Taylor Hall waited until the dying moments of overtime to gut the Flyers. The Carolina winger slammed home the winner with 1:06 left in the extra frame, lifting the Hurricanes to a 3-2 comeback win over Philadelphia on Monday night at Lenovo Center and putting the top seed up 2-0 in the second-round series. Carolina clawed back after falling behind 2-0 early, with Frederik Andersen making 34 saves while Dan Vladar turned aside 39 shots for the Flyers as the series heads to Philadelphia.
Hall finishes the rally
Hall capped the comeback at 18:54 of overtime, pouncing on a rebound to finish off Carolina’s rally after Jamie Drysdale had opened the scoring for Philadelphia. Nikolaj Ehlers chipped in a goal and an assist, and Seth Jarvis forced overtime with his third-period equalizer, according to NHL.com.
Andersen keeps his perfect postseason start
Andersen delivered when it mattered most, turning aside a series of prime looks in the extra session, with nearly half of his 34 saves coming in overtime. He stretched his run of allowing two or fewer goals in every game this postseason, staying perfect through the opening slate of playoff starts. Carolina leaned heavily on that steady goaltending before finally finding its surge late in the third period to push the game to overtime, according to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Flyers had chances but couldn't convert
On the other side, Vladar did just about everything he could with his 39-save effort, but Philadelphia still flew out of Raleigh down 2-0 in the series after failing to cash in on late chances, as noted by CBS Sports. Travis Konecny had perhaps the best look of the night for the Flyers in overtime, missing on a high-percentage breakaway before admitting afterward that "it's got to go in," according to NHL.com.
Second period swing
The middle frame turned into the pivot point of the night. Carolina controlled the second period, outattempting the Flyers 30-15 in all situations, outshooting them 15-10, and dominating high-danger chances by an 11-2 margin while holding a 2.17 60.75 edge in expected goals for the period. Those numbers underscored how sustained pressure eventually wore down Philadelphia’s early advantage, as detailed by The New York Times.
What's next
The series now shifts to Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia for Game 3 on Thursday at 8 p.m., where the Flyers will try to avoid tumbling into a 3-0 series hole and the Hurricanes will aim to tighten their grip on control, according to CBS Sports. Both benches are expected to tinker as the matchup moves to a primetime stage in Philadelphia.
