Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
This was a big game and a huge missed opportunity for the Philadelphia Flyers. Saturday night they hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets. At the start of the matchup the Jackets were sitting in 4th place in the Metropolitan Division with a 4 point lead over the Flyers.
If the Flyers had won this game in regulation they could have cut that lead to two points. Columbus won in the shootout to take two points leaving the Flyers with just one and increasing their lead over Philadelphia to Five points. The Flyers regular season ends in exactly one month. Every point counts and time is starting to run out.
Philly vs Columbus
All of the scoring in this game happened in the 1st period. The Blue Jackets got on the board first. They were swarming in the Flyers zone.
Kirill Marchenko carried the puck over the blue line before passing to Mason Marchment. Marchment took the initial shot. Dan Vladar made the stop. Adam Fantilli fired a rebound. Vladar stopped that as well.
Damon Severson picked up that rebound and fired a shot that hit Travis Konecny up high and stung him. Ristolainen was down on the ice, Konecney was down and incapacitated, Dan Vladar was down and out of position. Kirill Marchenko ended up with the puck again and fired it over all the carnage and into the net 4:21 into the 1st period.
In and out
The Flyers evened things up 10:24 into the opening period. Alex Bump deflected an Emil Andrae point shot that hit the upper back bar of the net and came back out so quick that it went undetected. Play resumed until finally there was a whistle and a review of the play. It was clearly a goal. The score was now tied at one and would remain that way until the final shot of the shootout.
Bullseye on Barkey
With 5:47 remaining in the 1st period Kirill Marchenko took Denver Barkey hard into the boards behind the Columbus net. Barkey was already starting to lose his edge when the contact took place. Barkey’s helmet flew off as he hit the boards. He laid motionless o n the ice as he was attended to by medical staff.
This play was also reviewed and Marchenko was given a two minute minor for boarding. It was not a clean hit but Barkey’s stability was already wavering going in so a major penalty was not called. Barkey went up the tunnel and did not return to the game until the following period.
The Flyers came out quiet at the start of the middle period. They did not register a shot on goal for the first eight and a half minutes.
With just 25 seconds remaining in the 2nd period Damon Severson was called twice for crosschecking against Denver Barkey. Severson crosschecked Barkey to the ice behind the Columbus net. An official’s arm went up signaling the penalty but the Flyers had possession of the puck so the whistle was not blown.
During the delayed call Severson again went after Barkey in front of the Columbus net. Severson went after him with his stick repeatedly until finally a whistle was blown halting play. Barkey had to be wondering what was taking so long.
Tensions had been building up for a while during the penalty filled 2nd period. Carl Grundstrom picked up two minutes for boarding Severson. Adam Fantilli got two minutes for roughing against Grundstrom. Then Grundstom and Fantilli ended up going at it with each of them picking up five for fighting.
It was not a friendly match as these two teams were locked in a tie with Columbus looking to protect their grasp on 4th place. The mystery is how did Denver Barkey end up taking the brunt of the Jackets hostilities. He did nothing to provoke it. He was his usual spark-plug self, flying around the ice, playing clean speedy hockey. Can’t help but wonder if this is what things are bound to be like for the post-Nick Deslauriers Flyers.
Missed opportunity
The Flyers ended up with a 3:36 man-advantage to start the 3rd period only to come up empty handed. They went 0-for-4 on the power-play for the night.
The Blue Jackets did a much better job of creating chances in this game. They outshot the Flyers 27-17. Some of the Flyers turnovers were jaw droppers. Dan Vladar was solid as the team’s last line of defense. There were many open lanes leading to the Flyers net, Vladar had to be on top of his game and he was.
OT
The overtime was scoreless and meandering at times. Both teams were playing not to lose.
Shootout
Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves dispatched of Philly’s finest. Michkov, Zegras, and Konecny.
Dan Vladar was solid again in the shootout until the final shot of the session. Kirill Marchenko (there goes that name again) scored on the final shot of the contest to win the game. It was a frustrating night in Philadelphia.
Up Next: The Flyers head out west this week and start things off with the Ducks on Wednesday night. The puck drops at 10PM east coast time.
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