And so it begins, the first Flyers game of the Post-Torts era was played against the Montreal Canadiens in Philly tonight. It was a wild day in Flyers world. The announcement came out Wednesday morning. Flyers head coach John Tortorella had been fired. The Flyers were on the ice to face the visiting Habs before the Springtime sun went down for the day. The show must go on.
It took all of 1:55 for the Flyers to get on the board. Captain Sean Couturier passed the puck from behind the net to Travis Konecny. TK made a cross slot pass to Matvei Michkov who buried the puck behind Montreal netminder Jakub Dobes. The crowd went nuts and just that quick life goes on.
Fresh Start
For better or worse you’d have to imagine that the Flyers must feel like they have a break from being under the microscope at least for a short period of time while things shake out.
On the other hand it’s also a huge opportunity for players to step up and make sure they get noticed. They say you only get one chance to make a first impression. This scenario could prove to be a slight variation to the rule.
Montreal took advantage of a defensive breakdown in the Flyers end. Alex Newhook came streaking into the Flyers zone with possession of the puck. Olle Lycksell made a half hearted attempt to catch up with Newhook as he caught Jamie Drysdale twisting in the wrong direction. The Canadien ripped a laser past Samuel Ersson 7:55 into the period.
Lycksell quickly found an opportunity to make up for his defensive lapse when he took control of a puck behind the Montreal net. He tossed a pass out front to Nicolas Deslauriers who caught the goaltender looking the wrong way and scored his first goal of the season at 10:13.
One minute and two seconds later Sean Couturier deflected a Matvei Michkov shot into the net to make it 3-1 Flyers. Moments later Michkov came dangerously close on a clean breakaway but was stopped with a sprawling pad save as time was running out on the period.
If this is what the Flyers can look like when left to their own devices perhaps a bit more freedom will do them well. This first period was an impressive start to say the least. Montreal is not the mightiest opponent but they have been playing some pretty good hockey as of late.
Things definitely settled in a bit during the 2nd period. Both teams were getting their fair share of chances and Sam Ersson was doing a fine job of keeping the Canadiens at bay.
We got to see a Flyers penalty kill, some 4-on-4 hockey, and with 4:27 left in the 2nd period a Flyers power-play. The Flyers went with five forwards. Coots, Foerster, and TK with Brink and Michkov on the points. The power-play produced more quality chances than usual but the scoreless power-play streak remained intact.
Goals Galore
Things really opened up in the final period.
17:45 Cole Caufield literally snuck one behind Ersson from the side of the net cutting the Flyers lead to just one goal.
17:18 The Flyers picked up their second man advantage of the game. That turned into a two man advantage for 28 seconds. The Flyers used their 30 time out. They put the five forwards back on the ice. Nope and nope.
Just past the midway point of the third at 9:51 Tyson Foerster put a rebound top shelf over the sprawling Montreal netminder to make it 4-2 Flyers. The Habs chose to have the goal reviewed to check for goaltender interference. The goal was allowed and the Canadiens were penalized for delay of game.
PPG
After a month of over engineered attempts Sean Couturier simply carried the puck from his own blue line into the Montreal zone. He skated to the circle and fired a wrist shot short side. It was just that simple. After going 0-for-35 on the power play the Flyers had scored their first goal with the man advantage in the month of March. It was the captain’s 2nd goal of the night unassisted.
Give it back
Just over two minutes later Joshua Roy made a saucer pass to Christian Dvorak who make a quick move around Ersson to make it 5-3 at 6:26.
With 6:08 left Michkov stole the puck and scored his 2nd goal of the night with a wrister from the circle unassisted. 6-3 Flyers.
Patrik Laine smacked a pinball home with 3:13 left on the clock just to keep it interesting. 6-4 Flyers. Montreal pulled their goalie for the extra attacker with over two minutes left in regulation.
Things started to come together as time was running out. Travis Konecny had the puck on his stick with Michkov on his wing heading towards the empty net. The Canadiens were scrambling to try and get back. Konecny passed the puck to Michkov who was looking for the hattrick. Michkov hit the post and went crashing into the boards. The buzzer sounded and the rookie got up and ran straight up the tunnel. He had to be summoned out as he was named star of the game. The Flyers won their first game under interim coach Brad Shaw 6-4.
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