Taylor Hall scored at 18:54 of overtime on Monday night to lift the Carolina Hurricanes past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 and send the second-round playoff series to Philadelphia with Carolina up 2-0.
Hall’s winner came after Seth Jarvis tied it in the third period, capping a comeback that kept the Hurricanes perfect in the postseason at 6-0. Nikolaj Ehlers also scored for Carolina, while Frederik Andersen made 34 saves. Hall said the overtime finish blurred together in the moment, adding that he was “in another time zone there for a second.”
Philadelphia had opened fast. Jamie Drysdale and Sean Couturier scored 39 seconds apart in the first period to put the Flyers ahead 2-0, and Dan Vladar turned away 40 shots in defeat. Travis Sanheim later cleared a loose puck behind Vladar in the crease to deny Carolina a tying goal in the second period, one of several sequences that showed how narrow the margin was all night.
The game was tight, physical and sloppy in equal measure. The teams combined to go 2 for 13 on the power play, and Philadelphia outshot Carolina 15-8 in overtime, but the Hurricanes still found the last goal. Coach Rod Brind’Amour said goaltending was not the issue for either side, a fair read of a game decided by one finish rather than one breakdown.
The Flyers were playing in their first postseason since 2020, and they did it without Owen Tippett for a second straight game because of an undisclosed injury. Carolina also had a regular missing, with defenseman Alexander Nikishin taking warmups before sitting out as he continues to recover from a concussion. Rick Tocchet said he thought the young guys competed and said he was proud of them for making the play at the end, but the result still leaves Philadelphia in a deep hole before Game 3 on Thursday.
Carolina won Game 1 3-0, and Game 2 looked different almost from the start. Philadelphia came out quicker, answered an early Carolina power-play goal from Ehlers and pushed the game into overtime, but Hall’s finish gave the Hurricanes another statement win. After two games, they have not just controlled the series. They have shown they can win it in more than one way.