In Raleigh Tuesday night, the Carolina Hurricanes took advantage of the All-Star break to regain some swagger in a 5-1 thumping of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Canes’ rookie forward, Sebastian Aho, scored his first NHL hat trick in the win.
“When you score, it’s easier to score the next one,” Aho said. “You get some confidence. It’s always easier once you get the first one.”
Conversely, the Flyers came out of the break flat and listless.
“There’s a lot of things to be disappointed with today,” Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol said. “Obviously, I didn’t do a very good job preparing this group yesterday and through the day today. It’s one game. That’s the thing that’s got to be kept in perspective. We will answer the bell and go back to work tomorrow.”
Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk added goals for the Hurricanes.
Turnovers were a big issue for the Flyers all night and the first two goals by Carolina were the direct result of sloppy play by Philadelphia.
“The first couple (Hurricanes goals) were turnovers by us,” Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning said. “When you’re turning the puck over and not getting it deep, not much good is going to come of that. If we had simplified a little more and tried to get into the game, it makes it a little easier on you. It just wasn’t there tonight.”
WATCH: All Flyers vs. Hurricanes highlights
The Hurricanes had a 5-0 lead before the Flyers’ Brayden Schenn scored a power play marker midway through the third period.
Steve Mason (23 saves) took the loss as the Flyers were unable to get much going in the offensive zone with only six shots on goal in the first 40 minutes of the game; they had 16 shots for the game.
Cam Ward got the win on 15 saves.
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