Philadelphia Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said his team wasn’t “mentally prepared” during its Game 1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.
The Hurricanes won their fifth postseason game in a row with a 3-0 shutout over the Flyers, who advanced to the second round for the first time since 2020 by eliminating the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.
Tocchet said the euphoria from their overtime win against their rivals in Game 6 on Wednesday night might have negatively impacted their focus on Game 1 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
“I don’t know if we were mentally prepared to play tonight. Winning our playoff series, [almost] not making the playoffs … there was a lot of excitement. I don’t think we got down to earth quick enough for this game. And then, that’s what happens: Your legs aren’t there,” he said. “We just didn’t make any plays.”
That appeared to be the case in the first period for Philadelphia. The Hurricanes had more shot attempts (20-10) and shots on goal (12-4), and carried a 2-0 lead into the dressing room thanks to goals by Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake.
“We had a good start. That’s what won the game. After that, there wasn’t much happening,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’amour said.
The Hurricanes played their trademark style of suffocating defense and stellar penalty killing, as the Flyers went 0-for-4 on the power play.
“It’s a good baptism for how some of our players are going to have to play. We’re going to have to play with some quickness and reactionary time,” Tocchet said.
The Flyers’ offense took a hit before the game as forward Owen Tippett couldn’t play because of an undisclosed injury and is listed as day-to-day. Though he had just a goal and an assist in six playoff games, Tippett led the Flyers with 28 goals in the regular season.
The Hurricanes became the eighth team in the past 50 years to allow five or fewer goals combined through their first five contests of a postseason.
“The Penguins were a good hockey team. So is Carolina. They played well. We didn’t play well,” Tocchet said when asked whether this was a step up in competition. “I don’t think we gave them anything to worry about for the first half of the game.”
The Hurricanes host Game 2 on Monday.
