Flyers beat East top seed Hurricanes 3-2 in SO and secure their first playoff berth since 2020

The Hurricanes reached the Eastern Conference final last season, where they were eliminated by eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida. Carolina was the No. 1 seed in the East in 2006, when it won the Stanley Cup.

The Flyers, who entered the game tied for fifth in the NHL with 21 comeback victories, woke up in the second period and played like a team with a playoff berth at stake.

Flyers fans came to life when Denver Barkey used a perfect cross-ice pass and found Matvei Michkov at the left circle. Michkov beat Brandon Bussi and scored his 19th goal to cut it to 2-1.

Trevor Zegras, sensational in his first season with the Flyers, scored on a power play later in the period, tying the game at 2. Zegras’ goal gave him 13 points in the last 13 games and 26 goals overall this season.

With a chance to clinch the top seed in the East, the Hurricanes made most of their key players healthy scratches.

Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis — three of their top four scorers — sat out, as did top-scoring defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. Jaccob Slavin, one of the NHL’s top defensemen, and team captain Jordan Staal also got the night off.

The makeshift lines were an instant hit for the Hurricanes, who silenced a Flyers crowd that came pumped for a playoff berth celebration.

Bradly Nadeau scored from the slot on a one-timer on Carolina’s second shot of the game and Nikolaj Ehlers scored his 25th of the season — 250th of his career — on the power play late in the first for a 2-0 lead.

Up next

Flyers: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.

Hurricanes: At the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Dan Gelston, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Flyers beat East top seed Hurricanes 3-2 in SO and secure their first playoff berth since 2020

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