Flyers drop another shootout, this time to the Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. - It seemed fitting that a small, somewhat lethargic crowd attended the Flyers' final road game of the season Saturday afternoon.

The Flyers, after all, came up small - and played too much listless hockey - in their 41 road games.

They dropped a 3-2 decision to Carolina in a shootout at PNC Arena and finished with a 10-20-11 road record. You have to go back to 1971-72 (7-25-7) to find a season in which the Flyers finished with fewer road victories.

Chris Terry scored what proved to be the game-winner in the shootout.

Carolina goalie Cam Ward secured the victory by stopping Claude Giroux, who is 1 for 12 in shootouts this season.

The Flyers slipped to 3-11 in shootouts - two losses shy of the NHL record set by New Jersey last season.

"I think shootouts are more or less, I don't want to say luck, but it kind of is," said Michael Raffl, who scored his 21st goal by tipping in Sean Couturier's wrist shot during a second-period power play.

Nick Cousins scored on his first NHL shootout attempt, but Jake Voracek and Giroux were denied.

Couturier scored on a backhander in front with 1 minute, 50 seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 2. It was his 14th goal, a career high, but just his second tally in the last 23 games.

A Michael Del Zotto backhander from the point got past Michal Jordan and went to Couturier, whose shot went through Ward's legs.

"We had a couple opportunities in overtime," Flyers coach Craig Berube said. "Matt Read's on a two-on-one and didn't get a shot off."

The Flyers have lost 11 straight (0-6-5) to teams not in a playoff spot when they met. Conversely, they are on a 10-1-4 run against playoff teams.

The Flyers' final four games are at home, starting with a matinee Sunday against the Penguins.

"The guys are playing for pride," Berube said. "We have Pitt, and it's a big game for them."

The Flyers, 3-0 against the Penguins this season, will try to conclude their first perfect slate against Pittsburgh since going 7-0 in 1983-84.

Elias Lindholm scored on a juicy first-period rebound, and Jordan Staal made it 2-0 in the second period. Staal took the puck away from Nick Grossmann in the neutral zone and beat Ray Emery from the right circle.

Emery, 32, has struggled this season, and it would be surprising if the Flyers tried to re-sign him when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in July.

The Islanders' Michal Neuvirth and Calgary's Karri Ramo are among the potential unrestricted free agents who could be in the Flyers' offseason plans as their backup goalie. They could also re-sign Rob Zepp, another potential unrestricted free agent, who is with the Phantoms.

After a shaky first part of the game, Emery steadied himself and temporarily prevented a loss by stopping Victor Rask in overtime.

Excluding empty-net scores, 26 of the Flyers' 41 road games were decided by one goal. They lost 19 of those 26 games.

Breakaways. Only six teams have fewer points than the Flyers, who currently have a 6.5 percent chance to get the top pick in the draft lottery. . . . Steve Mason, who will start Sunday, is 14-5-5 with a 1.92 GAA and .939 save percentage at home. . . . When he does the Flyers-Penguins matchup Sunday, retiring referee Paul Devorski, 56, will work his final NHL game. He is a Harrisburg resident.