Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
The second stop on the Flyers current road trip found them in Tampa Bay to faceoff against the Lightning. To say the Flyers are having a bit of a bumpy stretch would be an understatement. Coming into this game at 4-8-1 they are currently tied with the Nashville Predators for the bottom slot in the NHL.
The Flyers are coming off a tough 6-4 loss Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. They did a lot of things right against the Canes. You could say they played a great “180 foot game”. They held things down all over the ice but let it fall apart right in front of their own net all night long.
To make things even more interesting head coach John Tortorella had Matvei Michkov as a healthy scratch for tonight’s game. Tortorella says it’s “just a part of the process” and “we are trying to help him”. Michkov is a 19 year old 1st round pick who is learning the ropes in the NHL. Tortorella is the type of coach who is going to keep a player’s development as the top priority. Not every step is going to win points in the popularity contests.
Hold on… one more thing, just in case that’s not enough chaos. The Flyers needed to retain the services of emergency goaltender, Kyle Konin, to back up Ivan Fedotov for the night. Flyers netminder Alexei Kolosov suffered an injury at the morning skate and is now listed as day to day. Starting goaltender Samuel Ersson is still sidelined with a lower body injury. Tampa who came in at 7-6-0 was trying to snap a three game losing streak.
Philly vs Tampa
It was slightly sloppy 1st period for both teams. Lots of odd bounces and not a lot of rhythm for either squad. Not many shots on goal. It could have ended in a scoreless tie if the Flyers had played till the buzzer so to speak. With just 44.7 seconds left in the period Nikita Kucherov stormed into the Flyers zone with the puck.
There were two men back, Rasmus Ristolainen and Sean Couturier. Kucherov was coming down the left hand side and, being outnumbered, he opted for charging behind the Flyers net and attempting a wrap around. All three Flyers followed Kucherov leaving the entire right hand side of the net open for the wrap. Coots stretched to get his stick to the post at the last second but Kucherov pushed the puck right passed it and into the net. It was a blunder that would not have looked at all out of place in the Flyers previous outting.
Second Period
Both teams looked more focused and dangerous throughout the 2nd period exchanging chances at both ends of the ice. Ivan Fedotov was called on to make a couple really challenging saves and looked confident in doing so. He was moving well side to side and his positioning was solid. At one point he shut down former Flyer Cam Atkinson on a clean breakaway.
Morgan Frost took a hooking penalty with just 1:57 left in the period (which Tortz looked real happy about). The Flyers were so close to getting out of this period and now they were going to spend the final minutes facing the Tampa powerplay. Halfway through the man advantage Noah Cates stole the puck at center ice and skated in on a breakaway. Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy stood tall and made the save. The Flyers managed to keep Tampa at bay thanks in part to not one, but two flubbed opportunities at point blank range as time ran out.
Third Period
The Flyers have had some really disastrous 2nd periods so far this season and fortunately this was not one of them. After all was said and done they made it to the final period of this game leading in shots 20-17 and down by just one goal 1-0.
Tampa was getting some great chances, setting everything up just right, and then muffing the shot leaving some golden opportunities on the table. Fedotov continued to keep things covered when challenged in the Flyers net. At one point he stoned Brandon Hagel on a wrap around attempt. Fedotov because of his stature is able to keep both skates solidly on both pipes at the same time. This came in handy tonight.
The Flyers kept plugging away, padding their shot advantage and finishing checks. Time was getting short when Owen Tippett intercepted a pass in the neutral zone. He entered the zone down the left hand side carrying the puck on the backhand. He skated just past the dot never adjusting his hands and released a shot on the backhand up and over Vasilevskiy’s shoulder short side tying the game with just 4:16 left in regulation. This was Tippett’s second clutch goal in as many games.
Anthony Richard who was in the line-up for the Flyers tonight just missed on an opportunity as time ran out. The Orange and Black were leaving Tampa with at least one point to show for it.
OT
Overtime was a nail-biter. Fedotov made a nice save on Hagel right off the opening faceoff. Both teams had a number of chances. Both goalies earned their paychecks. The Flyers survived some real sketchy passing.
Shootout
Ivan Fedotov deserves so much credit for this win tonight. He was solid in regulation, perfect in overtime, and a brick wall in the shootout. There was an emergency goalie sitting on the bench to back him up. Fedotov was either going to step up, or suffer through a bad night with no end in sight. There is a certain sense of calm that can come along with being the only available option and he seemed to possess that relaxed confidence tonight.
Travis Konecny beat Vasilevskiy glove side. Fedotov stopped both Tampa shooters. Owen Tippett, who just moments earlier scored the tying goal, beat Vasilevskiy just over the pad but under the glove to end the contest. After the game Owen said the team is trying to “simplify things and get our game back”. Tippett who has been off to a frustrating start seems to be headed in the right direction. The Flyers really needed this one and they got it thanks to Ivan Fedotov, Owen Tippett, and Kyle Konin.
Next Up: Flyers stay in Florida to face the Panthers Saturday night at 6:00 PM
