Despite some key injuries and roster moves, the Flyers played pretty respectable hockey at certain points in Saturday’s matchup against the New York Rangers. Between two mediocre periods was an explosive second, with the Flyers accumulating all 4 goals within 8 minutes of each other.
First things first, there were a few notable roster moves made as both Dan Vladar and Christian Dvorak came out of the lineup on day-to-day, upper-body injuries. Hathaway was also a healthy scratch as he continues to be seemingly invisible on the ice. Carl Grundstrum took over for Dvorak, playing alongside Zegras after 2 goals in the last 5 games. Denver Barkey made an exciting NHL debut, drawing into the lineup on the second line with Couturier and Konecny.
Speaking of Barkey, he kicked things off in the first period, having an impressive goal attempt on just his second shift in the NHL. He was unable to close, yet it was exactly the type of momentum the Flyers have thrived on this year. Their inconsistency with such an effort has been the true denominator in which games go in their favor, so a guy that’s willing to come out and make those shots is exciting and refreshing to see.
Despite 13 shots, the Flyers were unable to capitalize on any attempts. They were able to kill off a penalty and outshoot the Rangers, yet another turnover from Travis Sanheim gave the play to Rangers’ Zibanejad, whose feed to Panarin gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 19:24. This is the second game in a row that the Flyers have given up a goal in the final minute of a period.
The second period began with a powerplay for the Flyers, yet they were unable to score. Sanheim was then able to redeem himself after his fatal turnover in the first period, receiving a pass from Barkey for a top shelf wrist shot to tie the game at 1-1. Just 23 seconds later, Barkey recorded his 2nd NHL point by sending a pass from York to Tippett to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Trevor Zergas went on to score a powerplay goal at 7:05. This extends Zegras’ point streak to a career-high 7 games, the first time a player in their first year with the franchise has had a streak of this length since Jaromir Jagr in the 2011-12 season.
A brief error by Tippett gave the Rangers possession of the puck, where Panarin was able to close the Flyers’ lead 3-2 on an unassisted goal. Just minutes later, Deslauriers was called for a boarding minor and a fighting major, both against Brennan Othmann. When things looked like they could go downhill quickly for the Flyers, Rodrigo Abols scored his second of the year off his skate for the team’s first shorthanded goal of the season. The Flyers were back on top and simply needed to hold on with a 4-2 lead.
Also in the second period was a squabble on the bench between Matvei Michkov and Rick Tocchet. Sources say Tocchet explained he was simply playing his best skaters, meaning Michkov would be benched for the rest of the game. There has been lots of turmoil over Michkov’s development this year, as his rookie success seems to have morphed into a sort of sophomore slump. Some say he is overcoached, some say he came into the season far too out of shape, yet I’m sure the truth is somewhere in between. I personally am not too worried about Michkov. Curious to see how things go moving forward between him and Philadelphia? Sure. Worried that his career is over as some fans seem to portray? Not quite. It was announced a few weeks back that he would be staying with the team throughout the Olympic break in February, which I’m sure will be a good period of rest and regrouping for the whole team, yet especially Michkov.
Despite the Flyers denying some serious shots from New York in the early minutes of the third period, they weren’t able to hold on for too long. A shot deflected off of Grebenkin gave the Rangers a 1 goal trail behind Philadelphia at 9:13, yet the Flyers were still in it. It wasn’t until late in the period that New York’s Mika Zibanejad was able to earn his second point of the night and tie things up at 4-4. With just 2 and a half minutes left in the game, it was going past regulation yet again.
After 2 unsuccessful powerplays in overtime for the Flyers, they were 0-2 in the shootout, while the Rangers went 2-2 to win the game. This is especially worrisome as the Flyers have one of the top shootout guys in the league, and in history if you’re looking at the numbers, yet Zegras has been unable to capitalize in his last few attempts. Furthermore, Ersson’s saving grace has been his ability to thrive in the shootouts under pressure, yet he still gave up both shots in Saturday’s game. But at least the Eagles won, right?
The Flyers are back for a single home game tonight against the Vancouver Canucks for a 7:30pm puckdrop. The game is followed by a 9:00pm puckdrop in Chicago tomorrow before a western roadtrip to take them into the new year.
Philly's Next Shift 