Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Talk about “stepping up”, Carter Hart and Travis Sanheim both missed this game due to illness. Samuel Ersson and Cam York were the number one and two Stars of the Game. This Flyers team is full of grit and surprises.
Philly vs Detroit
Tonight the Flyers hosted the Detroit Red Wings and shut them out by the final score of one to nothing. The game was kind of a throwback in certain ways. The Flyers have changed their offensive approach under coach John Tortorella. They have been much more creative and successful breaking into the zone. Tonight they were resorting to the dump and chase and even throwing in some cycling.
The Red Wings also were using more traditional tactics especially on the power play. They were going for the big bomb shots from the points which you see less of lately especially against teams like the Flyers who put so much emphasis on blocking shots.
Cam York
With Travis Sanheim out of the line-up due to illness York was paired with Rasmus Ristolainen. Sanheim has been having a tremendous season so far. Having Travis out of the line up leaves a big hole to fill.
Tonight was not some sort of great defensive battle. In fact for good chunks of the night the teams were just taking turns making mistakes. The stats were very even across the board except for blocked shots. Philly blocked more than twice as many shots 21-10. York and the rest of the defense for the most part obviously got the job done.
Cam York also scored the only goal of the game with a wrist shot from the circle at 6:21 of the 1st period. Ristolainen was a wrecking ball out there. At one point they had to send out a crew to shovel up the aftermath from one of his hits.
Samuel Ersson
Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson stopped 33 of 33 shots to complete the shutout. In doing so he appeared sharp, confident, and totally on point. His positioning and calm control of the puck was never in doubt. He literally could not have played better than he did. The combination of Ersson and Carter Hart is a gigantic strength for this Flyers team.
Former Flyers netminder Alex Lyon started this game for Detroit but left the game in the 2nd period. He went down awkwardly after stopping a shot and did not return to the game.
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Closing it out
The Red Wings pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker with three minutes left in regulation. They threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Flyers net. The Wings were swarming and the Flyers could not get the puck cleared out of their zone. Ersson stood tall and the Flyers survived the onslaught and preserved the shutout and the win. The Flyers have extended their point streak to 8 games. Their record this season when scoring the first goal is now 15-1-0.
Extra Credit: The seats are starting to fill up. The building is getting louder. This team is exceeding expectation and word is getting out. Word on the street was that this rebuilding team was not going to be worth the ticket price possibly for a few years. In reality they have been sitting at 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division. They’ve been working their butts off every single game and can be really fun to watch. They are full of surprises and suddenly Philly’s like “wait, what”?! …it actually felt good to be sitting in traffic after the game. Things are coming together.
Outstanding post, I have actually shared it with good friends.
Hi flyersnittygritty.com owner, Your posts are always well-timed and relevant.