Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Yes the Flyers beat the Canadiens in the shoot-out but it should have never come to that. The Montreal Canadiens are 17-17-6 after being defeated last night by the Philadelphia Flyers who are now 21-14-6 on the season. The Flyers were much in the news this week when they traded Cutter Gauthier to Anaheim for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2nd round pick in 2025. The news shocked the hockey world. It’s a fun story to follow, but we don’t need to get into it again here.
Philly vs Montreal
Samuel Ersson got the start between the pipes for Philadelphia and things did not start out the way any netminder would hope for. Ersson faced a total of two shots in the 1st period and they both got by him. The first was a lobbing wrist shot from Sean Monahan through a ton of traffic 1:29 into the game. The second was an absolute pinball that hit everything on the way in and was credited to David Savard at 11:28 of the 1st. The Canadiens were being out-played and out-shot, yet they had the Flyers down two zip just over halfway into the opening period.
night.
The Flyers were getting their share of chances. They were making plays right in front of Montreal’s net, charging the blue paint, and forcing the play in close. During their recent slide they were attacking more from around the perimeters and that was not clicking for them. Tonight we saw a much more aggressive approach.
Owen Tippett put the Flyers on the board with 4:19 left in the 1st. Travis Konecny skated the puck into the offensive zone. He looked like he might have been in good position to take a shot but chose to pass it to Sean Couturier on the left hand side. Same thing for Coots but he chose to pass it across the ice to Tippett who at this point was on a sharp angle at the side of the net. He was quickly running out of time and space but somehow beat Cayden Primeau to get the Flyers on the board.
Enter Jamie Drysdale
The Canadiens did not mount their 3rd shot of the game until almost five minutes into the 2nd period. They rode that two shot two goal lead until Morgan Frost tied the score at two 8:30 into the 2nd. Jamie Drysdale skated the puck along the Montreal blue line before making the pass to Frost who sent it home. The crowd was happy to see Frost get the goal but the place erupted when Drysdale’s name was announced for the assist. The newest Flyer had a good first game. He can really skate, he’s got great feet, and he knows his way around the ice. Tyson Foerster had the secondary assist on Frost’s goal. Foerster also had a strong night at both ends of the ice.
Philly is not the kind of town that likes to be told that a player does not want to come here. Philadelphians can be very hospitable as you could see by the warm welcome Jamie Drysdale received. But let’s be honest, some of the “brotherly love” that was being showered upon our newest acquisition is inspired by the chip on our collective shoulder. Contrast “not wanting to be here at all” with “getting traded here on Monday evening and being here Tuesday morning for practice” and you have a guy in Drysdale that immediately has made a good impression on the Flyers faithful.
Overtime
This game remained tied at two until the end of regulation. Part of that was due to an impressive showing by Montreal netminder Cayden Premeau. Part of it was the puck just refusing to cross the Canadiens goal line. Several times the puck just refused to go the extra inch leaving Flyers Fans shaking their heads and the officials reviewing the tapes. The Flyers were putting plenty of traffic in the dangerous area directly in front of the Canadiens net which resulted in several scrambles and pile-ups.
Samuel Ersson saw more pucks as the game went on and looked much more like his regular reliable self. He made some key saves as time was winding down including absolutely stoning Josh Anderson on a breakaway.
The Flyers controlled much of the play in the overtime period just as they had done throughout most of the game. The overtime period did not break the tie. Going into the shoot-out the Flyers had outshot the Habs 39-19. As time was running out Josh Anderson got a second attempt at a breakaway and Ersson stoned him again. It was beautiful.
Shoot-out
Ersson has been spectacular in shoot-outs so far this season and tonight was no exception. Coots netted the winning goal and the Flyers got out of this one with two points much to the approval of the hometown crowd.
Next up: Flyers in Minnesota to face-off against the Wild Friday night at 8:00 PM
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