Hurricanes vs. Flyers: Shayne Gostisbehere Burns His Old Team in OT as Sebastian Aho Scores Twice

Ten seconds. That is how long it took the Carolina Hurricanes to score on Saturday night in Philadelphia, which makes it almost funny that they needed overtime, a power play and a former Flyer to actually finish the job.

Shayne Gostisbehere handled the last part, ripping a slap shot past Joseph Woll 2:51 into the extra period as the Hurricanes beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Sebastian Aho scored twice and set up the winner, and the defending Stanley Cup champions finally got into the win column after dropping their first two games of the season.

Ten Seconds, Then a Grind

The opening shift was a perfect little machine. Andrei Svechnikov wrapped the puck around the boards, William Carrier pounced on it behind the net and found Aho up high, and Aho's shot deflected in off Woll's glove. It was the fastest goal to start a game by a Hurricanes or Hartford Whalers player since Kevin Dineen did it in 10 seconds on Dec. 3, 1990, per NHL.com.

Philadelphia did not fold. Owen Tippett tied it at 8:03 of the first, threading a snap shot from the slot through a forest of bodies in front, with Trevor Zegras earning the assist. In the second period Travis Konecny won a puck battle with Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the Carolina zone and found an unguarded Matvei Michkov in front, and Michkov beat a sliding Pyotr Kochetkov high at 7:20. According to the AP, those were the first two goals scored by Flyers forwards all season.

And then Philadelphia's offense essentially went into airplane mode. After Michkov's goal, the Flyers managed only two more shots in the period, and NHL.com had them outshot 20-8 over the final 35:31 of the game. Carolina owned the puck. Woll was the only thing standing between the Hurricanes and a comfortable night.

The Turning Point: Philly's Penalty Problem

Michkov's holding penalty on Svechnikov at 3:45 of the third opened the door, and Aho walked right through it. At 4:59, he hammered a one-timer from above the hash marks off a Nikolaj Ehlers feed to make it 2-2. Carolina finished 2-for-4 on the power play, which was the difference in a game where the teams were otherwise trading body blows.

The Flyers did get their chances to flip it. Jalen Chatfield's roughing minor and a late Gostisbehere slashing call put Philadelphia on the power play, the second one carrying 34 seconds into overtime, including a 4-on-3. Philadelphia went 0-for-4 with the extra skater and put just four shots on goal across all four of its power plays, only one of them during that overtime 4-on-3.

Then Tippett slashed Aho at 1:35 of overtime, and the Hurricanes made the Flyers pay. Jackson Blake slid the puck over to Gostisbehere atop the left circle, and the defenseman teed it up and blasted it home. Flyers coach Rick Tocchet was blunt about the pattern. "The last few games we're taking some dumb penalties too," he said.

Aho Runs the Show, Gostisbehere Gets Redemption

Aho was everywhere: two goals, an assist, 20:30 of ice time and a 10-5 night in the face-off circle. Those were his second and third goals of the season, and he insisted the fast start was only part of the story. "Obviously it's nice to get a hot start and start the game the right way," Aho said. "But honestly, I felt today we were playing our game the full 60-plus minutes."

Svechnikov added two assists, and Blake and Ehlers each set up a power-play goal.

Gostisbehere, meanwhile, went from the penalty box to the hero's chair in about four minutes of game time. His slash at 18:34 of the third gave Philadelphia its best chance to win, and his first goal of the season ended the game. He kept it modest. "I was just trying to put it there, and thankfully it went in," he said.

In goal, Kochetkov made 16 saves on 18 shots in his first game since Dec. 20, after missing the rest of last season following surgery for a lower-body injury, according to NHL.com. He did not face much, but he was square when it mattered.

Woll deserves real credit on the other side. He stopped 37 of 40 for a .925 save percentage and kept a badly outshot team in a game it had no business still being in after 60 minutes.

Stats That Matter

• 40-18: Carolina's shot advantage. The Hurricanes more than doubled up the Flyers.
• 2-for-4 vs. 0-for-4: The power plays decided this one, start to finish.
• 122-62: How badly Philadelphia has been outshot across its first three games combined, per the AP.
• 29-13: Philadelphia's edge in hits. The Flyers were physical, just rarely in possession.
• 9: Straight seasons Carolina has won its road opener, matching the NHL record the Flyers set from 1980-81 to 1988-89.

What It Means

Carolina improves to 1-1-1. The Hurricanes opened with a 1-0 overtime loss to Florida, then lost 5-2 at home to Washington on Friday, so a road win on the back half of a back-to-back was exactly what they needed. The AP added that Rod Brind'Amour became the first coach to win nine consecutive road openers. His review was simple. "From start to finish, I thought we were good," Brind'Amour said. "I liked that we had to stick with it. Power play came up big, penalty kill was great, so that's what it needed to do tonight." Carolina visits Montreal on Tuesday.

Philadelphia falls to 0-1-2, the first time it has lost its first three games of a season since 2014-15. The Flyers were blown out 7-0 by Pittsburgh in their opener and lost 3-2 in overtime at New Jersey before this. This was also the first meeting since Carolina swept them in the second round last spring, and the gap still showed. They head out on a three-game road trip starting in Tampa Bay, and Tocchet knows the fix starts with the puck. "You have to execute plays. Our execution is not good this year. It really isn't," he said.

Gostisbehere (Taylor's Version)

There is something poetic about Gostisbehere beating his old team: same guy, same building, new sweater, much better ending for him. Think of it as a re-recording with a fresh label. Philadelphia, meanwhile, is still searching for its first single.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and team notes as reported by NHL.com.