The Philadelphia Flyers have slayed the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games to have their first playoff series win since 2020 and their first playoff series win when people could actually go to games since 2012. And now, all sights are set on the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round.
While most reasonable fans would be perfectly fine with the Flyers not overcoming the mountain that is this Hurricanes team and reaching the Eastern Conference Final — since, you know, this team is still executing a rebuild, technically — it doesn’t mean that the Flyers have zero chance to beat this team. It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t dive deep and look in all the nooks and crannies of this Hurricanes roster and see what they’re dealing with.
To truly get a better sense of what the Flyers are expected to be up against, we need to break down the Carolina lineup bit by bit, line by line, and pairing by pairing and just see how they click and how they have been performing this season. Let’s take a look.
Hurricanes’ unrelenting forward lines
Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Seth Jarvis
The Hurricanes top line is a trio of forwards that might not be stars or household names or even players that could feasibly be crowned as a championship team’s best player, but they are emblematic of everything going on in Carolina. No single force leading this team, dragging the offense to respectability or single-handedly stopping pucks — it is a team that is built to be a team and the first line is no exception.
Uncharacteristically, this top line has not actually been able to score a goal at 5-on-5 in the playoffs so far, but four games against the red-hot Linus Ullmark and his Ottawa Senators makes that happen. They are the only forward line of the Hurricanes that actually has some very poor on-ice underlying numbers, such as a 35.04 expected goals for percentage and just 47.17 percent of the shot attempt share — which for a shot-heavy Hurricanes lineup might as well be zero percent.
During the regular season though, they were incredibly dangerous and is a line that can punish the Flyers if they aren’t paying enough attention. Svechnikov’s shooting, Aho’s playmaking, or Jarvis’s ability to forecheck like a mad man and do everything just as well as anyone else on the ice, could end up being a sore spot for Philadelphia this series.
Taylor Hall — Logan Stankoven — Jackson Blake
While the Hurricanes’ top line has not been as successful, this line has been the story of their playoffs so far. It is every hockey nerd’s dream to go over just how this combination of players work, but to save you all from reading some very boring words and such, just know that they can potentially run rampant over the Flyers defense.
There has not been a regular forward line in these playoffs with a higher expected goals for percentage (76.39) or shots for percentage (69.77). When the Hurricanes can put a line out there that is outshooting the opponent 30-13 in the playoffs and has outscored them 3-0 as well, and not in a flukey way at all, then they should be fairly comfortable.
Taylor Hall is obviously the veteran here but there is a reason why only Leon Draisaitl has averaged more points per game in the playoffs this year, as the former first-overall pick has seven in the four games they have played. Logan Stankoven is a little waterbug that will never give up on any play no matter the situation, and Jackson Blake is really having a coming-out party as he blends a similar never-say-die attitude to having a whole lot of soft skill on display.
This is really the line to look out for.
Will Carrier — Jordan Staal — Jordan Martinook
Traditionally and somewhat stereotypically, a third line can be characterized as a “checking line” or some sort of other word for a line that is more responsible for defense than offense, but still can contribute in all areas of the ice. This third line for the Hurricanes is exactly that. All three of these players can score, but have now been given a role to try and prevent more than produce. Staal and Martinook will provide a veteran ruggedness while being defensively astute, and Carrier will be his typical possession monster that we have seen during almost his entire career.
Typically, Nikolaj Ehlers joins this line but instead has been devastatingly injured and is likely to be out for the entire series. It’s a big loss for the Hurricanes and a small benefit for a Flyers team trying to sneak into the next round. Now, they have to focus even more on not scoring rather than scoring and try to suffocate the opponent as much as possible.
It’s not a line with any definable skill other than experience and sense and buying in to your coach’s system, but `
Nic Deslauriers — Mark Jankowski — Eric Robinson
It’s our good pall Nic Deslauriers and a couple very solid fourth-liners. It is still in question whether or not Deslauriers actually gets into the lineup, but Rod Brind’Amour is certainly not loving having Jesperi Kotkaniemi as an option, as the Finnish centerman has not played since April 14. The line listed above is the one that they have been going with through the playoffs, so let’s stick with that.
Outside of our favorite face-puncher, this is a solid line. Mark Jankowski scored 11 goals this season in his depth role for the Hurricanes and while he was on the ice at 5-on-5, Carolina had a bonkers 59 percent of the shot attempt share. He is just a punisher that can capitalize on miss opportunities. And on the other side is Bellmawr, New Jersey’s own Eric Robinson, who has truly found a home in Carolina after bouncing around a little bit. He has scored 12 goals this season and like his center, also has impressive possession metrics.
This is a fourth line that is no slouch and the Flyers are going to need to spend at least some time concentrating on how to prevent them from controlling play and keeping the puck away from Philadelphia as the Hurricanes’ best forwards get their rest.
Hurricanes’ dynamic blue line
Jaccob Slavin — Jalen Chatfield
It is kind of interesting and this is certainly a wrong take but we’re going to say it anyway: The Hurricanes’ first pairing is kind of like the Flyers’ if you squint a little bit.
Jaccob Slavin is obviously heralded as the NHL’s best defensive defenseman but Travis Sanheim is no slouch and both of the size and reach and aren’t overly physical, and can also chip in offensively from time to time. And Jalen Chatfield is a physical defender who was playing in a depth role for most of his career (okay, that part is not like Rasmus Ristolainen) but has found a home on the top pairing to provide a little bit of an edge beside a defenseman who doesn’t really have that in spades. That reminds us of our hulking Finnish rearguard.
Slavin is going to be getting so many minutes against the top Flyers forwards and considering that he is in charge of tackling the biggest assignments in the world — the Barkovs, McDavids, MacKinnons, Kucherovs, etc. — handling Trevor Zegras and his pals might be a different level of task. But still, these two can only play so many minutes, so it’s up to the rest of the blue line to handle the rest of the Flyers.
K’Andre Miller — Sean Walker
This is just an incredibly good second pairing. We all know what Sean Walker can do as a very mobile defender who has great gap control and can handle a whole lot of assignments up and down the lineup. We all remember how the Flyers defense looked after he was traded away from Philadelphia a couple years ago.
And K’Andre Miller is a special talent who hasn’t really exploded in production wise or anything, but is given a role that fits him seamlessly since his offseason trade to Carolina from the New York.
This pairing played over 900 minutes at 5-on-5 for the Hurricanes this season and every single underlying metric was at least 56 percent in their favor — shot attempts, unblocked shot attempts, shots on goal, expected goals, anything. They are two very athletic blueliners who can handle as many tough assignments as most other first pairings across the NHL.
Alexander Nikishin — Shayne Gostisbehere
And here we have our offensive boys. With the top four of the Hurricanes manhandling most of the other team’s top forwards, these two scrappy defensemen get to have all the fun against the weaker competition and try to put up some points in a sheltered role. That’s their entire gameplan and it works a whole lot of the time.
We know Shayne Gostisbehere so well, of course, and know what he can do at both 5-on-5 and on the power play from the point. He might not be the most careful defender out there, but he will punish a team in their own zone and keep them hemmed in and on their heels so often. And Alexander Nikishin is the same but with maybe fewer puck skills but will also blow up a dude in the neutral zone and send them off the ice.
If the Flyers end up taking a whole lot of draws in their own zone, expect this pairing to be out there trying to get a goal or two.
The uncertainty of the Hurricanes crease
Frederik Andersen starting, Brandon Bussi is the backup
There have always been problems in the Carolina crease but it seems to be completely fine in these playoffs, so far. Frederik Andersen has found the fountain of youth and put up a dazzling performance in the four-game sweep of the Ottawa Senators. The 36-year-old has an abysmal season with an .874 save percentage in the 35 games he appeared in, but has turned back the clock and now leads the NHL in save percentage in these playoffs with an astonishing .955 — it’s remarkable.
But, there is a feeling that the Flyers can take advantage of Andersen not continuing this monstrous playoff performance and he will shrink back into being comparable to our very own Sam Ersson, and the Flyers can pounce on that. All they need is for that to happen and even if the Hurricanes turn to Brandon Bussi, they should have an advantage in between the pipes.
This is the one monumental area of the game that can swing in the Flyers’ favor with Dan Vladar in charge and the Hurricanes still having historical problems.
