The Carolina Hurricanes finished off the second of back-to-back games in Pennsylvania, eking out a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime on Monday, Feb. 21. Goaltender Frederik Andersen proved instrumental in the win with 38 saves.
With their third game in four days, the Canes (35-11-4) had to dig in and win ugly against the Flyers (15-25-10). The fatigue was evident from the beginning as Carolina registered just two shots in the first period.
“It wasn’t pretty,” said center Jordan Staal. “I don’t think we really got to our best hockey at any point tonight, but we definitely grinded it out. We had some high-end skill plays that got us some goals and a couple lucky bounces as well. It’s two points, and that’s all that matters.”
Right wing Nino Niederreiter continued the recent trend of Canes goals early in periods, opening the scoring just 24 seconds into the second period. Philadelphia fired back almost immediately, however, tying things up at 1-1 at the 19:01 mark. The Flyers stayed in the game until the very end, but this was the start of the Hurricanes staying one step ahead all afternoon.
Left wing Teuvo Teräväinen gave Carolina a 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission, but Philadelphia put a pair of third-period goals past Andersen to force overtime. The pair of Flyers goals were separated by center Vincent Trocheck’s 14th of the season, putting the score at 3-3 at the end of regulation.
The Hurricanes emphasized possession of the puck in the overtime period, biding their time for an opportunity while limiting chances for Philadelphia to steal away the puck and the win. When the Flyers did manage to muster offensive shifts, Andersen stood tall when it mattered most and kept the puck out of his net.
“Surprised? No. But thankful? Absolutely. It’s nice to have him back there,” Staal said.
Defenseman Brett Pesce clinched the win with just 18 seconds left in overtime. Trocheck fed a bouncing pack across the offensive zone that Pesce seamlessly collected and slotted past Flyers goalie Martin Jones for the game-winner.
“Troch had some gap on their D and I knew he kind of had time to make a play,” Pesce said. “I thought I had a step on their guy. He just threw it over. I knew it was in the air so I had to try to bat it down and control it. More luck than anything, but thankfully I settled it down and just tried to put it on net.”
The Canes will get three days of rest before returning to PNC Arena for a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday, Feb. 25. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
