The Flyers began their second homestand of the year with a 4-3 shootout win over the New York Islanders. Zegras had an explosive game for the Flyers, securing three points and his first goal in Philadelphia. Ersson played for his third game of the season and earned his first win of the year. After the Flyers’ disappointing performance against the Senators on Thursday, it was exciting to see them break the Islander’s four-game win streak.
A shorthanded goal in the first and an early goal in the second gave New York a 2-0 lead. Zegras helped put the Flyers on the board as he and Michkov earned assist points on Dvorak’s goal in the second. Michkov’s cross-ice pass to Zegras set him up to feed the puck to Dvorak for an impressive backhand goal. This was Zegras’ sixth assist of the season. Zegras continued to shine in the third, tying the game early. Dvorak’s rebound earned the primary assist for the pairs’ second set of points for the night. Zegras’ former Anaheim teammate, Jamie Drysdale, earned secondary assist points in Zegras’ first goal in Philadelphia.
The Flyers continue to allow excessive penalty minutes, recording 18 minutes of shorthanded play on Saturday. Three of the team’s six penalties came in the third period, including a five-minute major against Rodrigo Abols for fighting Kyle MacLean. Luckily, Zegras was able to take advantage of the powerplay by sticking against Scott Mayfield for his second goal with Philadelphia midway through the third. The game was tied 3-3 sending the game to overtime, where no further goals were scored.
A brief, 3-round overtime ended with a win for Philadelphia. After Bobby Brink and Bo Horvat each had their shots blocked in the first round, Zegras scored for Philadelphia and Ersson allowed a goal from Simon Holmstrom to keep the game tied. Michkov scored a snapshot against Sorokin to give the Flyers the lead, and Ersson’s save against Anthony Duclair earned the Flyers the win for the night.
Zegras shared the support of Philadelphia’s fanbase in his success for the night. Zegras hasn’t had a three-point game since January 2023. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction for the young forward’s development. Drysdale also shared the positive environment created in the locker room. It seems that the positive environment both within and beyond the locker room is proving beneficial to Zegras’ performance, another example of the successful moves by both Briere and Tocchet.
The Flyers continue their homestand tomorrow for the return of the battle of the turnpike. The 4-3-1 Flyers faceoff against the 6-2-1 Penguins for a 6pm puck drop.
Philly's Next Shift 