The Flyers faced the Panthers for the second of their three-game series, emerging victorious in their home opener. A 5-2 win for Philadelphia was spearheaded by captain Sean Couturier, who was responsible for four points last night. Dan Vladar was also back in the net against the Panther’s 26 shots, securing his first win with Philadelphia and earning a .933 SV% on the season so far.
The first period brought a Tyson Foerster goal with an assist from Couturier to put the Flyers in the lead. With the feed from Couturier, Foerster weaved through the Panther’s defense for a top-shelf goal. The Flyers were clearly the better team throughout the first period, outshooting and overall out-playing Florida. They possessed the puck for lots of the play and created scoring opportunities for themselves. With some more fine-tuning, this is entirely the direction the team needs to be moving in. Foerster’s goal was a hopeful example of the strong playmaking and hockey IQ this team possesses.
The second period began stagnant, although the Flyers continued to hold their own. Couturier netted his second point of the night late in the period after a cross-ice assist from Konecny. Couturier took the puck from the blueline on a 1v1 with Bobrovsky for a gorgeous goal to bring the Flyers to a 2-0 lead. A late penalty against Seth Jones didn’t end in the Flyers favor, as Sam Reinhart found the opportunity for a short-handed goal. Reinhart took advantage of a challenging situation for Vladar moments after another shot by Florida, and got one in the back of the net on a clever wrap-around goal.
Florida tied the game midway through the third with a clean, right in front of the net goal by Sam Bennett on the feed from Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand. After multiple Flyers shots on goal from Noah Cates and former Anaheim teammates, Zegras and Drysdale, the pair assisted Couturier as he regained the Flyers lead. Zegras fed the puck to Couturier from behind the net, reminding Philadelphia of his impeccable playmaking. As Zegras continues to find his groove in Philadelphia, I’m hopeful his intellect in regards to the game around him continues to shine. Along with his reputation for creative goals of his own, Zegras could be vital to the offensive plays of the team.
Late in the third brought an exciting few plays for the Flyers. Florida pulled their goalie as the Foerster-Cates-Brink line was on for Philadelphia. After a few disappointing shots, Brink netted one to make it a 4-2 game for Philadelphia. The Panthers recovered and quickly put Bobrovsky back in the net, only to pull him again and allow Christian Dvorak to earn the final goal of the game with the assist from Sanheim, as well as Couturier for his fourth and final point of the night.
As exciting as the game was, there is room for improvement, especially in Philadelphia’s powerplay after going 0-5 on the night. I also will be curious to see what goes on with Michkov’s development, as he is noticeably slower after an ankle injury deterred his training in the offseason. I’m hoping to see him return to his previous strength in the coming weeks.
It was a great effort from both our captain and some younger guys for a successful win for Philadelphia. They were hungry to win, something so simple that has been absent at times.
The Flyers return to Xfinity Mobile Arena for a 7pm puck drop on Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets.
Philly's Next Shift 