It’s not often that you see “the loudest house in the NHL” become a library, but just 4:41 into the second game of the Hurricanes’ second-round matchup against the Flyers, you could almost hear a pin drop in the Lenovo Center.
For the first time in their entire playoff run, the Carolina Hurricanes found themselves trailing. Two quick Philadelphia goals — courtesy of defenseman Jamie Drysdale and center Sean courtier — came a mere 39 seconds apart from each other to give the Canes their first taste of postseason adversity, a 2-0 hole.
“It was the first time trailing in this playoff,” Canes defenseman K’Andre Miller said. “So that was a little weird, but I thought we did a great job responding.”
The Hurricanes (53-22-7) didn’t let this adversity get the best of them as they responded in a big way to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers (43-27-12) in overtime, 3-2, and maintain their perfect 6-0 playoff record.
Facing a 2-0 deficit is never easy, especially when you sit between the pipes. Time and time again, the Flyers attempted to bury the Canes and put the game to bed, but netminder Frederik Andersen stood tall, stopping 34 of 36 Philadelphia shots en route to his team’s 2-0 series lead.
“That’s just a testament to the type of person he is and the player he is. He’s been doing a great job, obviously, this entire playoffs,” Miller said. “You’re going to have a mess up every once in a while, but it’s just a matter of turning the page and getting back to your game.”
On the other end of the ice, the Canes couldn’t seem to figure out Flyers’ goaltender Dan Vladar. After Ehlers scored on the power play off a blazing cross-ice pass from fellow winger Jackson Blake, it looked for a while that his goal would be the only one appearing on the scoresheet for the Canes. However, nearing the end of the third period, head coach Rod Brind’Amour mixed up his lines, putting the Dane with center Seth Jarvis in hopes of sparking his offense to tie the game.
“Jeff Daniels, who helps me with the forward group, does such a good job. He’s just like, ‘Okay, it’s time’,” Brind’Amour said. “Literally the first shift we [changed], that’s what happened. So I have to give him all the credit there. It doesn’t always work that way, but tonight it did.”
Much to the delight of their head coach, Ehlers and Jarvis connected for the game-tying goal on their first shift together, which saw Jarvis wait just long enough to sneak the puck past Vladar and send the Lenovo Center into a frenzy.
We are off to overtime in Game 2 thanks to this game-tying goal by Seth Jarvis!
Who's going to be the hero in overtime? 🤔 #StanleyCup
🇺🇸: @espn
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet & @TVASports pic.twitter.com/XhLcQb4tZL— NHL (@NHL) May 5, 2026
This goal proved extra special for Jarvis as not only was it his first this postseason, but his longtime friends, affectionately known as the “good old Canadian boys”, were in attendance for the first time this postseason, serving as the Siren Sounders at the start of the game.
SETH JARVIS’ BUDDIES SOUND THE SIREN AHEAD OF GAME 2 🚨🌪️ pic.twitter.com/XTZ4GVoFrZ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 4, 2026
“It’s cool. I might have to keep them around more often. When they sounded the siren, and we went down two nothing right away, I was a little nervous. I was about to uninvite them forever,” Jarvis said. “So, glad we got the win. I saw them after we won, one had his shirt off, the other one is piggybacking on somebody, so I’m glad they’re enjoying it.”
With Jarvis’s goal knotting the game midway through the third and not much action to follow, Game 2 moved to sudden-death hockey. For nearly the entire overtime period, the teams went back and forth exchanging breakaways, high-danger chances and grueling hits with neither side giving in.
It wasn’t until the waning minutes of the period that Carolina finally reaped the benefits of their onslaught of shots. During a mad scramble in front of the net started by Canes defenseman Sean Walker, Vladar couldn’t cleanly cover the puck as winger Taylor Hall snuck the puck past the goal line to finish off the comeback.
COMEBACK COMPLETE ✅
Taylor Hall wins Game 2 in @Energizer overtime for the @Canes! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/IvZkmLjDU5
— NHL (@NHL) May 5, 2026
“I didn’t realize I fell down and then put it in. When you score in overtime, it seems like parts of your memory kind of go. It was a grade-A goal,” Hall said. “I didn’t do a good job of attacking tonight personally. I got that puck, and I wanted to get to the middle of the ice as much as I could, and got a shot off, then got the rebound. That was an overtime goal for sure.”
Although the team may not classify this win as the prettiest, the Hurricanes still escaped with a victory and now head north to Philadelphia with a 2-0 series lead.
The Canes will look to build on their series lead at the Flyers’ Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday, May 7. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m., with the game being set to broadcast on TNT.
