Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Here’s the scenario. The Flyers pull off an overtime win Friday night in Minnesota. Immediately after the extra period they fly to Winnipeg. Their flight lands at 2:30 AM Saturday morning. They head to the hotel, get settled in, and try to get some sleep before facing the best team in the NHL later that night. They will be playing without their starting center Sean Couturier who is dinged up and needs at least the night off. Also missing from the line-up will be their newest acquisition Jamie Drysdale. …wait there’s more.
Their opponent, the Winnipeg Jets, just happens to have the best record in hockey right now. They are 12-0-2 in their last 14 games. They’ve won their last eight straight and have been sitting at home waiting for the Flyers since Thursday night.
If you had to guess the outcome of this game before the first puck dropped no one would hold it against you for leaning towards the Jets. The odds were totally stacked against the Flyers going in.
Cam Atkinson
At 14:47 of the 1st period Flyers forward Cam Atkinson scored his first goal in 27 games. Atkinson has been struggling as of late even being a healthy scratch against his former team the Columbus Blue Jackets just over a week ago. Atkinson had himself stationed right in front of the Winnipeg net where he was able to reach out and change the direction of a Joel Farabee shot sending it right between the legs of Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck. Farabee has been on a tear as of late, that was his 7th assist in the last 8 games.
There was only one other goal in this game and that was scored by none other than Cam Atkinson and on the power-play no less. To say the Flyers power-play has been unsatisfactory this season would be a real understatement. A number of games so far this season could have ended differently if the Flyers could have just capitalized when they had the man advantage. Even with their recent successes their power-play is still the 2nd worst in the league.
The Flyers have been concentrating more action directly in front of their opponents net. Setting up greater opportunities for screens, rebounds, and more chances overall from the dangerous areas of the ice. Atkinson had snuck behind the Winnipeg defense and set up camp. From there he was able to pick up the rebound of a Morgan Frost shot and push it into the net giving the Flyers a 2-0 lead at 2:52 of the 2nd period.
After the game Atkinson expressed his relief in breaking his scoring drought. Commenting on the outcome of the game he said “it helps when our goalie is our best player”.
Samuel Ersson
Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson strung together a stellar performance last night earning his 3rd shutout of the season. After the Jets went down 2-0 early in the 2nd period they stepped up their attack. The second half of the 2nd and the entire 3rd period they just kept coming at the Flyers. Ersson was called on time and time again to make crucial saves and he was totally up to the challenge stopping all 35 shots.
You can see when he is in the zone. He gets this confidence with his glove hand that is unmistakable. After the game head coach John Tortorella said “he’s got a mental presence about himself, you can just feel it”. Ersson was confident, adept, and totally on point in his positioning and was a key part of the Flyers victory.
The Jets came at the Flyers until the very end. With their goaltender pulled and Travis Sanheim in the box for a delay of game penalty the Flyers played the last 1:15 of regulation four skaters against six. Ersson made one last point blank save with 11 seconds on the clock to preserve the shutout.
Hockey is a team sport
‘The Philadelphia hockey club played as a unit tonight. With two key players out of the line up everyone stepped up to fill in the gaps. The 2nd and 3rd periods were won by sheer hard work. Players like Ryan Poehling and Garnet Hathaway, who was playing in his 500th NHL game, kept grinding away and winning battles. Morgan Frost made some excellent defensive plays, as did Sean Walker. Everyone came together and did what they had to.
Tortorella said on guys missing from the line-up, “(we) end up having to play as a team”. Ersson said, “all year we have shown our ability to handle adversity, find a way to win, that’s what it’s all about”.
Next up: The Flyers head to St. Louis to take on the Blues 8PM Monday night.
Extra Credit: Congratulations to Flyers Equipment Manager Rick Bronwell who worked his 2,000th game last night. That is quite an achievement.
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