Canes beat Flyers in nationally broadcast matinee

National TV curse be damned!

It wasn’t the most emphatic of wins, but the Carolina Hurricanes got the job done Saturday afternoon in a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, as a long-lasting struggle with a national broadcast was put to bed for at least one afternoon.

The Canes somewhat played down to the competition Saturday, letting Philadelphia hang around for probably too long despite dominating the possession and scoring chances. After a scoreless first period, Steven Lorentz broke the stalemate in the middle frame before a bad miscue in Carolina’s net from Frederik Andersen let Derick Brassard tie the game.

Jordan Martinook provided the Hurricanes with the game-winning goal in the third period, redirecting a point blast from Vincent Trocheck past Martin Jones. Sebastian Aho added an empty netter, as the Canes beat the Flyers to end the four-game homestand with four straight wins and extend a home point streak to 13 games.

Apart from the one gaffe that led to the lone Philadelphia goal, Andersen was very good in a 28-save effort. Jones was also on his best game on the other end of the ice, stopping 33 of 35 shots faced.

The first period came and went with no goals on the board, though the Hurricanes mostly dominated play. Carolina outshot the Flyers 15-10 in the opening 20 minutes, holding a 12-3 advantage in scoring chances and a 61.36 CF%.

Still, the Flyers had a couple of dangerous looks, particularly on a late power play that saw two pucks hit the iron. Andersen also stepped up and made a massive save during the sequence.

The Canes also had a power play in the back half of the opening period, mustering some chances but nothing too threatening.

Lorentz broke open the stalemate just before the midway point of the game, banking in a goal off the back of Jones to finish off a phenomenal pass from Derek Stepan. Stepan, who drew Jones to one side of the net before getting the pass out to Lorentz on the other side, collected his 500th NHL point in his 800th NHL game with the apple.

The Flyers looked for a second to have tied the game at 1-1, but a goal was immediately waved off for goaltender interference as Brassard went barreling into Andersen.

But just a few seconds later the Flyers did tie things up, as Andersen completely misplayed a long dump in from Cam Atkinson. The puck, which should have been corralled easily, got away from Andersen, and Brassard came flying into the zone to collect the rebound and slot home the tying goal.

After an incredibly uneventful first 10 minutes of the third period, Martinook broke things open with a high-slot redirect after a point blast from Trocheck.

Aho added an empty netter to put the game to bed, as the Hurricanes wrapped up the four-game homestand with a fourth straight win.

Up next for the Hurricanes will be a trip to Pittsburgh Sunday, followed up by a road game in Toronto Thursday night.