The Flyers never give up, and other takeaways from an encouraging OT loss to Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. — The people chatting outside the hotel could be heard yelling, “Go Birds!”

But maybe it’s time they should be chanting “Go Flyers!” because once again the city’s hockey team showed they epitomize Philly sports.

Facing one-goal deficits twice on Thursday night, the Flyers fought back each time — once just 25 seconds later — and kept pace with the Carolina Hurricanes before falling, 3-2, in overtime. And with their fortitude, the Flyers earned a critical point at the 70-game mark.

Here are three takeaways.

The Flyers showed they could be the next storm that is approaching Carolina.

In a possible playoff preview, the guys in orange and black put the Hurricanes on notice that they will be a tough out should the two teams meet in the postseason. Carolina (with 94 points) is currently in second place in the Metropolitan Division and the Flyers (79) in third.

“We played good [and] did a lot of things really well,” defenseman Cam York said. “Easily could have won that game. So I think it goes to show we don’t really care who we play, we’re going to bring our game. We can beat the best teams in the league. We’ve shown that all year.”

The Flyers are in the spot because of their unwillingness to succumb easily to opponents. When they are trailing heading into the second period, the team has now pushed six games to an extra session. Though the Hurricanes won the season series by 2-1-1, three games came before the end of November. This is a different Flyers squad.

“I think the message resonates more in our locker room that we can play with these teams and succeed and even excel,” associate coach Brad Shaw said.

“We have a couple of breakaways [Thursday], if we put them in the net, we’re not talking about an overtime loss, we’re talking about a better result in our favor,” Shaw said. “So, I really liked our work ethic, loved how we stuck with it and at the end of the day, it’s just a huge point.”

Entering the game, it was easy to say the Flyers’ hottest line was the one that featured Morgan Frost centering Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett. The flames continued to rage as Konecny scored the second equalizer in the third period.

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The play started high in the zone when Tippett got the puck near the Carolina blue line and had his initial shot attempt blocked by Brady Skjei. Ronnie Attard kept the puck in along the boards, and Tippett picked it up to begin a give-and-go with Konecny. But he couldn’t handle the go, which allowed Frost to pick up the puck and try a between-the-legs move before Konecny buried it.

Was it a shot attempt by Frost, who just recently scored a between-the-legs goal against the Boston Bruins? Was it a pass to the open Konecny, who had slid behind the net to await an opportunity?

“Sure I’ll give it to him,” said Konecny with a laugh.

Matched up for most of the night against Jordan Staal’s line — winger Jordan Martinook scored the opening goal with Konecny and Tippett on the ice — they struggled at times to create space.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers line had 15 shot attempts to 22 by their opponents, and a 0.61 expected goals for in 11 minutes, 54 seconds of five-on-five action. But despite some lopsided analytics, they cashed in — and maybe twice, as a goal by Tippett in the first period was waived off after an offside challenge.

“Yeah, we’re just getting familiar with each other. Today was a harder game. We played against Staal most of the night and he’s difficult to play against,” Konecny said. “So we just tried to stay patient and wait for opportunities.”

The catalyst on the line seems to be Frost, who continues to use his creativity with the puck to establish space and time. He also used his feet in this one, almost scoring himself on Tippett’s called-off goal on a dipsy-do move and drawing a penalty in the first period that became a two-man advantage.

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“He is more confident, and for the high-end offensive guys like he is, that can make a world of difference,” Shaw said. “See the ice better, hold on to the puck a little bit longer when it’s necessary, and he has the vision, the hands, and the skill set to find guys that some other guys just can’t find.

“It’s really showed up for us and it’s made that line really a danger, and you saw how often Carolina put their specific guys out there to try and stop them. So yeah it’s been a good stretch for Morgan.”

This has been an up-and-down season for Bobby Brink — literally. He has played 46 games with the Flyers but has also been a healthy scratch and a member of the Phantoms in Lehigh Valley this season.

On Thursday he may have played his best game of the season. In 15:04 of ice time, the most he’s skated since Jan. 2, Brink had six shot attempts and tied Konecny for a team-high 0.63 individual expected goals, skating on a line with Scott Laughton and Joel Farabee. The trio combined for the first Flyers goal, a strike by Laughton on a breakaway that came before the Hurricanes announcer had a chance to finish relaying Martinook’s goal.

“I thought that was one of Bobby’s best games tonight. He won every battle along the wall, made it really easy for me to keep pucks in, and [Farabee] did a great job; two guys that are always looking for you,” Laughton said. “I thought we did a good job in the [offensive] zone. Both those guys make great plays on the goal to get one back.”

Brink made a strong play along the boards to win the battle with Dmitry Orlov, setting the goal in motion. The line had 18 shot attempts at five-on-five compared to just five for the opposition. And when Brink was on the ice, the Flyers had a 66.67% Corsi For percentage.

“I think he’s getting more opportunity and he’s showing what he can do with the puck,” Laughton said. “Smaller guy, but he wins battles against bigger D-men and he’s always looking for plays. He’s been a lot of fun to play with. He’s always looking for me and [Farabee], trying to get lost and create. So, really skilled guy who brought it tonight, and we’re going to need him down the stretch. He makes a lot of plays and makes our team better.”