After going 1-1 on their Florida road trip earlier this week, the Philadelphia Flyers swept their back-to-back weekend against both the Islanders and the Devils. Friday afternoon’s game in Elmont, New York, ended with a 4-3 shootout win, and Saturday’s faceoff against the Devils ended in the Flyers’ favor 5-3.
Friday Afternoon vs. Islanders
While the first period curse was less obvious for the Flyers, Philadelphia made due with the low chances both teams faced. 2 of Philadelphia’s regulation goals were earned on only 3 shots in the first 20 minutes of play, while Sam Ersson saved all 6 of the Islanders’ shots. After a somewhat messy play by the Flyers, including a Konecny turnover, Foerster secured the loose puck for his 9th goal of the season, briefly becoming the team’s leader in goals for the year. His post-injury hot streak continues, and only seems to get better. 8:30 into the first, the Flyers lead 1-0.
The Flyers continued their new back-to-back goal habit, with Sean Couturier advancing the Flyers advantage to 2-0 just 22 seconds after Foerster’s goal. The Flyers’ captain earned his 4th goal of the year after making use of an Islander’s turnover and getting a 7-hole past New York goalie David Rittich.
The second period evened things out all around. Although the Islanders doubled the Flyers’ shots in the first period, Philadelphia’s 12 shots in the second period were comparable to New York’s 13. Trevor Zegras scored early in the period on a wrist shot, with commotion in front of the net throwing Rittich off. Although they started on a bang in the second period, and Ersson had performed well so far, the Islanders went on to score 3 unanswered goals across the rest of the period. The regulation scoring concluded for the night at 3-3 with 20 minutes of play left.
The third period was low in chances for both teams. After the Flyers’ defense was lacking in the second, the goaltending improved for the third to deny all 9 of the Islanders shots. The Flyers had only 5 chances in the period and were unable to find success on any of them. The most impressive play of the third period was the penalty kill the Flyers accomplished on Matvei Michkov’s double minor. Michkov’s high-sticking earned him 4 minutes in the box, which his teammates covered for completely.
An uneventful overtime gave the Flyers their 5th ticket to a shootout this year, where Ersson yet again stood on his head for us. Trevor Zegras kicked things off, making the goal for his 17th shootout goal in his career on only 25 shots, now leading the league for most successful shootout history of all time. Barzal’s goal was stopped by Ersson in the first round, and Michkov’s second round shot was blocked by Rittich. Ersson allowed the Islander’s second attempt, but blocked their third. Konecny’s successful shot in the 3rd round gave the Flyers the win.
Ersson had a great game, recording a .903 SV%. Although the offense came out with a bang, they slowed down for the next 40 minutes and our defense let up in the second period. Besides our first period and our standout penalty kill in the third, it was an uneventful appearance until the shootout.
Saturday Night vs. Devils
Dan Vladar continued to shine, getting his first start of the weekend on Saturday in Providence. The Flyers played a fairly even game with the Devils, and it would’ve been a close one if it wasn’t for Matvei Michkov, some stellar goaltending, and an awarded goal on an Islander’s tripping.
The Flyers’ first period curse continued to grow into something of the past as they outshot the Devils 8-6 in the first period, yet each team earned a point. Owen Tippett earned his 100th NHL goal and 200th NHL point 5 minutes into the game on a backhand shot, with the assist from Dvorak. The Flyers had the early lead and gained some momentum after Tippett’s milestone, even though the Devils tied the game midway through the period. A one-timer slapshot from the Devils got past Dan Vladar, yet didn’t slow the Flyers down going into the second.
Within 2 minutes, Matvei Michkov earned 2 of his 4 goals in the last 5 games. Less than a minute into the period, Michkov’s backhand shot caused some confusion at the net, yet was awarded to him for his 7th goal of the year, with Travis Konecny earning his 13th assist of the season. Michkov scored his 8th of the year as he deflected Konecny’s slapshot past New Jersey’s Jacob Markstrom, earning him his 14th assist so far. A slapshot from Zergas halfway through the period gave the Flyers the 4-1 lead, as Zegras’ 9th goal of the season tied him with Tyson Foerster for Philadelphia’s leading goal scorer this year. Yet all good things come to an end, as Philadelphia’s 3 consecutive goals were answered by a Devils’ powerplay goal by Timo Meier.
The Devils continued to shrink the gap as Dawson Mercer got an unassisted backhand shot past Vladar early in the third period. Although the Flyers had an uneventful third period, they held the 4-3 lead throughout and caused the Devils to pull their goalie for the final minutes of play. Yet Tippett got the breakaway before being tripped by the Devils and was awarded his 2nd goal of the night in place of a penalty shot.
The Flyers recorded a 5-3 win over New Jersey as Dan Vladar had a successful .906 SV% and Michkov continued to perform as we needed him to.
The Flyers played a successful road trip, earning 6 points on a 3-1 record for the road trip over the last week. The Flyers return to home ice tonight for the 2nd of 4 games of the Battle of the Turnpike as they face the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7:00pm.
Philly's Next Shift 