to make.”

Travis Konecny echoed this sentiment. Like Cates, he felt that the Flyers got into a better rhythm as the game went on, but that the key is to slow and stop the pacing of their opponent.

“I think the more that we can get them stopped in their O-zone, because they like to fly around, and they don’t love stopping,” Konecny said. “So, if we can get them to stop, and we can start playing our game in the O-zone, get more shots, I think we’re going to have a better chance. It’s hard when you’re trying to find that over and over. And we just didn’t get to it quite as fast as we wanted to.”

For all of their deficiencies on the ice on Saturday, Rick Tocchet acknowledged that there might have been a mental obstacle, as well.

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“I don’t know if we were mentally prepared to play tonight, in the sense that I think that, winning the playoff series, I think there was a lot of excitement,” he said. “I don’t think we got down to earth quick enough in this game.

“And then that’s what happens, right? Your legs aren’t there … your reaction, right? You know the second guys are going to come to you, you’ve got to make be able to make that play. And we just didn’t make any plays, especially in the first half. There were plays to be made, and we didn’t make them.”

The Flyers have shown an ability to adjust within a playoff series. Whether they’ll be able to this time, remains to be seen.

One thing is for certain: they’ll have a lot of work to do ahead of Game 2.

“[The Hurricanes] play that way all year long,” said captain Sean Couturier. “They’re hard, they’re quick, they play a simple, hard game. They rely on winning a lot of battles. And we’ve got to be ready for that.

“I think we knew coming in that’s the kind of game we’d have. But for some reason, we weren’t good enough. Plain and simple. But it’s a long series, it’s one game. It doesn’t matter how you lose; we’re down one. And we’ve got to respond next game.”