The Flyers snapped a five game winless streak with a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night in Philadelphia. On this Superbowl Eve the Flyers played their final game leading into the Four Nations break. They don’t return to action again until they host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday February 23rd.
Ins and Outs
This break could not have come at a better time for the Flyers who have been struggling as of late. This will give some of their injured players some time to heal. Tonight they were once again without; Owen Tippett, Ryan Poehling, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Egor Zamula all out due to injury.
The Penguins were missing their captain Sidney Crosby. Crosby has registered more points against the Flyers than any other player in Philadelphia franchise history. Oddly enough the top three players in this category have all played for Pittsburgh. Crosby holds 1st with 133 points, Mario Lemieux is 2nd with 124, and Jaromir Jagr is 3rd with 120. That being said on a night like tonight where the Penguins outshot the Flyers 33-20 it probably worked out that Crosby was not in the line-up.
Welcome Andrei Kuzmenko
The Flyers have also been awaiting the arrival of their two newest players Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier. The two players were acquired from the Flames last week in a trade the sent Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to Calgary. Farabee and Frost shipped out right away but Kuzmenko and Pelletier, who were held up due to visa complications, finally arrived in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Tonight marked the debut of Andrei Kuzmenko playing in a Flyers uniform. Everyone has been waiting to see what kind of impact the newly acquired right winger may have on his new team. It did not take long to find out. Kuzmenko picked up an assist on the Flyers first goal of the game 1:44 into the 1st period.
Kuzmenko was impressive in his first game as a Flyers. He has great vision on the ice and has an obvious talent for finding his options and getting the puck there. He was finding open players and making crisp precise passes even when under pressure or in tight quarters.
The newest Flyer moved the puck to Travis Konecny on the rush. TK put the puck on stick of a streaking Scott Laughton. Laughton darted towards the Pittsburgh net with four Penguins hot on his trail. Laughton deaked, forehand, backhand, five-hole beating Penguins netminder Joel Blomqvist and giving the Flyers a one goal lead.
The assist made Kuzmenko the 4th fastest Flyer to earn a point after joining the team in franchise history. It was the quickest since February 8th 1996, 29 years ago to the day. Kuzmenko was solid all night long at both ends of the ice. He even showed he can bounce back from a check after he took a real crusher from a 6′-7″, 226 pound Penguin.
Samuel Ersson
To give you an idea of just how important Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson was in this game consider this. At the midway point of this game the Penguins were outshooting the Flyers 18-3 and the score was tied 1-1. Ersson has been playing some really solid hockey since the holidays. With a 2.84 GAA and .894 SV% so far this season. Ersson deserves more wins then he is currently given credit for. He’s been playing really well, It’s been the lack of scoring power on his team’s behalf that has been the problem.
Erik Karlsson beat Ersson with a shot right by the ear short-side 4:19 into the 2nd period to tie the score 1-1. With the butterfly style of netminding and the size of today’s goalie gear the only way to score from a sharp angle is top shelf to the sides of the mask and that is exactly where Karlsson put the puck.
Garnet Hathaway
You would be hard pressed to name a Flyers who has been working harder lately than Garnet Hathaway. He shows up and grinds it out night after night. Hard hitting, doing the work along the boards, and recently really chipping in on the score sheet. Tonight he found himself in a footrace with the Penguins goaltender for a puck that had been cleared into the Pittsburgh zone.
Hathaway, with two Penguins giving chase, skated full speed towards the puck in the slot. The netminder committed to leaving his net and racing Hathaway to the puck. The goaltender got to the puck first but Hathaway kept chugging towards him. Blomqvist attempted to clear the puck through the charging Flyer. The clearing attempt hit Hathaway and his momentum sent the puck into the open net 12:26 into the 2nd period giving the Flyers a 2-1 lead.
Hathaway was all smiles as the lamp lit up and later said “fortunately they don’t ask how”. The fact of the matter is Hathaway earned that goal. Without his sheer hustle and determination that puck does not go in the net and this could have been a very different hockey game.
Third Period
Travis Konecny scored his 22nd goal of the season 4:27 into the final period to make it 3-1 Flyers. The goal came during a delayed penalty. Ersson skated to the bench and TK jumped on the ice as the extra attacker. He fired a slapshot from the slot that deflected off the shaft of a Penguins stick and found its way to the back of the net. Konecny is currently the team’s highest scorer. Adding a goal and an assist tonight he now has 61 points in 57 games played so far this season.
Just to keep things interesting Anthony Beauvillier scored a goal for the Penguins 5:42 into the period to cut the Flyers lead to one goal. Ersson made the initial pad save but did not maintain possession of the rebound. A second attempt landed the puck between his pads as he way laying face down on the ice. Beauvillier dug the loose puck from between his pads and slid it into the net.
Initially the goal was waved off. It definitely went over the goal line before the whistle blew but it seemed as if a call might actually be going the Flyers way. Pittsburgh decided to challenge the call. After some confusion it turns out the Penguins were arguing a goaltender interference call. Review showed no such infraction and the Penguins were awarded the goal. Former Flyers Kevin Hayes got the primary assist.
Ersson Amazing
The Flyers were still up 3-2 and had just over 14 minutes left to protect their one goal lead. Ersson “stood on his head”. He squeezed a 3-2 win out of a game where his team was outshot 33-20. They were outshot 10-2 in the 1st period alone. He made the big stops all night long and was clearly the star of the game. Pittsburgh pulled their goalie and kept plugging away to no avail until the final seconds clicked off the clock.
Extra Credit: The Flyers go into the Four Nations tournament break with a hard fought win over a division rival and a chance to regroup before the NHL season resumes with a very challenging work load coming in March.
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