While the Carolina Hurricanes clinched a playoff spot on Thursday night, their playoff push was not done yet. Saturday provided the Canes with an opportunity to keep their spot as the first wild card in the Eastern Conference.
The Canes delivered in a high-scoring game, as Jordan Staal (11) scored the tie-breaking goal at 12:27 of the second period in a 4-3 win on Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
This was a game in which the Canes started off strong, as Warren Foegele and Justin Faulk scored goals 2:09 apart in the first period, building a 2-0 lead before the 8:00 mark. After a Flyers’ goal from Oskar Lindblom at the 5:41 mark, Teuvo Teravainen extended the Canes’ lead to 3-1 a little over a minute later. The Canes would take that lead into the second period, where they would look to continue their early offensive success.
The second period, for most of it, was all Flyers. They came out of the first intermission firing, as winger Travis Konecny scored 1:27 into the second period, and center Sean Couturier scored less than five minutes later, tying the score up at 3-3.
Meanwhile in Ottawa, the Columbus Blue Jackets had beaten the struggling Ottawa Senators, 6-2. That would mean that in order to keep their top wild card spot, the Canes had to score again. Who would be up for the task?
None other than center Jordan Staal, who scored his 11th goal of the season at the 12:27 mark to put the Canes ahead for good, 4-3. Yesterday marked the second straight game in which Staal scored a goal. For measure, Staal has only played 50 games this season due to a concussion, and has recorded 28 points in those 50 games. He will look to build on his success of late in the postseason.
MacElhinney was in net for the Canes, giving Petr Mrazek, who was coming off a 36-save game, a well-deserved break. It was the third straight game in which McElhinney gave up three straight goals, but this time, due to some timely offense and a strong third period, he was able to get a win, arguably his most important of the season.
As a result of their victory, the Canes locked up the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, and 7th overall seed. In addition, they set a franchise record for road wins with 22.
The Canes look to build on their momentum in their first playoff appearance since 2009, as they take on their division rivals, the Washington Capitals, in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Game 1 is set for a 7:30 P.M. puck drop on Thursday, April 11 in the Nation’s Capital.
