Stankoven Stays Hot As Hurricanes Dominate Flyers In Series Opener

TL;DR

The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 in Game 1 of their series, showcasing dominant play throughout. The Hurricanes, heavy favorites, quickly established control and never looked back.

Key points

Hurricanes won Game 1 against Flyers 3-0
Game played at Lenovo Center with a sold-out crowd
Hurricanes were heavy favorites heading into the series
Team showed no signs of rust despite a week off
Dominated play and controlled the game from the start

Carolina HurricanesPhiladelphia FlyersOttawa Senators

Heading into this series, the Carolina Hurricanes were already considered heavy, heavy favorites, but after a Game 1 trouncing of the Philadelphia Flyers, I'm not even sure two "heavy"s was enough.

The Canes defeated the Flyers 3-0 Saturday night in front of sold out and rocking Lenovo Center and at no point did the game really feel close or competitive.

A lot was made about potential rust due to the Hurricanes' ample rest, the team hadn't played in a full week after sweeping the Ottawa Senators, but you wouldn't have been able to guess that they were supposed to be sluggish.

Right from the hop, Carolina was all over the Flyers, pinning them into their own defensive zone, forcing turnovers and generating looks and the game wasn't even two minutes old yet before the Canes struck.

And wouldn't you know it, it was Logan Stankoven once again being the man on the spot.

After winning a puck battle in the corner, Stankoven moved the puck up the wall and then went to the net front, where he then tipped home a Mike Reilly point shot past Dan Vladar for his fourth game-opening goal of the postseason.

Carolina didn't go away from there and after a bit more pressure, they struck again, this time in transition as Jackson Blake received an elite pass from Taylor Hall and then just proceeded to embarrass his man on the one-on-one battle before sliding the puck in past Vladar.