The Carolina Hurricanes are set to pursue another series sweep as they enter Game 4 of the Eastern Conference second round against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday evening. After winning the first two contests in Raleigh and securing a 4-1 victory in Game 3 on Thursday night in Philadelphia, Carolina holds a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The seven consecutive playoff wins match a franchise record set in 2006.
Goaltender Frederik Andersen stopped 18 shots in Game 3, improving to 7-0 this postseason with two shutouts. He holds a 1.02 goals-against average and a .957 save percentage. Andersen noted that preparation for the playoffs begins on the first day of training camp.
“We set our style of play from the start,” he said. “A lot of it becomes second nature for everyone.”
Thursday’s game was tied 1-1 until Jalen Chatfield scored a shorthanded goal at 15:59 of the second period, giving Carolina a 2-1 lead. The Hurricanes sealed the victory with two more unanswered goals in the third period.
“It was a somewhat messy game until the third period,” Andersen said. “We found our rhythm again, and obviously, we put a few in to close it out.”
Jordan Staal netted his first goal of the 2026 playoffs and assisted on Chatfield’s marker. Andersen praised the team captain, who has led the Hurricanes for seven seasons.
“If you want to see how we want to play, that’s the model,” Andersen said of Staal. “He’s a strong skater, a powerful presence, and he doesn’t try to do too much. He just focuses on being reliable and a calm presence in the room. That’s where I think he’s underrated.”
The Flyers have struggled on the power play throughout the playoffs, particularly against Carolina. They went 0-for-5 with the man advantage in Game 3, including a 1:15 five-on-three opportunity in the second period, and allowed the shorthanded goal to Chatfield. Philadelphia is now 1-for-16 on the power play in the series and 3-for-33 in the playoffs.
“You have to make the right reads and plays on the power play,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “To be fair, some of the guys we have on the power play right now might not see heavy minutes on a regular power play, but we’re trying to teach them the nuances.”
Part of the issue is the absence of Owen Tippett, Philadelphia’s leading goal scorer in the regular season, who is day-to-day with an unspecified injury. He has been practicing but has yet to play in the series. The Flyers also lost center Noah Cates to a lower-body injury in Game 2, and he will not return this series.
Philadelphia led 3-0 in their first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, dropped Games 4 and 5, then closed it out in Game 6 at home. They remain optimistic about their chances.
“We have nothing to lose,” Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale said. “We were just in a series where the situation was reversed.”
