The Flyers defeated the Predators 4-1 last night as former Anaheim teammates Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale had successful games. Michkov also had a productive evening, earning assist points on Drysdale’s first goal of the year and Zegras’ two last night. Although these shots worked out, our offense was not overall on their A-game last night, only recording 18 shots compared to Nashville’s 33. There were definitely some aspects looking strong, and plenty of holes as to be expected with a young team and the luck of Philadelphia.
First things first, Trevor Zegras is undeniably on a hot streak. He’s recorded 12 points in 10 games with Philadelphia. In this time, he has also recorded two of his four career multi-goal games. I’ll say that I’ve been a Zegras fan since long before him coming to Philadelphia was even conceivable, but that has significantly grown since he joined the correct orange and black. He himself has explained in multiple interviews in recent weeks that the culture of this team has motivated him, especially the fans. To me, Zegras seems like a hockey guy through and through. Moving to Philadelphia from Anaheim must have hit him like a bus in the best way possible. There’s excitement in this team and the fans are feeding off of it, and Zegras keeps it coming.
Zegras recorded three points last night, two goals and an assist. He started the scoring for the night in the second period with a gorgeous wrist shot from behind the faceoff circles. An urgent yet tactical pass from Michkov earned him his first assist for the night. Moving Michkov to Zegras’ line has been one of my personal favorite moves by Tocchet so far this season, as the playing style of the two is much more complimentary than that of Michkov and Couturier. Michkov has had four assists in the last five games, which is more stagnant than I’d like, but he’s a young kid who missed most of camp this year, of course he’s going to have a slow start. Things are slowly picking up, and while I’m not saying he’s completely in the clear, I’m still optimistic about the upcoming weeks.
A goal from Drysdale in the second earned both Michkov and Zegras their second points of the night for the assist. While it wasn’t an overly exciting goal, it was a dominant play showing the skill of these young guys. After a few shots, Drysdale had himself in a great spot to receive the puck from Michkov behind the net, and a simple wrist shot was all it took. As simple as it sounds, the playmaking this team has created this year, lots of which is thanks to Zegras, is a big shift from years past. It’s what has allowed us to play competitive games against top teams in the league and is certainly an overall strong point in the team’s play.
Zegras’ second power play goal in three games gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead in the third. A pass from York gave Zegras this opportunity, and he seized it with a cross-ice slapshot over Saros’ shoulder. When talking about playmaking, it’s impossible to ignore York’s skills on the power play. He’s played a role in nearly all of the power play goals since his return off injured reserve, this one was no different.
Konecny earned the final point of the game with an empty net goal late in the third.
Vladar was back in net after Ersson was labeled day-to-day with a groin injury following his exceptional performance against Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Vladar allowed one goal on Nashville’s 33 shots, bringing his season average to a 1.67 GAA and a .939 SV%.
Sean Couturier came out in the first period with an undisclosed injury. He did not return, and there have been no further comments. We should know more by tomorrow.
The Flyers face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at 7:00pm in the first game of a back-to-back weekend at home. Aleksei Kolosov may get his first start of the season this weekend depending on the status of Ersson’s injury.
Philly's Next Shift 