May 3, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\nOf course, had the Flyers got off to a much better start, it\u2019s probably a certainty the frustration level wouldn\u2019t have been as high as it was in the third. Carolina simply dominated in all aspects for roughly the first 30 minutes. Philadelphia looked marginally better in the eye test in the third, but by then it was over.<\/p>\n
What Tocchet is looking for in Game 2<\/p>\n
Having just sent Pittsburgh packing a few days before, and proving many people wrong in their first-round predictions, the Flyers might have had their heads in the clouds slightly prior to facing the Hurricanes. Well, whatever they were thinking, Carolina provided a very harsh but honest reality check for the Flyers. It was something Tocchet touched on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a couple of days off,\u201d the coach said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if we were mentally prepared to play tonight in a sense. I think winning a playoff series after not making the playoffs, I think there was a lot of excitement. I don\u2019t think we got down to earth quick enough for this game. And that\u2019s what happens, right? Your legs aren\u2019t there, the reaction, right? You know the second guy is going to come to you and you got to be able to make that play, and we just didn\u2019t make any plays in the first half. There were plays to be made and we didn\u2019t make them. That\u2019s really what it comes down to.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Flyers were outshot 12-4 in the first and were fortunate to be just down 2-0. The best Philadelphia could do was ice the puck a handful of times when not occasionally getting over the red line to make a much-needed line change. Tocchet said the team definitely got a wake-up call to what the Canes do to their opponents: pressuring them at all times with their speed and not conceding an inch in the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t quick enough for their speed, our reaction was a little bit slow,\u201d Tocchet said. \u201cIt was a little better in the second but the game gets a little mucky there. But I thought it was a little bit better. It\u2019s a good baptism as far as how some of our players are going to have to play, to play with some quickness and reactionary time. That\u2019s how you have to play against this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked if Pittsburgh\u2019s older (and generally much slower) lineup couldn\u2019t prepare Philadelphia for Carolina\u2019s pace, Tocchet was non-commital.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey played well, we didn\u2019t play well. So we got to see where that bar is and raise our level of competitiveness. Skating with the puck, I thought a lot of our guys were on their heels tonight. So I guess after the series I\u2019ll make that comment. Right now I don\u2019t think we gave them anything to worry about the first half of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pleased with Barkey, not with \u201cthree steamboat\u201d power play<\/p>\n
Philadelphia\u2019s power play once again lived up to expectations, coming up empty in four opportunities. The deliberateness in both units seemed to irritate Tocchet, realizing quickness is the only way to defeat a pressuring penalty killing team. The power play now stands at 9.5 per cent in the playoffs, just one percentage point lower than Carolina\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cGotta make a play,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s one thing as coaches there\u2019s plays to be made you got to make them. They\u2019re going to go long by you, they\u2019re going to slide, you got to go around that guy and make a play. Those are plays you have to make. That\u2019s the one thing we talked about, you have to know what\u2019s going to happen before it comes. Like chess, it\u2019s two moves ahead. And their PK is fast, they\u2019re going right at you. And you\u2019re right, we had some plays where the guy is in the slot and had it and it was one steamboat, two steamboat, it took him three steamboats to get a shot off. You got to play quick against this team. Listen we\u2019ve got a young team and it\u2019s a learning lesson. I thought Barkey was our best player again because he\u2019s skating, he\u2019s moving his feet. Hopefully we get a lot more guys doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aside from Barkey, who Tocchet said he didn\u2019t mind \u201cin the middle\u201d and was \u201ceffective\u201d after he jumbled the lines to create some offensive production, said one of the bigger obstacles is stopping the line of Blake, Logan Stankoven, and Taylor Hall (who crushed Christian Dvorak with a hard hit). The line combined for five points, with Stankoven scoring twice, Blake scoring once and adding an assist, and Hall with a primary assist on Blake\u2019s tally. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re on a heater right now,\u201d he said. \u201cGet in front of them, win battles. We had four three-on-three battles and we might have lost all four. And somehow Stankoven came out of the pile with the puck and he got a chance at the net. That just can\u2019t happen. But when you\u2019re playing a confident line like that, you got to make sure you\u2019re in front of them, you got to make it a tough night for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the Flyers have anything to hang their hat on, it\u2019s that the Canes will not have a week\u2019s worth of rest between Game 1 and Game 2 like they did for Game 1. Should Philadelphia be able to withstand the onslaught in the opening 10 minutes of Game 2, the result could turn out somewhat differently. At least that\u2019s the hope.<\/p>\n
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