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Wrap: Flyers Fall in Minnesota, 4-1 |
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Wrap: Flyers Fall in Minnesota, 4-1
What has been a rough week for the adversity-beset Philadelphia Flyers, especially off the ice with the news that Oskar Lindblom is dealing with a Ewing sarcoma, did not improve any on Saturday in a 4-1 road loss to the Minnesota Wild.
An early lead was not an indicator of what was to come as the game progressed. James van Riemsdyk (7th goal of the season) scored on a 2-on-1 rush started by Morgan Frost to give the Flyers a quick 1-0 edge. Zach Parise (13th) Eric Staal (10th) answered in quick succession. In the second period, Staal (11th) made it a 3-1 lead for Minnesota in the second period and Carson Soucy (4th, empty net) tallied a long-distance empty netter as a Flyers power play expired to round out the scoring.
Carter Hart stopped 25 of 28 shots in a losing effort. Alex Stalock was not tested much in stopping 17 of 18 shots.
Already depleted at forward by injuries (Travis Konecny, Michael Raffl), Nolan Patrick's migraine disorder and Lindblom's Ewing sarcoma diagnosis, the Flyers also saw Tyler Pitlick and Scott Laughton forced out of Saturday's game. Pitlick left after the first period, while Laughton hobbled down the tunnel early in the second period. Neither player returned.
Apart from a stout penalty kill that held Minnesota without a shot on their first three man-advantage opportunities and went 5-for-5 overall, there wasn't much the Flyers could take away in a positive light from Saturday's game.
The work ethic was there, but shots on goal, much less bonafide scoring chances, were few and far between for lengthy stretches of the first and second periods. Even in the third period, the Flyers didn't force Stalock to make many difficult saves. The power play remained 0-for-December in going 0-for-3 against the Wild.
The Flyers had good early jump, and a quick JVR goal, but the Wild started to take over the play. A Phil Myers turnover and a Fiala wraparound attempt that, with ineffective netfront coverage bounced in off Parise was quickly followed by second effort goal by a wide open Staal near the net.
For more than half the first period, van Riemsdyk's goal was the Flyers' lone shot on goal. Philly regained equilibrium and generated a few chances, including one in which Joel Farabee (stick tied up in front) and Scott Laughton (missed the net) had good looks at the net. First period shots were 7-5 in the Wild's favor.
In the middle frame, for the second straight period, the Flyers went more than 10 minutes without a shot on goal, as they struggled with tight checking by Minnesota. At the other end, a multi-shot attempt scramble in the Philadelphia end eventually resulted in another Staal goal; the puck appeared to deflect in front. Late in the period, Joel Farabee dropped the gloves in defense of Matt Niskanen after an aggressive hit by Marcus Foligno.
The Flyers had a quick push in portions of the early third period but never generated much in the way of grade-A chances on Stalock. Either there was one pass too many or a key pass was errant or the play drifted back toward the perimeter with the inside closed off. Hart kept the deficit to two goals before Soucy's empty netter, but the Flyers never seemed like a threat to mount a successful comeback.
Philadelphia's three-game road trip ends on Sunday with a twilight game in Winnipeg.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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