Philadelphia's faceoff stranglehold dismantled Carolina's ability to protect a lead, and Carolina's 18 giveaways did the rest.
Philadelphia erased a two-goal first-period deficit against the conference's top seed, then outlasted Carolina in overtime before converting the only shootout attempt β a result built on faceoff dominance and timely special teams, not shot volume. This Metro Division clash had direct playoff seeding implications for both clubs heading into their final regular-season game.
β‘TURNING POINT
Zegras's power-play equalizer at 10:30 of the second period erased Carolina's two-goal cushion and forced the Hurricanes into a game they could no longer control on the scoreboard. The moment shifted Carolina from managing a lead to defending parity against a Philadelphia team that had seized the game's momentum entirely in the second period.
πWHY PHI WON
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Philadelphia's 66% faceoff rate (31 of 47) gave them sustained offensive-zone time that directly created the conditions for both the equalizing power play and the shootout winner.
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Special teams converted when it mattered: the Zegras power-play goal was the tying score, and Foerster closed it in the shootout β Philadelphia's second-period two-for-two stretch on critical possessions decided the outcome.
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Philadelphia's physical commitment β 32 hits, 23 blocked shots β denied Carolina the clean zone entries needed to re-establish a third-period lead.
πWHY CAR LOST
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An 18-giveaway total at 5v5 repeatedly handed Philadelphia the puck in dangerous areas and directly enabled the comeback.
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Carolina's 34% faceoff rate meant they could not control possession in their own zone or reliably protect the lead in the final two periods.
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A perfect power play in the first period ultimately meant nothing β Carolina failed to generate a single goal across the final 40 minutes plus overtime.
Three Stars
Tyson Foerster1st
PHI, R
1 assist3 hits18:36 TOI
Foerster's assist on the tying power-play goal and shootout winner made him the direct architect of Philadelphia's two decisive scoring moments.
Matvei Michkov2nd
PHI, R
1 goal3 shots on goal15:33 TOI
Michkov's second-period equalizer ignited the comeback and forced Carolina to abandon their defensive posture.
Nikolaj Ehlers3rd
CAR, L
1 goal1 assist6 shots on goal16:25 TOI
Ehlers drove Carolina's entire offensive output β his point on both Hurricanes goals underscores how little threat the rest of the roster generated.
