Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
The 6-3 final score may lead you to believe that the Flyers loss to Tampa Bay was a lot more lopsided than it actually was. In fact the Flyers were still totally in this game only down by one goal with just one minute left in regulation. The Lightning scored not once but twice in the empty net to really drive it home. This game was just the final bit of bad news for the day.
Owen Tippett
Before Sunday’s game against the Ottawa Senators we heard Flyers forward Owen Tippett was skating with a trainer. This gave hope that Tippett may just be a bit dinged up and on a day-to-day status for return. Today we were told Tippett was placed on injured reserve. He will be missing at least a week with a lower body injury. He went down awkwardly leaving the game early against the Colorado Avalanche January 20th.
Tippett has been a force for the Flyers this season so far with 18 goals and 12 assists in 46 games. Just last week the hockey world could not stop watching the replay of his spin-o-rama backhanded goal against the Dallas Stars. This week were waiting to see when he may be able to return to the roster.
Carter Hart
Late Tuesday afternoon: Philadelphia Flyers News Update “Carter Hart has requested and been granted an indefinite leave of absence citing personal reasons. The club will have no further comment at this time.” -General Manager Daniel Briere
Hart was not at the morning skate on Tuesday before the Tampa game. It is obvious that Carter Hart is a key part of the Flyers line-up. This will have a huge impact on the team, that goes without saying. Cal Petersen has been called up and was Samuel Ersson’s backup for the game against the Lightning. Hopefully more information will be available soon.
Philly vs Tampa Bay
You can’t say for sure if the Flyers were distracted by the news of the day but they sure were playing like they were. Right out of the gate they did not look like their regular selves. They were putting forth a very tentative style of play. Their passes were not crisp. Their shots were not sharp. They weren’t finishing plays. They were fanning on passes and shots and having trouble clearing the puck out of their zone. Less than two minutes in they were down one to nothing.
Brayden Point scored on a tap in deflection of a Maxwell Crozier shot from the right circle. Tampa always seemed one move ahead of the Flyers during the 1st period. They were putting a ton of traffic in front of the net and getting pucks to players right on the doorstep. The Flyers were leaving holes and Tampa was skating right through them.
Nikita Kucherov scored his first goal of the night with 1:15 left in the 1st period. He scored his second of the night only 2:24 into the 2nd on the power-play. The Flyers and the Lightning have pretty similar records so far this season. The biggest difference is the Lightning have the number on power-play in the league.
So, it’s simple right? Don’t take penalties. This was easier said than done. On more than one occasion it was not possible to see the infraction called against the Flyers, even in slow motion on the jumbotron. I know it is bad form to blame the officiating but what do you want me to do? Lie to you? There were just some questionable calls or lack there-of in this one.
Leading up to the mid-way point of the 2nd period the Flyers were starting to look a bit more like themselves. Andrei Vasilevskiy is a great goaltender and if he has a clear view of the puck he’s going to stop it. The Flyers were out-shooting the Lighting but their chances were not the kind that were going to get by Vasilevskiy. The Flyers got on the scoreboard at 9:56 of the 2nd period. Joel Farabee fired a shot through traffic that Cam Atkinson deflected into the net.
First as a Flyer
At 14:04 into the 2nd Morgan Frost dished the puck to Jamie Drysdale at the top of the slot. Drysdale fired a wicked wrist shot through traffic scoring his first goal as a Philadelphia Flyer bringing his team within one.
At 16:11 Cam Atkinson was called for hooking and Michael Eyssimont scored another Lighting power-play goal sending them into the 3rd period up 4-2. Tampa’s power-play really is something. Their chances come together effortlessly. The Flyers penalty kill can be very aggressive and offensively dangerous. Tampa never gave them the chance, they had them back on their heals with every man advantage.
Keeping it close
Just 42 seconds into the 3rd period Cam York batted his own rebound out of the air and into the Tampa Bay net bringing the Flyers within a goal 4-3. The Flyers were in this game all the way up to the end. They out-shot Tampa 32-22 on the night. Samuel Ersson played a really solid 3rd period making some outstanding saves and keeping his team in the running. There was a number of great hits in the game Scott Laughton was responsible for many of them. The Flyers were barking up the right tree they just fell short in the end.
The Flyers pulled the goalie to skate six against five looking for the tying goal. With one minute left Brandon Hagel shot the puck into the empty net with Egor Zamula nipping at his heels. Kucherov scored the second empty net goal for the hattrick. Flyers lose a very close game 6-3.
To put it mildly, it was not a great day for the Orange and Black.
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