The Carolina Hurricanes' maddening inconsistency has gotten on team captain Jordan Staal's nerves. He couldn't wrap his head around the Hurricanes' up-and-down season despite a strong nucleus. Staal shared his thoughts after their 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, per Hurricanes.com's Walt Ruff.

“The effort of the way we want to play is what's holding us back. The edge that you have in the NHL is that you kind of know where the puck is going because that's the way we do things,” Jordan Staal said.

“It seems right now we're just not sure what's going to happen. It starts to look like that sloppy stuff in the neutral zone when pucks are bouncing around and guys are just twirling around,” Staal added.

“It's a less direct game than the Hurricanes know and love. I'm sure the fans love to watch it and tonight they didn't really look like they loved that game. And I don't blame them,” Jordan Staal concluded.

The Hurricanes couldn't stop the Flyers on Wednesday

The Hurricanes' defense was a letdown in the first two periods. They surrendered one goal each to Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny before the first intermission.

The Flyers increased their lead to 3-0 after Ryan Poehling scored just 29 seconds into the second period. Stefan Noesen countered with a goal for Carolina 10 minutes later. Regrettably, the Hurricanes couldn't build on that goal.

The Hurricanes had won six of eight games prior to their loss to the Flyers on Wednesday. They have clawed their way out of a horrendous 0-3 start and are currently third in the Metropolitan division with a 9-7-0 record.

Jordan Staal and the Hurricanes have been perennial Stanley Cup contenders since Rod Brind'Amour started calling the shots in the 2018-19 NHL season. Unfortunately, they endured a heartbreaking sweep in the Eastern Conference Finals last spring.

If the Hurricanes want to get over the hump, they'd better get their act together soon.