Hart, 3-Goal 3rd Leads Flyers Past Hurricanes

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Through two periods, the Flyers were somehow locked in a 1-1 game despite being thoroughly outplayed by tight checking and the tenacious forecheck of the Carolina Hurricanes. The only reason they were in the game was because of Carter Hart.

The Flyers rewarded the netminder, who made 22 saves through the first 40 minutes, with three goals in the third, headlined by Travis Konecny's go-ahead tally at 1:12 of the period, in a 4-1 win over Carolina on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers got an early chance to take the lead with Joel Edmundson going to the box for high-sticking just 2:16 into the game. The Flyers cashed in on the early opportunity.

Matt Niskanen threw the puck toward the slot where Sean Couturier was able to re-direct and beat Petr Mrazek to make it 1-0 Flyers at 3:30.

The Hurricanes controlled a large part of the first period, also getting a power play of their own. Hart was sharp early and had to make several saves from point-blank range.

After 20 minutes, the Hurricanes had a 14-10 lead in shots.

The Flyers got a similar opportunity early in the second period with another power play, but immediately lost the man-advantage with Ivan Provorov taking a hooking penalty on a shorthanded breakaway bid for Sebastian Aho.

Carolina took control of the period from there and finally found a way to cash in. At 6:17, the Hurricanes completed a quick passing play, catching the Flyers with both defensemen out of position as Lucas Wallmark moved in front of the net and was left with a wide open net for an easy tap-in goal.

Through two periods, Carolina had a 23-15 advantage in shots.

Just 1:12 into the third period, the Flyers got a bounce, right to their leading scorer.

A shot by Niskanen was stopped by Mrazek, but left a big rebound and an open net for Konecny. He didn't miss, scoring his seventh goal of the season to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead early.

The Flyers managed to retain the lead through the middle of the period, including through a Carolina power play. With just over seven minutes to play, Joel Farabee helped give the Flyers a little insurance.

Farabee cut in on goal from the left wing and was stopped by Mrazek, but stayed with the rebound and put it home for his second goal of the season to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead with 7:01 remaining.

With 2:22 left in the game, Claude Giroux put the finishing touches on the game with a goal on a breakaway, beating Mrazek through the five-hole.

Hart finished the game with 33 saves in the win. Mrazek stopped 24 of 28 shots in the loss.

Giroux, Niskanen and Couturier each had two points in the win.

The Flyers return to the ice at home on Thursday night when they face the Montreal Canadiens at 7 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• PHI Sean Couturier (4) PP (Matt Niskanen, Shayne Gostisbehere) 3:30

2nd Period

• CAR Lucas Wallmark (2) (Trevor van Riemsdyk, Martin Necas) 6:17

3rd Period

• PHI Travis Konecny (7) (Niskanen, Couturier) 1:12
• PHI Joel Farabee (2) (Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk) 12:59
• PHI Giroux (4) (Tyler Pitlick, Phil Myers) 17:38

Game Statistics