Gut-Check Win in the 'Peg
As Flyers head coach John Tortorella put it after the game, the deck "was stacking up" against Philadelphia going into last night's game in Winnipeg. It was a gut-check game if there ever was one. Philly passed the test with flying colors.
The Flyers were playing their third road game in four nights (fourth game overall in six nights), on the second game of a back-to-back with a border crossing and a late-night arrival at the team hotel. Meanwhile, on game day, the Flyers learned that they'd be without the services of top-line center Sean Couturier ("minor injury" sustained in Friday's game in Minnesota) and top-pairing defenseman Jamie Drysdale (illness) for the game against the Jets. Several other players are banged up and are trying to grit it out until the bye week/ All-Star break.
The Jets, who brought an eight-game winning streak and a 14-game point streak (12-0-2) into Saturday's game, were also missing a couple of key pieces, including Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. Others (such as Nikolaj Ehlers) were playing at significantly less than 100 percent. As such, the two teams were more or less in the same boat in terms of trying to work around vital pieces being unavailable or at less-than-full capacity.
However, the Jets had no travel over the week. They'd been at home since Monday, while the Flyers went from Philadelphia to Minnesota to Winnipeg. The Jets were also idle on the schedule on Friday night as the Flyers went overtime against the Minnesota Wild.
Nevertheless, the Flyers not only held their own against the Jets, but Philly was also the better team in the first period and most of the second period. Trailing 2-0, the Jets made a late second period push and then came at the Flyers heavily in surges of third period momentum. That's when Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson (35 saves for his third shutout of the season) took over the game and slammed the door.
Overall, it was a very satisfying and important win against a top NHL opponent. Apart from Ersson's stellar night in goal, there were various other Flyers standouts who deserve mention. The bigger picture was it was very much a team win: nearly every player contributed something along the way, whether it was an offensive play, a shot block at a key moment, a defensive zone clear or simply a hold-the-fort shift that bought a breather for the personnel that logged the heaviest ice time. Some notables:
* Cam Atkinson finally ended his career-worst 26-game goal drought. He provided both Flyers' goals in the game. He had two prime scoring chances early in the first period before re-directing a puck that got past Connor Hellebuyck for a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Atkinson potted a power play rebound to double the Flyers' lead. Later, he had two additional high-grade opportunities to complete a hat trick. That didn't happen, but a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders and energized the team as a whole. Overall, Atkinson generated six shots on goal and nine shot attempts. One night earlier, Atkinson pulled down 20 minutes of ice time and created the overtime power play that resulted in Joel Farabee's game-winning goal.
* Without Couturier in the lineup, the Flyers rotated three centers: Scott Laughton (29 shifts, 24:50 TOI, two blocked shots, two blocks, one hit, three shots on goal and seven shot attempts), Morgan Frost (25 shifts, 19:23 TOI, primary assist on the Atkinson PPG, five shots on goal and six shot attempts, 62.8 percent on-ice Corsi, four scoring chances created for linemates, two individual scoring chances, two blocks, two hits), and Ryan Poehling (26 shifts, 16:06 TOI, secondary assist on the first Atkinson goal, team-best 11-for-17 on faceoffs, 2:40 of strong PK work, several good defensive plays).
* It's a poorly kept "secret" that NHL All-Star Game selection Travis Konecny is one of the most notable Flyers who is pretty banged up right now but continues to play at a very high level. He did not get on the scoresheet on Saturday but had three scoring chances, three shots on goal and seven scoring chances. It wasn't TK's "A" game, but it was still very valuable. Konecny rotated with different centers, played (as usual) in every manpower situation and had a nice takeaway.
* With Drysdale unavailable, the blueline reverted back to the pre-trade pairings: Travis Sanheim with Cam York, Nick Seeler with Sean Walker, and a mix-and-match of Egor Zamula or Marc Staal alongside Rasmus Ristolainen. York had a particularly strong game, even apart from a secondary assist on the PPG sequence. Sanheim played 22:38 of all-situations ice time. Seeler came up with a key shot block. Walker moved the puck well, made a couple intelligent pinches and also chipped in three credited hits. The third pair did not get scored upon and Zamula continued to look confident on the power play. It was nothing spectacular, but all totaled, the Flyers' blueline did the job.
* The Flyers power play has now scored a goal in five straight games, with one power play goal apiece from Couturier, Owen Tippett, Frost, Farabee (4-on-3), and Atkinson. As I wrote in Saturday's 5 Things preview on the Flyers' official site, the Flyers can't worry about overall NHL ranking for the season. It was such a barren wasteland in the first half of the season that even the middle of the NHL pack for the season is probably unrealistic. The Flyers can only worry about the second half of the season. Since the Christmas break, the Flyers' PP is 6-for-33 (18.2 percent, tied for 20th in the NHL). That's nothing spectacular, but it's a huge improvement. The Flyers need to keep building from it.
* Secondary scoring: To keep on winning, the Flyers will need regular contributions from forwards other than Konecny, Couturier and Farabee. The last week has trended positively in that regard. Tippett put together a three-game goal streak. Frost has four points (2g, 2a) in the last five games including points on three of Philly's five power play goals. Tyson Foerster broke a 16-game goal drought with a key third period goal in Minnesota to narrow a 3-1 deficit to one goal. Atkinson had the two goals in Winnipeg. Again, it's a step in the right direction.
* In the Minnesota game, Hart would have liked back the Ryan Hartman goal in the third period that gave the Wild a 2-1 lead. He was otherwise strong. Ersson was even better in Winnipeg. With all due respect to Felix Sandström, who is talented but has been quite inconsistent, one of the biggest differences between this season and last is that there's no drop-off whatsoever if Hart is not in net on a given night.
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Quick Hits: January 14, 2024
1) After Monday's game in St. Louis, the Flyers will only have one game outside the Eastern time zone (Feb. 21 in Chicago) the rest of the season. All other road games will be played against Eastern Conference teams.
2) Phantoms: The Phantoms earned a 4-3 (1-0 in four rounds) shootout home win against the Hershey Bears on Saturday evening at the PPL Center. Olle Lycksell (PPG, 15th) and AHL All-Star Samu Tuomaala (11th) scored in the first period. Ronnie Attard (7th) tied the game in the third period. After a scoreless overtime, J.R. Avon won the game in the shootout. Cal Petersen stopped 31 of 34 shots in regulation and OT against the AHL's top team this season and then went 4-for-4 in the shootout.
3) Various Flyers Alumni will be appearing at the Philadelphia Auto Show this week to sign autographs and chat with fans. There will also be some notable Phillies Alumni (Tommy Greene, Mickey Morandini, Milt Thompson).
Bernie Parent and Dave Schultz were there on Saturday. Today, Parent and Schultz will be there again from noon to 2 p.m. ET. as well as next Sunday (Jan. 21) during the same hours.
Additionally, Joe and Jimmy Watson will be there tomorrow (2 p.m. to 4 p.m.). Gary Dornhoefer and Doug Crossman will appear this Thursday (5 p.m. to 7 p.m.). On Friday, Chris Therien and Brad Marsh (5 p.m. to 7 p.m.) will be on hand.
4) Therien and Brian Propp have been added to the Flyers Alumni Game playing roster for January 26. In honor of Bundy's addition, there's a $6 off coupon code for remaining lower-level seats for the Alumni Game: Click here.
5) Condolences go out to the friends and family of alum Flyers defenseman Glen Cochrane, who passed away this weekend at age 65 after a battle with cancer. For a memorial tribute to one of the toughest fighters in team history, click here.