RALEIGH, N.C. -- Veteran forward Nikolaj Ehlers, hampered by a lower-body injury in the Carolina Hurricanes' first-round sweep of the Ottawa Senators, returned to the lineup Saturday night, when his club defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Ehlers, 30, returned to practice this week as the Hurricanes awaited their second-round opponent. In his first season with Carolina, Ehlers had 26 goals and 71 points as the Hurricanes raced to the East's No. 1 seed. He played in three games against Ottawa, registering one assist during an average of 20:01 time on the ice. In his Saturday return, Ehlers received top-line minutes, skating in 22 shifts for a total of 18:17 time on the ice. He finished with three shots.
For the second consecutive series, the Hurricanes opened with a Game 1 shutout. After blanking the Senators 2-0 in Game 1 last month, Logan Stankoven scored twice and Jackson Blake once, en route to an easy win over a Flyers team that needed six games to dispatch the Pittsburgh Penguins last round.
Carolina is now 5-0 this postseason, with two shutouts and only five goals allowed. Game 2 is Monday at the Lenovo Center.
On the Hurricanes' back end, they were without rookie Alexander Nikishin for the opener. During Game 4 vs. Ottawa, Nikishin was knocked from the second period after a jarring hit from Tyler Kleven, leaving the defenseman prone on the ice and struggling to get back to his feet. Nikishin was diagnosed with a concussion and has yet to clear the league's concussion protocol, though he has been practicing with the team.
On the other side of Game 1, Flyers forward Owen Tippett sat out, as the club ruled out its regular-season goals leader about a half hour before puck drop due to an undisclosed injury. The team announced that Tippett is considered day-to-day.
Tippett had 28 goals and 23 assists in the regular season, then had one goal and one assist in the series victory over Pittsburgh that marked Philadelphia's first postseason appearance since 2020.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
