The Flyers earned their second win of the season in overtime on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild. Tippett scored his third goal of the season to tie the game, with Cates scoring the game winning goal. The Flyers were the offensively dominant team, attempting 21 shots compared to the Wild’s 16. Vladar got another start in net and saved 15 of 16 shots, bringing his season average to 1.65 GAA and a .934 SV%. It was overall a hard-fought game compared to Thursday’s blowout.
Beyond shots on goal, Philadelphia outplayed Minnesota in nearly every aspect. They blocked slightly more shots, won slightly more faceoffs, and dominated hits and takeaways. Their offense was incredibly productive in both the first and third period. Tippett played a fantastic game, with his prominent skating and play-making shining bright.
Although Tippett and Zegras seem to be playing well together, and I would have liked to see that combination more moving forward, Tocchet moved Tippett into Michkov’s spot alongside Couturier on Saturday. As much as I would like to see Tippett and Zegras together, I’m hoping Zegras’ powerful playmaking will help fuel Michkov’s fire after a slow start to the season.
The Flyers still seem to be gaining too many penalties, which normally I would not argue in the slightest. My issue lies in the fact that this team struggles to no end on the penalty. Having Cam York back has begun to help slightly, as they do not seem to be chasing the puck as much, but this is still not the team that should be willingly taking penalties.
The low-event game worked well for Philadelphia. Hopefully this fuel will keep the team going into tonight’s home game against Seattle.
Philly's Next Shift 