Jackson Blake netted his second goal of the night in overtime, powering the visiting Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Saturday evening. The win secured a sweep for Carolina, marking their second straight series sweep in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Blake’s decisive goal came at 5:31 of the extra period, as he fired a shot off Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar’s left shoulder from between the hash marks, capping a fast rush and sending the Hurricanes to the conference finals. They will face either the Buffalo Sabres or Montreal Canadiens, a series currently tied 1-1 heading into Game 3 on Sunday.
Blake also recorded an assist, while Logan Stankoven added a goal, Taylor Hall contributed three assists, and Frederik Andersen made 15 saves for Carolina. The Hurricanes became the first team since the 1985 Edmonton Oilers to start a postseason with eight straight wins.
Tyson Foerster and Alex Bump scored for Philadelphia, and Vladar stopped 37 shots.
Foerster opened the scoring with his first playoff goal at 7:50 of the first period, giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead. Porter Martone fed Trevor Zegras, who carried speed across the blue line, then saucered a centering pass to Foerster. He collected the puck at the right hash marks and beat Andersen with a wrist shot.
Carolina tied the game at 12:35 of the second period when Blake’s wrist shot from near the wall above the right faceoff circle deflected off Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale’s midsection and into the net, as Drysdale battled Stankoven in front of the crease.
The Hurricanes briefly thought they had taken the lead on a Mark Jankowski goal at 13:03 of the second, but Philadelphia successfully challenged for goaltender interference on William Carrier, who jostled with Oliver Bonk in the crease.
Carolina finally grabbed its first lead of the game at 4:13 of the third period. Hall made a centering pass to Stankoven on a 3-on-2 rush, and Stankoven redirected the puck home for his NHL-leading seventh goal of the postseason, making it 2-1.
That advantage did not last long. Travis Konecny forced a turnover behind the Carolina goal line and fed the puck out front to Bump, who one-timed it from between the hash marks to tie the game at 5:52 of the third period.
