The Carolina Hurricanes started their weekend home-and-home, back-to-back set against the Philadelphia Flyers. The last time these two met, the Hurricanes defeated them 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 11. The Hurricanes were looking for their third straight win, while the Flyers were looking to get back in the win column. They were also looking to keep their two-game point streak alive. After the final horn, the Hurricanes defeated the Flyers 4-3 in the shootout.
Game Recap
The first period saw two goals, both from the Flyers. Bobby Brink got the scoring started 10:04 into the game after getting some room in the high slot and, with a quick wristshot, got the puck past Pyotr Kochetkov. His eighth of the season made it 1-0 with Kocehtkov having no chance of stopping it. The Flyers, seven minutes later, doubled their lead, thanks to Trevor Zegras.
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After some puck movement around the Hurricanes’ goal, Travis Konecny found Zegras crashing the net and threaded the pass right to him in front of the crease. Despite three Hurricanes players being there, they were caught puck watching, and Zegras made it a 2-0 game with less than three minutes left in the first period. The Flyers outshot the Hurricanes 7-5 and were up 2-0 after the opening frame.
The second period saw goals, just like the first period did. However, it was the Hurricanes with the two goals in the middle frame. Nikolaj Ehlers drew the Hurricanes back to within one after his eighth of the season beat Sam Ersson. He scored a nifty snipe, following a brilliant pass from Shayne Gostisbehere, who has 20 assists on the season.
Just a bit over five minutes later, Alexander Nikishin tied the game up 2-2 with just under six minutes left in the middle frame. His slapshot went off Noah Cates’ skate and into the net, beating Ersson for his fourth goal of the season. The player with the primary assist, Joel Nystrom, just signed a four-year extension on Friday. What a way to celebrate a new contract extension. After 40 minutes, it was 2-2.
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The third period saw two goals again, this time one from each side. Seth Jarvis scored his 18th of the season to give the Hurricanes their first lead of the game. It was a three-goal run for the visitors as they led 3-2 at the 12:26 mark of the third period. However, it only took 23 seconds for Carl Grundstrom to re-tie the game 3-3 and force overtime. For the second time in back-to-back games, the Hurricanes won it in a shootout after Jackson Blake scored in the fourth round.
The Hurricanes move to 20-9-2 on the season following the win. They’re on a three-game winning streak and are looking for their fourth on Sunday, Dec. 14, against the Flyers to complete the home-and-home, back-to-back. Regarding the Flyers, their two-game point streak is snapped, and they are now 16-10-4 on the season.
