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Takeaways: Flyers lose 4-1 to Carolina in Game 3 due to missed chances, power play struggles

The Flyers had their chances, but special teams killed them yet again as Carolina defeated Philadelphia 4-1 in Game 3 on Thursday night.

Posted on by Jason MacNeil
May 7, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Porter Martone (94) battles with Carolina Hurricanes right wing Jackson Blake (53) and defenseman Jalen Chatfield (5) during the first period in game three of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Flyers had their share of chances early, but took way too many penalties in a 4-1 loss to Carolina in Game 3 on Thursday night. The loss puts Philadelphia down 3-0 in the series, with the Hurricanes looking to sweep in Game 4 on Saturday night.

The basics

First period: 17:27- Jordan Staal (Andrei Svechnikov, Shayne Gostisbehere) (PPG)
Second period: 2:31- Trevor Zegras (Emil Andrae, Porter Martone), 15:59- Jalen Chatfield (Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook) (SHG)
Third period: 3:50-Andrei Svechnikov (Sebastian Aho) (PPG), 7:08- Nikolaj Ehlers (Jordan Martinook, K’Andre Miller)
SOG: 30 (PHI) – 19 (CAR)

Some takeaways

Chances galore

With Owen Tippett missing his third game of the series, the Flyers were dealt another blow when Noah Cates was injured in Game 2. After realizing they were down a very important center, Philadelphia jumbled up some lines, but thankfully had Christian Dvorak in the lineup to help offset the lack of depth down the middle. It didn’t seem to hurt Philadelphia early, as they had Carolina out of their comfort zone, hitting anything that moved and keeping them hemmed in more often than not on their own side of center ice.

After missing a chance to end Game 2 in overtime, Travis Konecny found himself in alone early in the first. He beat Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen, but couldn’t beat the post, hitting the iron. It would’ve been a fantastic finish (especially after a great long pass from Tyson Foerster) to get the ball rolling. Minutes later, Porter Martone was in alone, but his shot hit the corner of the post and hit iron again.

It’s not that the Flyers weren’t generating chances, they just couldn’t bury any of them. Another Martone play couldn’t be finished by Alex Bump. A trio of Grade A chances later, still 0-0. And down 1-0, a slapshot got by Andersen, but dropped inches from the goal line before a Canes player swatted it away.

Penalties galore

The Flyers did a decent job keeping their sticks on the ice and playing between the whistles, initially. But as the night wore on, the Flyers steadily disintegrated. Jamie Drysdale had three minors, tying him with Dvorak. Philadelphia had some four-on-four play due to coincidental minors, but nine two-minute penalties in the first 50 minutes of regulation is a recipe for disaster, even if Carolina’s power play was looking inept. You keep giving a team chances, eventually (unless it’s the Flyers) the power play will get hot. Konecny, Nick Seeler, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Garnet Hathaway added minors in garbage time, giving Philadelphia 13 to end the game.

Carolina scored two power play goals on nine chances. And they added a short-handed goal. You do that in any game, especially a playoff game, you’re going to come out on top nearly every time.

A bit more about Bump

Bump had another fantastic chance in the second, in alone on Andersen after getting a Martone pass. He somehow couldn’t finish as Andersen (who Bump collided with seconds prior) got a piece of it. Bump got a piece taken out of him minutes later when Sean Walker delivered a heavy but clean hit in the neutral zone.

Physically invested

Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet stressed the need for Philadelphia to take the body every time they could. And they did just that in the first half of the period, outhitting Carolina 19-17 by the end of period one. The goal is to not destroy anyone, but simply wear them down a bit more with each punishing hit.

The Flyers delivered some good hits, however, they were on the receiving end of a few questionable ones. Taylor Hall nailed a falling Travis Sanheim late in the second which had Sanheim holding his head on the ice. The hit was called a five-minute major initially. On video review it was lessened to a two-minute minor. Sanheim remained on the bench, with the league spotters not forcing him to leave the bench. The game ended with 72 combined hits, with Philadelphia delivering 41 of them.

Drysdale with a horrible game

Jamie Drysdale might have wanted to sit this game out. He was in the sin bin on three separate occasions, taking his third while the Flyers were on a power play. Fortunately, it actually worked out. Seth Jarvis took a penalty on the same play. And then Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour lost his mind, chewing out the refs which resulted in another minor.

But back to Drysdale (whose Corsi For percentage stood at 25 per cent after 40 minutes). The defenseman’s errant pass early on a Philadelphia power play late in the second caused Carolina’s second goal, this one short-handed.

Third line getting caved in

The makeshift line of Denver Barkey, Carl Grundstrom, and Matvei Michkov was not doing much in the opening period. In terms of Corsi For, the trio was being destroyed 3-22 while Martone and Bump were the best Flyer forwards at 50 per cent each. The second period had them faring marginally better, generating some offensive zone time and a few chances. On the whole, they looked like they were still struggling, which is understandable given how young two-thirds of the trio are.

Zegras stays relatively calm

After Trevor Zegras was instructed not so delicately by Tocchet to let him do the talking to the officials in the first period, the forward kept things simple. And he was rewarded. On a delayed penalty, the Flyers got up ice, with Zegras being at the right place at the right time, beating Andersen and tying the game 1-1. The goal got Emil Andrae his first point of the post-season and gave Porter Martone another assist to his total. More importantly, it got Philadelphia right back in the thick of it.

Bad things happen to good goalies

With his adage about good things happening to good people being the Flyers’ t-shirt Thursday night, Flyers starter Dan Vladar got off to a relatively good start. Unfortunately, he let in the game’s first goal late in the first as Philadephia was trying to kill a penalty by Sean Couturier. They nearly killed all of it, but a shot off the backboards found Jordan Staal, who hit the bouncing puck before Vladar was able to make the save.

Vladar came up with a big save midway through the second on Taylor Hall while Philadelphia was killing Drysdale’s second penalty of the evening. On the whole, Vladar wasn’t extremely busy through two period, facing 18 shots and stopping 16 of them. Neither one he could be blamed for, with the anemic power play costing Philadelphia dearly. However, the third one, with the Flyers trying to kill a four-on-three power play for the Canes, needed to be stopped. Andrei Svechnikov got a one-timer off, but Vladar wasn’t quick enough to get across, getting his toe on it but nothing else.

As if that wasn’t the nail in the coffin for Game 3, Carolina delivered the final blow courtesy of a Nikolaj Ehlers breakaway. A very kind bounce in Carolina’s favor set up the breakaway, with Vladar outmatched on this attempt.

Power play paralysis

The first period was fairly solid for the Flyers. Yet, once again, the power play took a bit of steam out of them. Whether it was just being unable to make passes, get into the zone cleanly, or telegraphing seam passes that were easily intercepted, Philadelphia, once again, looked lost.

The backbreaker was a five-on-three for an extended period, but the Flyers were doing good just to get the blue line. It was another fantastic chance to tie things up. As has been the case this playoff series, this season, and the last half decade, there was no sealing the deal.

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