Seth Jarvis in Hurricanes’ 3-0 Game 1 win over Flyers

seth jarvis and the Carolina Hurricanes opened the Eastern Conference Second Round with a 3-0 shutout of the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, pushing their playoff start to 5-0. The win kept Carolina unbeaten in the postseason and gave it a series lead before Game 2 at Lenovo Center on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.

Stankoven's 2-goal start

Logan Stankoven scored twice, with Jackson Blake adding a goal and an assist and Taylor Hall picking up one assist as Carolina jumped to a 2-0 lead in the opening 7:30. The second line of Stankoven between Blake and Hall drove the early separation, which let the Hurricanes play from ahead and keep the Flyers out of rhythm.

Frederik Andersen stopped all 19 Philadelphia shots for his second shutout of the postseason, and Carolina limited the Flyers to 13 shots during 5-on-5 play. Mike Reilly, playing his first game of the postseason, added two assists. That kind of distribution has been a feature of the Hurricanes' five-game start, even before the series shifted to Philadelphia's top matchup.

Carolina's 24-for-25 kill

The penalty kill went 4-for-4 and has now held opponents to 24-for-25 in the playoffs, a 96 percent rate. Carolina also allowed only two shots on goal while down a man, both during a 6-on-4 late in the third period. The special teams split was the sharpest contrast in the game: the Flyers got no power-play goals, while the Hurricanes went 0-for-4 despite putting five shots on goal and allowing four short-handed shots against.

Rod Brind'Amour said the standard inside the room is still higher than the score line. "All these games that we've played could have gone the other way," he said Sunday. "A bounce here or there and now all a sudden it looks different. We're always chasing the perfect game. I have yet to see it, so there’s a lot to get better."

Lenovo Center on Monday

Jordan Staal called the penalty kill and five-on-five structure solid, while Jordan Martinook pointed to the chances Carolina still gave up. "You don't want to give up as many chances as we do," he said. "You look at all the plays that maybe it's getting a puck out here or a missed clear."

Alexander Nikishin remained out after the concussion he sustained in Game 4 against Ottawa, and Brind'Amour's own review was blunt about the third period: "It wasn't our best period, that's for sure." That is the real friction point for Carolina entering Game 2 — the team has not trailed in five playoff games and has not allowed more than two goals in any of them, but the power play is 2-for-19 and sitting at 10.5 percent. Monday's game in Raleigh will show whether that edge holds when the series adjusts.