{"id":490312,"date":"2026-05-02T08:27:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T12:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=490312"},"modified":"2026-05-02T08:27:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T12:27:29","slug":"philadelphia-flyers-vs-carolina-hurricanes-stanley-cup-second-round-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/05\/02\/philadelphia-flyers-vs-carolina-hurricanes-stanley-cup-second-round-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia Flyers vs Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cup Second Round Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s time for another Last Word on Hockey First-Round series preview.\u00a0<\/span>We’re down to the final eight in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This time we preview the Philadelphia Flyers<\/a> vs Carolina Hurricanes<\/a> second-round series. Both the Flyers and the Hurricanes got out to 3-0 series leads in their respective opening-round series. However, Carolina completed the sweep while Philadelphia was dragged to six games.<\/p>\n

Carolina completed a four-game sweep over the Ottawa Senators<\/a> in the first round of the postseason. The Hurricanes got a strong performance in goal from veteran Frederik Andersen<\/a>. Carolina also held the duo of Brady Tkachuk<\/a> and Tim Stutzle<\/a> to one point.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia raced out to a 3-0 lead on the higher-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins.<\/a> However, it took the Flyers three chances to dispatch their Keystone State rivals in Game 6.<\/p>\n

Let’s take a look at the statistics and storylines heading into this series between the Philadelphia Flyers vs Carolina Hurricanes series.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Flyers vs Carolina Hurricanes Series Preview<\/h2>\n

Flyers vs Hurricanes Odds and Promos<\/h2>\n

The Carolina Hurricanes took three of the four games<\/a> against the Flyers this season. However, all four of these games between the two clubs went to overtime. Carolina averaged 3.25 goals per game in the four matchups while Philadelphia averaged 2.75 goals scored. All four games going to overtime proves the margins between the two teams in the regular season were very thin.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes are large favourites over the Flyers in this series. Some places have Carolina listed as -330 favourite to advance to the next round. This means that Carolina has a nearly 77 percent chance to advance to another Eastern Conference Final. Some places think the Flyers won’t even drag this series to six games.<\/p>\n

Flyers vs Hurricanes 2025-26 History<\/h2>\n

As mentioned before, all four games went to at least overtime this season. Three of these games were decided via the shootout, with Carolina taking two out of three of these affairs. However, there won’t be a shootout in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Games are going to be 5-on-5 and last until one team scores.<\/p>\n

The Flyers seemingly matched up well against the Hurricanes and it may be a tighter series then people think. However, Andersen started only once, but he did win that encounter.<\/p>\n

Flyers vs Hurricanes Keys to the Series<\/h2>\n

What the Flyers Need to do to Find Success<\/h3>\n

Philadelphia has come out of nowhere to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, the Flyers don’t seem to be content with just making the postseason. Philadelphia got off the blocks with a 3-0 series lead. Porter Martone<\/a> has broken out in a big way since signing from Michigan State in the NCAA. Martone netted the game-winning goal in the first two games against the Penguins and assisted on the winning goal in Game 3. The Flyers are young and seem to be buying into head coach Rick Tocchet<\/a>‘s system.<\/p>\n

Trevor Zegras<\/a> has also blossomed since coming over from theAnaheim Ducks Mighty Again vs Edmonton Oilers, With Their First Playoff Series Win Since 2017<\/a> Anaheim Ducks in the summertime. Zegras, Travis Konecny<\/a>, and N<\/span>oah Cates all had a goal and three assists to lead the club. However, Rasmus Ristolainen<\/a> was the surprising leader in assists (4) and points (5) in the first round.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Philadelphia also may have found its answer in between the pipes in the free agent market. Daniel Vladar<\/a> signed from the Calgary Flames<\/a> and has cemented his spot in the crease. The Czech netminder made 42 saves in a tense 1-0 victory over Pittsburgh in the clinching game. Philadelphia had many problems finding the right fit in goal, but Vladar might be the answer.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

(Credit Image: \u00a9 Kevin Schultz\/Cal Sport Media)<\/span><\/p>\n

What the Hurricanes Need to do to Find Success<\/h3>\n

Carolina should be well-rested heading into this series. The old question of rest versus rust will rear its ugly head for Rod Brind’Amour<\/a>‘s men in the series opener. However, the Canes are veterans of the playoff wars. Logan Stankoven<\/a> seemed to be the bane of Ottawa’s existence in the opening round with four goals in the opening round. Carolina’s old reliable, Sebastian Aho<\/a>, added three goals against the Senators.<\/p>\n

Andersen has seemingly turned back the clock so far for Carolina. The 36-year-old Dane 4-0 with a 1.10 goals-against average, .955 save percentage and one shutout. Andersen yielded just five goals in the team’s four-game sweep. Goaltending his been a problem for the Hurricanes, but Andersen finding his game makes the Hurricanes very dangerous.<\/span><\/p>\n

Forner Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall<\/a> collected seven points to lead the Canes after the first round. Hall and Stankoven’s linemate, Jackson Blake<\/a>, gave Ottawa fits and could do the same against Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

Predictions and Best Bets<\/h2>\n

Carolina does seem to have the edge when it comes to talent and depth. However, all four games between the two teams were tight affairs. The Hurricanes know it won’t be an easy series and they’ll have to earn their way back to the conference finals against a hungry team.<\/p>\n

However, Carolina knows that this may be its best chance to raise the Stanley Cup for the second time in franchise history. The path is a more favourable one than it has been in years. Philadelphia won’t just hand it to Carolina. However, the Hurricanes will get back to the last four once again.<\/p>\n

The play for many experts is Carolina winning the series in five games. However, we think it’ll be a little more difficult for the Hurricanes then some think.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Hurricanes win in six games.<\/em><\/p>\n

Main photo by:\u00a0 Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s time for another Last Word on Hockey First-Round series preview.\u00a0We’re down to the final eight in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This time we preview the Philadelphia Flyers vs Carolina Hurricanes second-round series. Both the Flyers and the Hurricanes got out to 3-0 series leads in their respective opening-round series. However, Carolina completed the sweep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":490314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,4547,34,4548,16,4524],"tags":[8285,7297,6963,188,6785,7800,8126],"class_list":["post-490312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hurricanes","category-hockey","category-news","category-nhl","category-flyers","category-nhl-predictions","tag-2026-stanley-cup-playoffs","tag-carolina-hurricanes-analysis","tag-daniel-vladar","tag-frederik-andersen","tag-logan-stankoven","tag-philadelphia-flyers-analysis","tag-porter-martone"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490312"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":490316,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490312\/revisions\/490316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}