Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
The Philadelphia Flyers (13-12-4) were in Columbus tonight to faceoff against the Blue Jackets (12-13-3). The Flyers started off this game doing all the right things and they never looked back. Philly got on the board 4:37 into the match when Tyson Foerster had control of the puck in the Columbus zone. He moved from the corner towards the slot and fired away. Noah Cates was right there on the doorstep to make sure the puck found its way home.
This first goal set the tone for the night. Crash the net. Get in the paint. Move the puck to the dangerous areas, all that good stuff. Nibbling around the edges has not been working out lately so take it to them. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece to get on the score sheet.
Owen Tippett
On the Flyers second goal Morgan Frost started the play at center moving the puck to Jamie Drysdale. Drysdale who was playing in just his second game since returning from an extended injury carried into the zone and left a drop pass for Owen Tippet. Tippett wasted no time firing the puck from the top of the circle. Drysdale continued onward towards the net but the puck required no further assistance to find its way home. Tippett’s shot cleanly beat Columbus netminder Elvis Merzlinkins long blocker side.
When Tippett is on he is a real offensive asset to his team. He now has five goals in his last five games.
2nd Period
Flyers got an early power-play in the 2nd and made it pay off. The team’s leading scorer Travis Konecny fired a wrist shot from the slot. Again with the get to the net strategy, Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae had himself stationed directly in front of the net putting up the perfect screen and keeping Merzlinkins from tracking the shot.
The Flyers continued the flow of heavy traffic in front of the Blue Jackets net and continued to create chances in doing so.
Emil Andrae
Andrae has continued to be a pleasant surprise for the Flyers. At the beginning of this season it was not certain how much time the young defenseman would end up spending with the big club. Andrae has presented a fine case for himself proving that he is ready and deserves a regular spot in the line-up.
There was a scary moment when Mathieu Olivier skated cross-ice through the Flyers zone to put a hit on Andrae who’s head went into the glass before he went down to the ice. Rasmus Ristolainen took offense and got into a scrum with Olivier. Risto managed to keep his gloves on long after Olivier ditched his but that didn’t end up playing into things for some reason.
At first Olivier was given a five minute major for the hit. The game was delayed while a lengthy discussion took place among the officials. The conversation led to the penalty being reduced to two minutes for elbowing. The Flyers ensuing power-play was relegated to the perimeters and didn’t really amount to any solid chances. When the teams were back at full strength Nick Seeler squared off with Olivier in a delayed reaction to the hit on Andrae. To put it nicely that didn’t work out so well either.
Samuel Ersson
Ersson was not getting a ton of work in this one. This was his second game back after missing eleven due to injury. The Blue Jackets went on the man advantage with 4:23 left in the second period. At that point the Flyers were outshooting the Jackets 16-6. Ersson usually prefers it a little busier than that, and you would think even more so after missing so many games.
Zach Werenski dinged a slapper off the short side post on the power-play to make it 3-1. The goal seemed to wake up both the Columbus players and their home town crowd. Travis Konecny made sure that mood was short lived.
With just one minute left in the 2nd period Joel Farabee fired a stretch pass through the neutral zone springing TK on a clean breakaway. Konecny fired through the pads before Elvis could get fully down into the butterfly position. The assists went to Brink and Michkov. Konecny currently leads his team with 34-pts (15-G 19-A). The Flyers skated into the second intermission with a commanding three goal lead.
Michkov-Tippett-Frost
The line of Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett, and Morgan Frost jumped right into the 3rd period creating a ton of chaos and chances right in front of the Columbus net. At the end of a very offensively aggressive shift Michkov fed the puck from the corner to Morgan Frost. Frost crossed side to side right in front and then fired from the side of the net beating the goaltender and digging the hole even deeper for the Blue Jackets 5-1.
Michkov who just turned 20 this week continues to impress and rack up points. He leads all NHL rookies in scoring with 27-pts (11-G 14-A).
The Blue Jackets had a few nice rushes and scored a pair of goals in the final period. At 11:42 Sean Monahan deflected a shot that came through a ton of traffic cutting the deficit to three goals. With just :36.9 seconds left in the contest Kent Johnson fired one over Ersson’s blocker hitting the net long side bring us to the final score of 5-3.
It was all just window dressing, it never felt like a come-back. The Jackets were basically playing dead man walking for the entire 3rd period. The load was too heavy. The hole was too deep. The Flyers did a good job of making sure this game was over long before the clock agreed with them. They continued to keep it simple. Blocking shots, clearing their zone, getting pucks deep, and doing all the proper things.
This was a solid old school road win for the Orange and Black. The Flyers were hitting all the fundamentals and sticking to a classic game plan and it worked out very well for them.
Next Up: The Flyers will host the Detroit Red Wings Thursday night at 7PM
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