Flyers Blow 2-0 Lead as Hurricanes Steal Shootout Win in Philly

Tonight’s matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes gave the Flyers another real measuring stick as to where they are. In the last week, this was the third game against top opponents. This time it was against a Metropolitan Division opponent. With the Hurricanes coming in, this was a chance to get some revenge for the overtime loss back in October. These two teams will also face each other tomorrow in Raleigh as well, so this is a chance to make a statement at home.

In the opening period, the Flyers scored a pair of crisp goals to get the scoring started. The first goal was a beautiful teamwork goal in which Brinks got into position and shot a firm wrist shot, and Christian Dvorak left his skates to try and avoid the puck, which effectively screened Pyotr Kochetkov, and he had no chance of stopping the shot. The second goal was all about how the Flyers kept the pressure going in the offensive zone. Jamie Drysdale sent the puck behind the net to Travis Konecny, who saw a streaking Trevor Zegras, who easily beat Kochetkov to double the lead.

In the second period, the Canes flipped the script on the Flyers; they seemed to find another gear after the first intermission. Their forecheck was pretty noticeable in the second, where the Flyers held them at bay in the first. You could feel the momentum shifting, and the crowd was more on edge. In the first, the Canes only had 5 shots, and Samuel Ersson was in command early on, but the shot output was increasing, and it felt like they were getting closer with every shot on goal. In the second intermission, Zegras said exactly what the issue was: “We got sloppy, and they found their legs in the second.” He added, “We were kind of playing back.” This has been a common theme with the Flyers this season, once they get a lead. The Flyers allowed them to tilt the ice and tie the game.

The third was a continuation of the second. The Hurricanes kept the pressure on until Seth Jarvis kept the pressure on Ersson, until he couldn’t hold off any longer, and his wrister got into the net, after a bout of pressure. Carl Grundstrom obviously took that personally, because 23 seconds later, he and his fourth line mates created a 2-on-1 on some timely checking in the neutral zone, and Grundstrom snapped a laser beam by Kochetkov to bring the game level again.

As no surprise, between these teams, the game would go to the overtime period, and the teams would trade great scoring opportunities but no goals. The shootout would go through all of the shooters until the first additional shooter for the Canes, Jackson Blake, triple-moved past Ersson, stuffing the puck home for the shootout loss. For the first time this season, the Flyers lost a shootout, and the Hurricanes took the game 4-3 for their 9th straight win in South Philly.

Trevor Zegras Leads By Example

Though Zegras does not have an A on his chest, he’s proving his leadership chops more and more as the season progresses. In his first season on the Flyers, he has made his presence known on the ice as well as on the bench and in the locker room. Several players have referred to Zegras as another coach on the ice. He has other players coming to him to ask what he saw on plays when there is a whistle, and also when they get back to the bench. His teammates trust him, and he has rewarded that trust time and time again.

Tonight, he was in on both first-period Flyers goals, being the primary assist on the Brink goal and banging the second one home. He is forming a real connection with his linemates, and they seem to know he’s coming. That was the case on the goal; Konecny knew to get the puck to him, and he banged it home.

TK had it waiting on the front doorstep for Zegras. #CARvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/XodzdxQ9ce

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 14, 2025

If Zegras can continue to grow in Philly, this may go down as the best trade in Flyers history.

The Second Period Highlights a Huge Issue For The Flyers

The Flyers got out to a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, and if this season has taught us anything, the Flyers having a lead of 2 or more goals is reason to be concerned. When they are down, they tend to ratchet up their play and intensity. The exact opposite happens with a lead. That is, of course, human nature to a point, but the Flyers have lost a few games this season because they let off the gas and started playing passively. This team is so energetic that letting off the gas truly slows them down to a point where they are unrecognizable.

In the second period tonight, as I said before, the Canes forecheck picked up a couple of minutes into the second, and that was at the point where the Flyers backed off, and against a team like Carolina, if you let off the gas, they will take full advantage, and they did in the second. They started to push the pace, and it felt like they were a step faster throughout the period. This allowed them to get more comfortable in the Flyers’ zone. There was a point where the Flyers went 10 minutes without a shot on goal, and that directly led to the game-tying goal by Alexander Nikishin.

The Canes play a style of hockey that will cause the Flyers problems until they can deal with the pressure issue. They rely on greasy goals, goals that bang off friendly players, and that was what happened on Nikishin’s goal. He put the shot on goal, and it glanced off the skate of Noah Cates. What puts them in these positions is that they never let up. Their level of pressure is what the Flyers should look to mimic.

Physical Play Kept The Flyers In The Game

Tonight, the thing that led the Flyers to jump ahead early, and kept them in the game when the Canes tilted the ice in the second and into the third was that they were hitting the Canes, and blocking shots. Into the overtime period, the Flyers were out-hitting the Canes 28-19, and the shot blocking difference was astounding, a 20-2 edge for the Flyers. Many of these shots were heading towards Ersson, but a Flyer put a body on the puck and stopped it. If not for this, the game would have been much different.

Garnet Hathaway and Owen Tippett had 5 hits each in the game, Nikita Grebenkin and Nick Seeler each had 4 hits, which really disturbed the entries for the Canes all game. The other important part was the shot blocking, where everyone seemed to participate in the block party, but Emil Andrae had 5 blocks to pace the game. Without these two important aspects of the game tonight, the Canes would have scored much more than 2 goals in the second. They dominated in the second period, certainly more than just the 2 goals they scored.

Tomorrow, these same teams match up in a Sunday matinee back in Carolina, so let’s see if the Flyers can continue their physical play and keep their foot on the throttle. If they let Carolina back into the game tomorrow will likely look much like today.

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