By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jordan Staal and Andrei Svechnikov scored on the power play and Jalen Chatfield added a short-handed goal, keying a special teams effort that helped the Carolina Hurricanes win their seventh straight playoff game, 4-1 over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3 on Thursday night.
The Hurricanes — who outshot the Flyers 30-19 —can complete their second straight postseason series sweep in Game 4 on Saturday in Philadelphia.
“Not the prettiest of games for anyone,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s kind of been our calling card all year, whatever way the game kind of goes, I think we’ve been able to adapt to it and figure it out. It says a lot about our group.”
The Hurricanes — coming off a Game 1 shutout and a Game 2 overtime thriller — again rode the hot hand of Frederik Andersen in net to move to the brink of a sweep.
“You need goaltending like that,” Chatfield said. “He’s been nothing short of excellent. We know he’s going to keep going like that.”
The Flyers, the last team in the East to clinch a playoff spot who then beat Pittsburgh in the first round, had a few sensational early looks at the net but again failed to finish and again failed on the power play. They had the worst power-play efficiency (15.7%) in the NHL this season and did not score with the man advantage in Game 3.
“We’re trying,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “We’re trying to get these guys to understand certain things. That’s on us. It’s on me to try to figure it out, it really is.”
To make it worse, Chatfield scored to make it 2-1 in the second just 11 seconds into the Flyers’ power play with Taylor Hall in the box for boarding.
“My job isn’t to be the flashiest guy on the blue line,” Chatfield said. “It’s put pucks on the net. Keep it simple. When I get the lane, just rip it on the net.”
The Flyers hit Andersen with 15 shots during 19 minutes of overtime in Game 2 and whiffed on their chance at the win — and perhaps their best shot at making this a competitive series — when Travis Konecny missed a makeable look on a breakaway.
Konecny fired another clean look minutes into Game 3, only for Andersen to knock it away with his pads. Porter Martone, the Flyers’ teen sensation, rang the right side of the post moments later and two great chances at goals meant nothing on the scoreboard.
The Flyers still had a chance on the power play but were stymied and fell at that point to 1 for 12 in the series and 3 for 29 in nine playoff games.
“Lot of sacrifice,” Brind’Amour said at silencing the Flyers’ power play.
Brind’Amour was even handed a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Hurricanes were otherwise too playoff tested, too veteran savvy to not capitalize on Philadelphia’s slow start.
Staal punched in a rebound in the first period for the 1-0 lead.
Trevor Zegras, a 26-goal scorer held without a point the previous four games, tied the game for the Flyers from one knee in the second period.
That was it for the Flyers in their first home second-round playoff game since 2012. They went 0 for 5 on the power play while the Hurricanes were 2 of 7.
Svechnikov and Nikolaj Ehlers scored in the third period, the latter of which sent Flyers fans headed toward the exits.
NHL playoff history is still against the Flyers. Only four teams that trailed 3-0 in a seven-game series have come all the way back to win — the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1980 New York Islanders, 2010 Flyers and 2014 Los Angeles Kings.
The Hurricanes are the 13th team to start a postseason 7-0 and eight of the previous 12 won the Stanley Cup.
“It starts in the room with your leadership,” Brind’Amour said.
Through the first three games of the series, 58 penalties have been handed out resulting in a total of 156 penalty minutes.
“Five-on-five, we were good,” Tocchet said. “I thought we were the better team. That’s two games in a row. Penalty fest. We’re not equipped for that.”