After dropping the first five games of their current homestand the Flyers put one into the win column with a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
When the going gets tough…
For some reason this team seems to have more success against the better teams in the league. They have a habit of stepping up to stiffer competition. It’s been obvious during this five game losing streak that they have been making every effort to turn it around. I’m in no way accusing them of taking the previous games for granted. Their frustration has been clearly obvious. Tampa came into this game with a 37-23-4 record currently sitting at 3rd place in the Atlantic Division. The Flyers last win before the slide was against the Winnipeg Jets, the winningest team in the NHL.
Old habits die hard
During this homestand you could watch the Flyers confidence start to wane as the losses piled up. Something that was noticeable during that stretch was some old habits that had since been eradicated started to creep back into their game. Tonight as things got underway certain things fit right into that mold.
When the Flyers are struggling goals at the very beginning and the very end of periods are more likely to occur. It’s like they take a little longer to warm up and lose a bit of focus and structure when things are winding down.
The Flyers came out strong tonight the coverage in their own zone was really solid during the first half of the period. The focus on the 3rd man back had the Flyers forwards contributing big time to shutting down rushes from the speedy Lightning offense. Tampa was outnumbered on the break-ins over and over again.
The Flyers first penalty kill opened aggressively but started to falter as time went on. They were being a bit too dainty with the puck and failing to clear which eventually resulted in a Tampa Bay power-play goal.
Bobby Brink
Brink was the star of this game potting two goals and adding an assist. He was a burst of energy all game long. His first goal tied the game at one the second goal tied it at two. Both tallies were clutch and much needed. The Flyers never let the Lightning get ahead by more than a goal. Brink’s first goal was a high rising shot from the dot that beat Lightning netminder Jonas Johansson glove side to tie the game in the 1st period.
Tampa took a two-one lead only 15 seconds into the 2nd period. Brink took an unnecessary hooking penalty that seemed sure to land him in the dog-house 8:38 into the period. The Flyers completed the kill and Brink scored his 2nd goal of the night immediately after getting out of the box. He put a back-hander over Johansson’s other shoulder to get himself off the hook.
In the final minute of the middle period it was the Flyers who beat the buzzer with a goal. Ryan Poehling showed great patience with the puck in front of the Tampa net. Hanging on long enough to take the Tampa goalie out of position then pulling the puck back around behind him before putting it into the net. Brink picked up the secondary assist for his 3rd point of the night.
Former Flyer Cam Atkinson tied the game at three early in the 3rd period. Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson looked more like himself tonight making several tough saves down the stretch including a huge game saver on a Braydon Point deflection in the third.
Things got a bit chippy as this game was grinding towards overtime. At one point during a scrum in front of the Tampa net Matvei Michkov ended up paired off with Erik Cernak. Michkov does not shy away from confrontations even when there is a considerable size differential involved.
The final minute of regulation was played mostly in the Flyers zone but they lived to tell about it.
Extra Hockey
The over time saw Konecny, Couturier, and Drysdale trapped on the ice for more than half the session. Tampa controlled the puck and with it the Flyers ability to get fresh legs on the ice. Travis Konecny finished his shit with an end to end rush that was really impressive after the considerable amount of time he had already been out on the ice.
Owen Tippett pinched off the final Tampa rush as the overtime session came to an end. It was hard to believe the Flyers were taking the Lightning to the shoot-out after the week they’ve put in. They outshot Tampa 30-20 by the end of OT.
It took 10 shooters to decide the shoot-out. Michkov and Tippett scored for the Flyers. Samuel Ersson came up with the final save against Oliver Bjorkstrand and the Flyers losing streak had officially come to an end.
Next Up: The 7th and final game of the homestand. Saturday night at 7:00 PM against the Carolina Hurricanes.
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