Rick Tocchet Reacts to Flyers Loss, 'We've Been Dead Before and We've Climbed Out of the Grave'

Philadelphia Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said Monday his players' ability to beat the odds by making the playoffs will help them recover from an 0-2 second-round series deficit against the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Flyers gained an early 2-0 lead during Game 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes before ultimately conceding a 3-2 overtime loss on Monday night in Raleigh.

"I think the belief in the room, I think that really helps," Tocchet said when asked how his team could take away positives from the Game 2 loss. "The belief in the room of just staying with it.

"We've been dead before, and we've climbed out of the grave. We keep hearing that we're dead and dead, but the guys won't give up. So, that's why I'm proud of them."

Flyers-Hurricanes Highlights

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The Flyers were largely expected to miss the playoffs as of February after the franchise went into the Olympic break ranked sixth in the Metropolitan Division with a 25-20-11 record.

Philadelphia returned from the break and went 18-7-1, the fourth-best points percentage in the NHL over that stretch, to leapfrog the New York Islanders, Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets for the third spot in the division.

The Flyers arrived for their first morning skate of the postseason wearing t-shirts with the 3.8 percent, the franchise's MoneyPuck playoff odds as of March 18, on the sleeve.

Tocchet's team ultimately jumped out to a 3-0 first-round series lead over the higher-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins before closing out Round 1 with a Game 6 overtime win.

It was the Flyers on the wrong side of an overtime decision on Monday night as the Hurricanes' Taylor Hall capitalized on a scramble in front of Dan Vladar's net to score with just over one minute remaining in the extra frame.

The loss still marked overall improvements from Game 1, during which the Flyers struggled to get any offensive traction in a 3-0 shutout loss.

Tocchet will hope the chance to play in front of a home crowd will help his young team build on Monday's strong early push when the puck drops for Game 3 at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday night in Philadelphia.