Rick Tocchet Eyes Game 3 Win as Hurricanes Vs Flyers Turns to Philly
Hurricanes vs Flyers moved to Philadelphia on Thursday for Game 3, and Carolina arrived with a chance to push the series to 3-0 after taking the first two games on home ice. The Flyers need a response at Xfinity Mobile Arena after a 3-0 loss on Saturday and a 3-2 overtime loss on Monday.
Game 3 at Xfinity Mobile Arena
Rick Tocchet said the goal is blunt: “This is our game where we win this game, we're back in this series,” he said Thursday before Game 3. Philadelphia has home ice now, and that brings last change, which Tocchet said he would try to use to slow down the Hurricanes' hot line.
The Flyers want that matchup edge because Carolina used the last line change on home ice in the first two games to get favorable matchups. In a series where the margins have already swung from a shutout to overtime, the next shift choice carries real weight for Philadelphia’s bench.
Carolina’s 6-0 start
Carolina entered Game 3 with a 6-0 record in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Game 2 was the first time the Hurricanes trailed in the postseason, and they still escaped with a 3-2 overtime win after Taylor Hall scored at 18:54.
That kind of start also put the Hurricanes on the edge of a larger mark. A seventh straight victory would tie the Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers record for the longest streak at any point during a playoff year, a mark set during the 2006 run to the Stanley Cup title.
Hall, Stankoven, Blake
Hall, Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake have driven Carolina’s scoring through the first two games. Hall has one goal and one assist in the series, Stankoven has two goals, and Blake has one goal and three assists.
Philadelphia’s challenge is not abstract. Travis Konecny said, “Coming home, we have a good opportunity here to play in front of our fans,” and added, “I think we build off of the last game we had in Carolina.” He also said, “I thought we played a pretty good game, and we've still got another level, to be honest with you.”
The numbers behind the series leave little room for error. Teams that take a 3-0 lead in a best-of-7 series own an all-time record of 212-4, listed as 98.1 percent, including 3-0 results in the 2026 playoffs. Philadelphia’s only path back starts with the result Thursday night, because the next game will only matter if the Flyers can force Carolina to come back to center ice with the series alive.
