Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Both teams came into tonight’s match-up with 32 wins but they’re in very different situations. The Flyers with 71 points (32-23-7) are sitting 5 points ahead of the Islanders holding onto 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division. On the other hand the Blues with 65 points (32-26-3) are sitting in 5th place in the Central Division with the Wild only 1 point behind them.
Travis Konecny will be missing his 6th game in a row with an upper body injury. Former Flyer Kevin Hayes will be suiting up for the Blues. Kevin seems to be looking forward to his night in Philadelphia. This morning he had nothing but nice things to say about his time as a Flyer, John Tortorella, and the Flyers Fans. Hayes has 10 goals and 12 assists in 60 games so far this season.
Philly vs St. Louis
The Flyers outshot the Blues in the 1st period 13-5 but the chances that St. Louis did have were so dangerous that the play did not seem as lopsided as the SOGs might suggest. Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson made a few really challenging saves. At one point Ersson looked totally down and out during a St. Louis flurry directly in front of the Flyers net. Ersson made behind the back save with the heel of his skate on a shot that had goal written all over it. He ended up facing his own net for the ensuing rebound and ended up getting in the way of the puck just the same.
The Flyers got on the board with just 1:08 left in the 1st period. Ryan Poehling skated the puck into the Blues zone. Charging down the right hand side he held onto the puck as Blues defenseman Colton Parayko dropped to the ice. Poehling held on and wrapped the puck around the sprawling defenseman towards the net. The puck went off of Scott Laughton who was deep into the blue paint and passed Blues netminder Jordan Binnington.
Ersson was called on to make one more save in the period stopping Nick Leddy on a breakaway as time ran out.
2nd Period
The Blues wasted no time making up the shot differential in the 2nd period. Ersson was sharp in the Flyers net keeping the St. Louis chances from hitting the score sheet. At one point he stoned Pavel Buchnevich point blank and made a flashing glove save on Jordan Kyrou only seconds later.
Cam York was impossible not to notice making many sharp plays with the puck at both ends of the ice. Garnet Hathaway also had a very visible as well as physical game. Hathaway has proven to be a very hard working forward who seems willing to do whatever is asked of him. Blocking shots, throwing checks, standing up for his teammates, Hathaway does not shy away from difficult situations.
No TK on the PK
The Flyers found themselves shorthanded on a couple occasions in the 2nd period. The penalty kills were successful but have a much different look without Travis Konecny in the line-up. The past few games the Flyers have returned to a much more traditional style when shorthanded as opposed to the “power kill” that has proven to be quite effective. Konecny and his bursts of speed are a huge source of the danger that the team is currently missing. Recently you see the Flyers forming a tighter box in front of the goaltender and just dumping the puck the length of the ice when possible. Their stretch game has also been missing the team’s highest scorer. Konecny’s skates are hard to fill, the game plan has to be altered when he is not around.
Kevin Hayes
Former Flyer Kevin Hayes was given a nice round of applause from the Flyers Fans early in the 1st period as he was welcomed back and featured on the jumbotron. Hayes bought with him a 19 game goalless streak and since Philly is the place where slumps come to die he scored the Blues only goal in regulation with 4:13 left in the second period.
Hayes came in on a breakaway, he seemed to flub his move and lose control of the puck. Hayes tripped and fell at the side of the net as the abandoned puck made its way through Ersson’s pads. A goal is a goal. The announcement of Hayes as the goal scorer was met with a chorus of boos from the Philly faithful. That’s just how it goes.
Nick Seeler took a puck to the ankle with 2:38 left in the 2nd period. He went directly up the ramp but retuned for the 3rd period. He ended up leaving the game before it was over.
By the end of the 3rd period the Flyers had outshot the Blues 35 to 24 but again the blues chances seemed much more dangerous. Aside from the Flyers strong goaltending the team blocked a total of 29 shots on the night. Ersson pulled off some really difficult saves making not one but two behind the back kick saves while face down on the ice. As time was running out in regulation he made a monster glove save on Kevin Hayes taking the game to the extra stanza.
Over time
The Blues controlled the puck for much of the 1st half of the overtime period. Pavel Buchnevich was literally skating circles around the Flyers net with the puck. St. Louis would take the puck back out of the zone when they needed to and quickly return to the Flyers end. Eventually they took a shot which Ersson swallowed up and held onto so the Flyers could make a much needed line change.
The Flyers combined for five shots in the overtime period coming very close on a couple of occasions. Tippett had a nice charge to the net only to be denied by Binnington. Cam York hit the post with a shot that had the Blues netminder looking behind himself for the puck.
Binnnington also stopped Travis Sanheim on a breakaway before time ran out in the five minute overtime period. By the time this match was headed to the shootout the Flyers had put a total of 41 shots on the St. Louis net. The Blues also blocked an additional 15 attempts.
Shoot-out
Jake Neighbors drew first blood in the shootout and was quickly matched by Morgan Frost. Frost pulled his two big fakes before the third was the charm, scoring glove side. Ersson stopped former Flyer Brayden Schenn and Binnington made the save on Owen Tippett. Pavel Buchnevich who had been dangerous all night long took the final shot of the contest. Buchnevich cut to the left getting Ersson to commit then swung back to the right and tucked the puck behind the pad giving St. Louis the win.
All in all it was a well played game. Good goaltending kept both teams frustrated at times. The Flyers come away with a point and every one of those counts as the Flyers attempt to hold onto 3rd place in the division.
Next up: Flyers face the Panthers in Florida Thursday night at 7:00.
