Photo Credit: Rob Windfelder
Tonight the Philadelphia Flyers wrapped up their preseason schedule with a commanding win over the New York Islanders by the score of 5 to 2. The final score may lead you to believe the game was closer than it actually was. The Flyers outshot the Islanders 31-16 and made it look easy. The team has progressed nicely during their six pre-season games. The first outing against New Jersey on September 25th was an absolute horror show but things have been improving ever since.
Flyers lighting the lamp
New York got on the board first mid-way through the 1st period. Brian Pinho scored on a breakaway. From that point on it was all Flyers. Nicolas Deslauriers opened the scoring for the Flyers. Nick has better hands than he gets credit for. Noah Cates scored the flyers second goal after Travis Konecny flew up the wing with the puck and put a pass right on the tape in front of the net. Konecny’s speed was a great asset to the Flyers all night long.
The 2nd period brought goals from Owen Tippet, who scored a pretty goal off of his own rebound, and Travis Konecny. TK was in a talkative mood arriving to every situation with something to say and jumped right back into arguing with an Islander before celebrating his goal. The entire game Konecny looked totally in the form that we had gotten used to seeing him in last season. He finished the night with a goal, an assist, and a team high five shots on goal.
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Karson Kuhlman scored New York’s only other goal halfway through the 3rd period. It was a total gift after a giveaway behind the net by Carter Hart. Cam Atkinson finished off the scoring for the night and this game was easily won by the home team.
Carter Hart
Carter Hart played the entirety of the game in net for the Flyers. He wasn’t called on to make many difficult saves but he did make a couple really big ones. Hart looks much more comfortable moving the puck so far this year. Aside from the mishap behind the net that lead to a goal. Playing the puck has not been his strong suit in the past. He is looking more confident and aggressive with that aspect of his game. This is an improvement the could really help the team when it comes to transitioning the puck out of their own end.
On to the next chapter
This game came with no stress or frustration. The Flyers were moving the puck really well. Smooth transitions out of their own end. They were entering the Islanders zone effortlessly at times. Their passing was crisp and creative. There were a few defensive breakdowns but nothing tragic. You could obviously see that the Flyers were actually having a good time playing this game. This is exactly the way you would want to see them on the final night before they hunker down to prepare for the start of the regular season in just under a week.
Extra Credit: The Flyers still have a few players “on the bubble” when it comes down to making final cuts. Bobby Brink and Wade Allison did not play tonight. Tyson Foerster was in the line-up but it was not necessarily a stand out game for him. So who ends up where and when is still up in the air until a formal announcement is made by the team. It’s a safe bet we’ll be seeing all of the remaining players on the ice for the Flyers at some point this season.
