The Flyers started their season off against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and what a way to start. After the first game, head coach Alain Vigneault didn’t make any lineup changes, as the team seemed pretty solid.
In the first game on Wednesday, the Flyers beat the Penguins 6-3. The Flyers also won the second game on Friday, 5-2.
The depth this team has was exemplified throughout both games against the Penguins. In the game on Wednesday, all four of the Flyers’ lines scored. In fact, in the first game on Wednesday, every single forward registered at least one point except for Jake Voracek. However, that didn’t last long as Voracek had an assist on Travis Konecny’s first goal of the second game.
Joel Farabee had a four-point night on Wednesday, which was amazing. He’s put on about 10 pounds of muscle since the off-season and it’s seemingly making a difference already. Before this, Farabee hadn’t had more than a two-point night in the NHL and then Wednesday he had a four-point night.
In the Friday game, the Flyers didn’t have a shot on goal until over seven minutes in. But soon after, Konecny got two goals in a row for the Flyers. And that didn’t stop the scoring for Konecny, he ended up getting a hat trick by the end of the night! This was his first career hat trick.
Of course, the story of the first night was in both of their regular season comebacks, both Oskar Lindblom and Nolan Patrick scored goals. These goals weren’t show-offy goals, they were both somewhat of a redirect, but were amazing to see nonetheless.
Patrick got back on the board in the second game with an assist on one of the Konecny goals. He looked fast and was making smart puck moves, Flyers fans should be excited about Patrick’s return. And in the Friday game, Lindblom scored the empty netter.
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The forwards aren’t the only thing to focus on, either. The defense, including new guy Erik Gustafsson, showed up. Overall, the new defensive pairings looked good together, warranting no changes between the first and second game against the Penguins. And Ivan Provorov sure does look good with that home A on his jersey.
In the second game, the defense got a little lax in comparison to the first, but Hart was there to bail them out most of the time.
Hart looked great in the season opener. He had one blip which led to the Sidney Crosby goal, however, he bounced back great and held strong for the rest of the game. During the Friday game, he looked just as strong as the Wednesday game. When Hart said he wanted to be one of the best in the league, he meant it. It seems that he’s working actively towards that already.
Hart made some insane saves, a few sliding across the crease to make a tight save that kept the Flyers. And some saves that just didn’t seem possible, but he made them. He’s in midseason form already.
The second game was more of a Flyers-Penguins match up with more after whistle action and considerably more penalties taken by each team. However, the game still ended SCORE
The Penguins had some goaltending issues, as Tristan Jarry didn’t play well in the season opener and was pulled partway through the first period after letting three goals in. Those Penguin issues plus the Flyers’ determination and depth created a great concoction for two Flyers’ wins!
Great way to start the year. Send the Pens away with nothing to show for their efforts.