Hall's OT score helps Hurricanes
top Flyers 3-2 to take 2-0 lead in 2nd-round series of NHL playoffs
[May 05, 2026]
By AARON BEARD
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Taylor Hall slipped the puck past Dan Vladar at
18:54 of overtime to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the
Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Monday night, taking a 2-0 lead in their
second-round series in the NHL playoffs.
Hall took a short feed from Sean Walker and carried the puck in on
the left side before being knocked to his knees near the top of the
crease. But Hall hopped up as Jackson Blake battled for the loose
puck, corralled it and beat Vladar to cap a night that saw the
Hurricanes fall behind 2-0 quickly for their first deficit of the
postseason.
Afterward, Hall said he didn't even realize he had fallen down until
he watched a replay afterward.
“When you score in overtime, it seems like parts of your memory kind
of go,” Hall said, adding later: “I was in another time zone there
for a second.”
The series shifts to Philadelphia for Thursday’s Game 3.
Seth Jarvis had the third-period goal that forced overtime for
Carolina, while Nikolaj Ehlers also scored. Frederik Andersen
finished with 34 saves to help the Hurricanes improve to 6-0 in the
postseason.
Still, this one was anything but easy compared to the smothering
first-period that paved the way to a 3-0 win in Monday's Game 1.
Flyers coach Rick Tocchet had talked about the need for his players
to react quicker against Carolina's aggression and speed, and carry
the puck more into the tough areas of the ice.
The Flyers did that early, with Jamie Drysdale and Sean Couturier
scoring in a 39-second span of the first period for the Flyers. And
they outshot Carolina 15-8 in the overtime in a much more assertive
showing, but the Flyers couldn't beat Andersen again after that
flurry in the first 5 minutes.
Vladar had 40 saves, including twice stopping Carolina's Eric
Robinson on second-period breakaways. He also got a timely bit of
help in that period from Travis Sanheim, who cleared a loose puck
that had slipped behind Vladar in the crease to deny Carolina a
tying score.
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Carolina Hurricanes' Logan Stankoven, right, collides with
Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar (80) during the third
period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff
series in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl
DeBlaker)
Tocchet felt more energy from his Flyers — in their
first postseason since 2020 — in the aftermath of the Game 1 loss.
“I thought the young guys competed,” he said. “I'm really proud of
these guys. They just made the play at the end, that's it.”
Ehlers' one-timer on the power play got Carolina on the board in the
first. Then Ehlers fed a trailing Jarvis to beat Vladar from the
right side midway through the third period, ultimately forcing OT.
It was a penalty-filled night with the teams combining to go 2 for
13 with the man advantage, which derailed either team from getting
in much of a 5-on-5 rhythm and leaving Vladar and Andersen to come
up with big stops the entire night.
“Goaltending was not the issue tonight for any team,” Carolina coach
Rod Brind'Amour said.
Philadelphia played a second straight game without regular-season
goals leader Owen Tippett due to an undisclosed injury, while
Carolina defenseman Alexander Nikishin took warmups but didn't play
as he continues his recovery from a concussion suffered in the
clinching game of the first-round sweep of Ottawa.
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