Flyers lack of offense leads to 3-1 loss to Hurricanes

RALEIGH, NC — With diving saves and quick glove catches, Flyers goalie Martin Jones kept his team in the game despite their inability to gain control of the puck, but his efforts fell short in a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday at PNC Arena.

“It’s tough when you lose those ones because he stood on his head,” Travis Konecny said. “And you’d rather be on the other side of things when you see the goalie battling like that.”

The Flyers spent long minutes defending and gave up dangerous opportunities throughout the first period. They struggled to win puck battles, and once they gained control, they quickly turned it over. Yet, they walked away from the first in a scoreless tie.

While still controlling the game, the Hurricanes finally got past Jones in the second period. Carolina caught Jones when he tried to track the puck around the back of the net and couldn’t turn back fast enough when the Hurricanes reversed directions. Steven Lorentz shot it past Keith Yandle into the open gap.

The Flyers got one back when Derick Brassard knocked in Cam Atkinson’s rebound. It was a stronger performance for the Flyers in the back end of the second period. They saw better looks and more shots on goal.

In the third, the Hurricanes camped out in the Flyers’ defensive zone again. As the Flyers failed to take possession of the puck, Jones kept everything in front him until Jordan Martinook redirected Vincent Trocheck’s shot from the point. The Flyers pulled Jones but gave up an empty net goal in the final 20 seconds. Jones faced 35 shots and made 33 stops.

Since the moment Scott Laughton went down, Konecny has stepped up. After Laughton hit the ice in Thursday’s 6-3 loss to the Panthers, Konecny went to battle for his teammate and dropped the gloves and then scored a goal. His elevated game carried from Thursday to Saturday.

“I think I did what anyone would have done there and stuck up for a teammate, and then from there, just trying to play for him,” Konecny said.

The Flyers didn’t see much offense, but a lot of what they did have in the first period was created by Konecny and linemates Oskar Lindblom and Morgan Frost. Konecny led the team with five shots on goal. He said he’s been trying to focus on shooting more and taking advantage of the opportunities that come to him.

While the rest of his teammates struggled to hold onto the puck, Konecny was skating circles around defenders. He also drew a power play and made a dive for a takeaway.

“I feel like TK’s playing his butt off for us right now,” interim head coach Mike Yeo said. “He’s trying to do the right things.”

With 4:22 left in the second, Brassard took a shot. While Frederik Andersen stopped it, Atkinson was there to put in the rebound. Unfortunately, Brassard’s goalie interference negated the tying goal.

One minute and 10 seconds later, Brassard was back. Atkinson put a shot on goal from the neutral zone, and Brassard beat the defenders to get the rebound. This time, he finished what he started. It was Brassard’s 200th career goal.

“He’s just a really smart player,” Konecny said. “He’s got a lot of skill. And he works hard. Does all the right things. So we were all happy for him there. Deserving, for sure.”

It was also his second point in two games and his second goal in four games. Brassard has six goals in a season where he’s battled injuries.

Yeo said ahead of the game that there might be some “mixing and matching” of defensive pairs, but they stayed steady through the game. That may have been due, in part, to the top pair’s strong performance.

While the five-man defense struggled, Justin Braun and Ivan Provorov had solid games. They both prevented risky situations from turning into dangerous opportunities for the Hurricanes. Provorov made some big plays on rushes, and Braun retrieved several of his teammates’ turnovers in the neutral zone.

“Those guys played an outstanding game,” Yeo said. “I thought that they were on the right side of things. I thought they defended real well. Their sticks were good and when it was time to execute, I thought their execution was real strong.”

The second pair also had some big moments, including back-to-back blocked shots by Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen. The third pair was the weakest link, and the forwards didn’t do them many favors.

The Flyers return to Philadelphia for the second half of their back-to-back against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday at 7 p.m.