Flyers-Hurricanes Game 2: Carolina takes 2-0 series lead on Taylor Hall's OT winner
The Flyers, down 1-0 in the series, grabbed an early 2-0 lead via Jamie Drysdale and Sean Couturier. But Carolina roared back to win it.
The Flyers look to turn around their second-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 Monday night. Here's how to watch and stream.
The Flyers are down 1-0 following the Hurricanes' dominating performance in Game 1. But there are reasons for optimism in Philly.
Forward Owen Tippett is out for Game 2. He was also out for the series opener.
Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky grew up in Philly and wrote for Broad Street Hockey.
Still looking to jump on the Flyer bandwagon? Here's what to know.
No shame in defeat
The hope, even in the highest reaches of the Flyers’ organization, had been that the team’s least experienced players would consider Game 1 a wake-up call and a valuable lesson learned. They had to feel the difference between a first-round series against a good Pittsburgh Penguins club and a second-round series against the second-best team in the league. Tocchet likened it to a baseball lineup timing the 100 mph fastball of an opposing pitcher. “We needed to see that pace,” he said.
They saw it, and they were better at handling it, but the gap between them and the Hurricanes is so wide that only a succession of great performances by goaltender Dan Vladař can narrow it. He wasn’t perfect Monday night, not like he had been in that clinching Game 6 victory over the Penguins, but he was close. He bested Eric Robinson — a Gloucester Catholic alumnus — on two breakaways, slid to his left and stacked his pads to stop a Nikolaj Ehlers one-timer with less than six minutes left in regulation, then fended off a Robinson spin-and-fire shot from the slot early in overtime.
He made 40 total saves, but after Jamie Drysdale and Sean Couturier scored 39 seconds apart early on, he got no offensive help from his teammates. There was hard ice to be had, and the Flyers found it too infrequently until overtime. They played their guts out. They weren’t afraid. But they’re the lesser team here, and it’s tough to see this deficit as anything other than impossible to bridge.
» READ MORE: There’s no shame in the Flyers’ Game 2 loss. The Hurricanes are just better.
'Canes win it in OT
The Carolina Hurricanes will take a 2-0 lead with them to Philadelphia.
Despite trailing 2-0 inside of five minutes, the 'Canes rallied on Monday night to win 3-2 in overtime and hold serve at home. Taylor Hall was the OT hero for Carolina, poking home a rebound with just 1:06 remaining in the first overtime period.
The Flyers led via Jamie Drysdale and Sean Couturier goals, but Nikolaj Ehlers pulled one back at the end of the first. The Flyers, led by a brilliant Dan Vladař held that lead for the good part of two periods before Seth Jarvis tied it with just over eight minutes remaining in the third.
Hurricanes get the kill
The Flyers looked dangerous on the power play but could not score to end things in OT. Matvei Michkov had the best chance, but his point-blank, goal-bound shot was blocked by the stick of a diving K'Andre Miller. The Flyers have tilted the ice here in overtime.
Flyers get an early power play in OT
The Flyers will head to the man-advantage as Andrei Svechnikov hooked Travis Sanheim to prevent a glorious scoring opportunity. Can the Flyers' struggling power play come through?
Flyers-Canes headed to OT
The Flyers and May 4th just equals overtime.
After both teams had chances to win it late in regulation, the Flyers and Hurricanes will head to overtime to decide Game 2. The Flyers and 'Canes have also gone past regulation in five of their six meetings this season.
As we mentioned earlier in the blog, the game will mark the fourth time the Flyers will play bonus hockey on this date. The good news for the Flyers? They've won the previous three with Ilkka Sinisalo scoring the OT winner against Montreal in 1987, Keith Primeau ending the third-longest game in NHL history in 2000 against Pittsburgh, and Jeremy Roenick sending the Flyers past the Maple Leafs and into the conference finals in 2004.
Seth Jarvis ties it for the 'Canes
After a lot of huffing and puffing, the 'Canes finally blew the house down at 11:21 of the third period to tie it 2-2.
Following an odd-man rush by the Flyers' "Kid Line" of Porter Martone, Denver Barkey, and Alex Bump, the Hurricanes quickly went the other way in transition. Nikolaj Ehlers sped through the neutral zone and dropped it for a trailing Seth Jarvis, who wired one through Dan Vladař's glove.
2-2 with 8 minutes left in Raleigh.
Vladař channels the 'force'
Dan Vladař is doing everything he can to keep the puck out of his net, even when he's helmetless, as this picture from our Yong Kim shows.
— Yong Kim
Eric Robinson can't buy one
Eric Robinson, who grew up a Flyers fan in Bellmawr, N.J., and later played for Guy Gaudreau at Gloucester Catholic, has to be excited to be playing against the hometown team. He's probably less excited to be playing Dan Vladař, who has robbed him on several golden chances early in this series.
At this point, I'm inclined to believe that Robinson could skate down the ice toting a bazooka and fire the damn thing at the Flyers' net, and Vladař would catch the shell with his bare hand.
Save by Sanheim
Dan Vladař's been excellent again tonight with 24 saves on 25 shots through two periods, but he needed an assist from his buddy Travis Sanheim on one Carolina chance. After the puck slid between Vladař's legs and behind the Czech netminder, Sanheim was there to stop it with a strong stick on the goal line.
Now, that's helping out your goalie.
Too many men or not?
Let's put a bow on the online debate about that too many men call at the end of the first period.
There was a lot of frustration on X about the Flyers being errantly called for too many men at the end of the first period. While ESPN initially showed a screenshot of the Hurricanes with six players on the ice, the Flyers were, in fact, guilty. ESPN's broadcast later showed the correct image, which captured Cam York playing the puck, after he had just hopped on the ice, before Travis Sanheim had made it to the bench.
Flyers holding on
The Flyers need to find their legs and quickly, as the 'Canes are pushing hard here in the first half of the second period.
Frankly, Philly is lucky to still be leading 2-1 after being forced to kill off a couple of Carolina power plays and some close calls from Seth Jarvis and South Jersey's Eric Robinson, the latter requiring a breakaway stop from Dan. Vladař.
'Canes outshooting the Flyers 12-4 so far in the second.
Observations from Period 1
Monday brought a much better start by the Flyers, who scored two goals in 39 seconds, the first coming on the power play by Jamie Drysdale and the second by captain Sean Couturier off a feed from Carl Grundström, making his 2026 postseason debut. Both came because the Flyers started crashing the net and getting bodies in front of Carolina’s goalie, Frederik Andersen.
Philly seemed more ready from puck drop, with the line of Trevor Zegras — back on wing — Travis Konecny and Christian Dvorak, and the defensive pair of Drysdale and Cam York starting the game. Usually, it had been Couturier’s line, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Travis Sanheim.
The Flyers did allow one back to the Hurricanes, who trail for the first time in the playoffs, on a one-timer power-play goal by Nikolaj Ehlers. They need to stay out of the box, as the goal did spark the Hurricanes and give them momentum.
Hurricanes pull one back
The Flyers' 2-0 lead lasted less than six minutes as the 'Canes answered with a power-play tally of their own.
Nikolaj Ehlers was the beneficiary of a cross-seam pass from Jackson Blake, as the Dane blasted a one-timer from the right faceoff dot off the shoulder of Dan Vladař and in.
After three goals in 60 minutes on Saturday, we have three in the first 10ish minutes here.
Flyers race out to 2-0 lead
The Flyers needed to get off to a good start on Monday, and boy, have they. After 'Canes defenseman -- and former Flyer -- Sean Walker took an early penalty for delay of game, the Flyers' power play came through. Carolina goalie Frederik Anderson poke-checked the puck out to the middle of the ice following a goalmouth scramble, and Jamie Drysdale rifled one in from the slot at 4:02 of the first to hand Carolina its first deficit of the postseason.
Just 39 seconds later, Carl Grundström drove the puck behind the net and fed Sean Couturier in front to whack home the Flyers’ second goal of the game. Rick Tocchet and the Flyers couldn't have dreamed of a better start to Game 2.
Ready, set, go!
It’s become cliché and coach speak to start a press conference by saying, “We need a good start.”
But given how the Carolina Hurricanes jumped all over the Flyers in the first 10 minutes of Game 1, Rick Tocchet was perfectly within his rights to say it at his pre-game media availability on Monday evening. As the adage goes, you may not be able to win a game in the first 10 minutes, but you can certainly lose one, and that’s exactly what the Flyers did on Saturday night.
How will the Flyers, who have allowed the opponent to score first 54 times in 89 games this season, including playoffs, ensure they start better in Game 2? Rick Tocchet offered an interesting analogy for the Hurricanes’ style of play when asked whether a fast start is even more critical against a team that plays the way Carolina does.
Grundström in; Flyers tweak their lines
As expected, coach Rick Tocchet did keep Denver Barkey at center, and he is centering a “Kids Line.” But there is a tweak. Instead of Matvei Michkov on the right of Barkey, with Alex Bump on the left, 19-year-old Porter Martone slots in.
Carl Grundström also makes his 2026 postseason debut, entering the lineup on the fourth line for Garnet Hathaway. The Swede has five career points in 17 playoff games, all with the Los Angeles Kings, and will play alongside Sean Couturier and Luke Glendening. Emil Andrae also comes back in for Noah Juulsen on the third pair.
How can the Flyers replace Tippett's speed?
Owen Tippett will miss Game 2 against Carolina, Rick Tocchet confirmed ahead of Monday’s puck drop. He’s a “game-time decision” for Thursday’s Game 3.
Prior to Game 1 Saturday, the Flyers officially announced Tippett was day-to-day with an unspecified injury.
During Sunday's skate, Tippett left the ice with the main group instead of staying on late, as he did during morning skate on Saturday. Tippett frequently missed skates and practices in the first round against Pittsburgh, but did manage to play in every game and logged a goal and an assist in six games.
Owen Tippett out for Game 2
Wawa unveils new Gritty smoothie
I once asked Gritty what his Wawa order is because here in Philadelphia, the answer can reveal as much about you as your astrological sign.
“Have you played Wawa Screen Roulette? Eyes closed — tap, tap, tap, complete order,” he wrote back via email.
Just like his natural state, Gritty’s Wawa order was absolute chaos.
The (former) Flyers fan leading the Hurricanes
Eric Tulsky was raised in West Philadelphia, at 44th and Baltimore. He went to Penn Charter and spent summer nights at the Vet (Section 244), where he cheered on Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton.
His allegiances are a little different now. Tulsky, the general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes (and the son of former Inquirer reporter Rick Tulsky), is no longer a Flyers fan, writing for the blog Broad Street Hockey.
But he still loves the Eagles, Sixers, and Phillies. And every once in a while, when the executive is walking the concourse at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., he slips into his native tongue.
Can Darth Vladař provide more 'May the Fourth' magic?
After being dominated by Carolina 3-0 in Game 1 on Saturday night, the Flyers will welcome any good luck or omen possible.
The calendar has obliged, as "May the Fourth" should bode well for a team with a goalie nicknamed “Darth Vladař."
But it's more than just Vladař — May 4 has proved to be a favorable date for the Flyers over the years.
Flyers keeping their new 'Kid Line' intact?
The Flyers need a boost in Game 2, and there’s a good chance the Flyers’ new “Kid Line” could remain intact after skating together beginning late in the second period. The trio of Matvei Michkov, 21, Alex Bump, 22, and Denver Barkey, 21, was on the ice for the third Carolina goal — a bit of a fluky one with Dan Vladař coming out too far — but played more than three minutes together and had three shot attempts to Carolina’s two, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The biggest news on that line is that Barkey is the centerman. The consensus from pundits and outsiders has been that he’s too small to be an NHL center, now listed at a hearty 5-foot-10; however, coach Rick Tocchet said after Game 1 that he liked Barkey as the pivot, calling him “effective.”
“You’ve got to look at, if you’re stuck down low, can you muck it and grind it? Can you outmuscle these bigger centermen? ... But I haven’t seen that [from him]. ... I didn’t see him get hemmed [in],” Tocchet said on Sunday.
An Eagles fan goes wild during Canadiens celebration
Eagles fans are everywhere. The latest proof? This fan who showed up to the Montreal Canadiens celebration, helping them revel in the first-round series victory as if they had just won the Stanley Cup.
It was very nice of him to show Canadians how to properly party after a big win. But you can't help but wonder if he climbed any utility poles ...
Flyers have reasons to be confident in Game 2 turnaround
The Flyers knew a storm front was coming, but they were unable to batten down the hatches and respond.
Facing a Carolina Hurricanes squad built for a Stanley Cup run, the Flyers got run over from the moment the puck dropped and faced a two-goal hole in the first 10 minutes before the home team eventually won 3-0.
In the regular season, the Flyers were shut out three times; however, twice they bounced back with victories — the lone time they didn’t rebound was after a 4-0 loss to the New York Islanders during their January swoon. It ranked as the fourth-fewest shutouts in the NHL.
Can Flyers bring late-game energy to Game 2?
If there is a silver lining from the Carolina Hurricanes' dominant Game 1 win, it’s 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 in Monday’s Game 2, 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.”
Owen Tippett likely a game-time decision for Game 2
RALEIGH, N.C. ― Owen Tippett skated during the Flyers’ optional skate on Sunday after missing the team’s Game 1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Flyers didn’t run line rushes, and Tippett left the ice with the main group instead of staying on late, as he did on Saturday, so it’s not yet clear whether Tippett will return to the lineup on Monday or miss his second consecutive game with the undisclosed injury.
Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said his status was “the same thing, day-to-day” on Sunday, meaning that Tippett is likely to be a game-time decision for Monday’s Game 2 (7 p.m., ESPN). Tippett frequently missed skates and practices during the Flyers’ first-round series against the Penguins, but managed to play in all six games.
Flyers-Hurricanes Game 2: Start time, channel, how to stream
Tonight's Game 2 between the Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes will air on ESPN at 7 p.m., and hopefully the jump back to cable TV will help Philly turn things around.
Back calling Game 2 is Mike Monaco alongside analyst Ray Ferraro. Emily Kaplan will report from the Lenovo Center.
While NBC Sports Philadelphia isn't broadcasting the second round of the playoffs, the network will air Flyers Pregame Live at 6:30 p.m., featuring Ashlyn Sullivan, Scott Hartnell, and former 94.1 WIP host Al Morganti. The trio will return for postgame coverage.
Flyers-Hurricanes full playoff schedule
Game 1: Hurricanes 3, Flyers 0
Game 2: Flyers at Hurricanes, Monday, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 3: Hurricanes at Flyers, Thursday, 8 p.m. (TNT)
Game 4: Hurricanes at Flyers, Saturday, 6 p.m. (TNT)
Game 5*: Flyers at Hurricanes, Monday, May 11 (TBD)
Game 6*: Hurricanes at Flyers, Wednesday, May 13 (TBD)
Game 7*: Flyers at Hurricanes, Saturday, May 16 (TBD)
* - If necessary