The Flyers (18-20-5) welcomed the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers (25-15-3) closing out the end of a four-game homestand. The Flyers last outing included a dominant 6-0 over Cutter Gauthier and the Anaheim Ducks, as they looked to keep the momentum against the Panthers. Following the shutout in his last game, Sam Ersson got the start in net for the Flyers. Former Flyer Sergei Bobrovsky got the start in net for the Panthers. Ollie Lycksell remained in the lineup over Joel Farabee who was a healthy scratch against Anaheim. Following the 6-0 win John Tortorella went with the same lineup against the Panthers.
First Period
The Flyers would get their first power play opportunity just 7 minutes into the game. Unfortunately for the Flyers, the power play led to offense for the Panthers. Sam Reinhart opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal, his 26th of the year. Reinhart deked around Travis Konecny and Sam Ersson to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead with 12:01 left in the first period. Just moments later at the 10:26 mark, a goal by Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis gave him his second goal on the season and a 2-0 lead for the Panthers. The shot came from the top of the right circle and was one of the softer goals Ersson has given up all season.
The rest of the period provided power-play opportunities for both teams but would lead to no scoring. The Flyers played a better second half of the first period but it wasn’t enough to muster any offense. After the first period, the Panthers led 2-0.
Second Period
The Flyers came out in the second period with a different jump as the team was flying around the ice making plays in both the offensive and defensive zones. They generated multiple scoring chances but were unable to solve Bobrovsky.
Check out our Flyers Nitty Gritty
With 12:09 left in the period, the Flyers would finally get on the board. A pass from Garnet Hathaway hit off a Panthers’ defenseman and into the net cutting the lead down to 2-1. It is Hathaway’s 5th of the season. The Flyers would get a power play opportunity shortly after but would end up wasting the opportunity.
The rest of the second period resulted in no goals by either team with the Flyers controlling most of the period. The Flyers played a strong second period and had a familiar feel to the game against the Ducks. They generated scoring chances but also played a physical game. They looked like the better team in the second period and seemed poised for a big third period.
Third Period
The Flyers got an early power play after a penalty to Alexander Barkov 43 seconds into the period. The power play would lead to a game-tying goal by Noah Cates, his 8th of the season keeping his hot month of January going. Cates found a rebound in front and slammed it home to tie the game up at 2-2 with 17:59 left in the third period.
Shortly after the goal a hooking call on Sean Couturier would lead to another Sam Reinhart goal, this time on the power play. With 16:25 left in the game, the goal gave the Panthers a 3-2 lead and was Reinhart’s 27th goal of the season.
With 15:46 left a tripping penalty to Panthers’ Dmitry Kulikov gave the Flyers their 5th power play opportunity of the night. The Flyers would capitalize again on the power play tying the game up 3-3 with 14:01 left. Morgan Frost would find the puck in close and tip it in for his 10th goal of the season. It marks the second game in a row in which the Flyers scored multiple power-play goals. The power play has been a struggle this year, hopefully, they are starting to figure it out.
With 5:51 left in the game, Noah Cates tipped a bouncing puck with his glove knocking it forward and leading to a breakaway. A forehand backhand move beat Bobrovsky and gave the Flyers a 4-3 lead, their first lead of the night. It was a phenomenal play by Cates as he now has 5 points in 6 games in January.
With about three minutes remaining a turnover by the Flyers led to a prime scoring chance for the Panthers. Sam Ersson made multiple stops preserving the Flyers’ lead and keeping the score 4-3.
The Panthers would pull their goalie but some more saves from Ersson and a few blocked shots would help the Flyers shut the door down the stretch. They secure their 8th third-period comeback win of the season with a final score of 4-3.
Flyers Finish Strong
Three third-period goals, including two from Noah Cates, helped the Flyers secure the comeback over the defending Stanley Cup champions. A two-point night from Cates led the scoring for the Flyers along with 8 other Flyers recording a point in the win. Matvei Michkov recorded another point on the power play giving him 14 power play points on the season, tying the lead amongst rookies. Ersson made 20/23 saves and was huge down the stretch making a flurry of saves late in the third period. It was good to see him bounce back after giving up an easy goal in the first period.
The Flyers improve to 19-20-5 with 43 points through 44 games. They are still three points out of a wild card spot with four teams in front of them. 8 out of their next 9 games will be played against Metropolitan division opponents so if the Flyers can string together some wins they can make up ground in the wild card race.
The Flyers don’t have much time to celebrate the dramatic win as they are playing again Tuesday night in Columbus against the Blue Jackets (20-17-6). It’s the second end of a back-to-back so I expect Ivan Fedotov to get the start in net. The Flyers will be looking to win their third game in a row. That’s a winning streak!
