Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
The Philadelphia Flyers were in Boston tonight to face the Bruins. The Flyers came into this game with a record of 2-6-1 after another frustrating loss, this time against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night. The Flyers were attempting to mount a comeback but just plum ran out of time. It was too little too late as their offense didn’t really start clicking until the final two minutes. Earlier today head coach John Tortorella said “The coaches have to get better and the players have to get better”. This could be called hockey obvious. Get pucks deep, play all 60 minutes…
The hosting Bruins were 4-4-1 at puck-drop tonight after defeating the Maple Leafs in overtime their last time out. That victory snapped a three game losing streak. This was the first time these two teams met in the regular season. They faced each other twice in the preseason and split with each team winning their respective home game.
Philly vs Boston
The 1st period was a goalie show. Bruins netminder Joonas Korpisalo absolutely stoned Bobby Brink. Travis Sanheim fed the puck across the front to Brink who looked like he had a slam dunk from the doorstep. Korpisalo got a skate on the puck at the last second and beat Brink again on the rebound.
Flyers giveaways were causing stress. Not so much quantity as quality. They continue to attempt these feather-handed passes that get picked off and lead to very dangerous situations. The Flyers “disjointed” play is due in part to their passing. Either too hard, too soft, or to the wrong side forcing teammates to try and pick it up on the backhand.
The penalty box has been a magnet for the Orange and Black so far this season. The Flyers found them selves in a 5-on-3 situation for a full 1:37. Samuel Ersson stayed sharp and kept the Bruins at bay. Risto, Seeler, and Cates ate up a lot of the two man advantage and did a solid job in doing so.
As soon as the 5-on-3 expired Scott Laughton exited the box to receive a stretch pass. He went in 2-on-1 and passed the puck to Garnett Hathaway who was shut down by the glove of Korpisalo. Ersson hung tough through the end of the period he made a great save against Elias Lindholm to send this game to the first intermission tied at zip.
Second Period
Second periods have been brutal for the Flyers as of late. They entered this one looking determined and taking up a lot of space on the ice. They were not giving Boston enough time or space to get anything going.
Tyson Foerster opened the scoring for the Flyers 5:32 into the 2nd period. Foerster fired a shot from the slot that went wide far side. The puck made its way around the boards to Emil Andrae. Foerster got a do-over. Andrae fed the puck to Foerster in the slot and this time he ripped a wrist shot through the five hole. The assist was Andrae’s first NHL point. 1-0 Flyers.
The second half of the period momentum definitely shifted towards the Bruins, and by they end of the period they had taken total ownership. The Flyers tallied only four shots on the period. They managed to keep Boston working around the perimeters much of the time. Ersson came up big on several occasions and the Flyers went into the second intermission with their one goal lead intact.
Third Period
The Flyers went on the powerplay at 3:33 when Garnet Hathaway was clotheslined at his own blueline. The powerplay was all over the place leading to the strangest turn of events. Morgan Frost attempted to go up the middle 1-on-3 for some reason with the man advantage. He got decimated and the puck made its way down the other end of the ice.
Ersson misplayed the puck behind the Flyers net. Brad Marchand attempted to throw the puck out front. He hit Ersson in the skate with it. The puck redirected towards the Flyers net and just stopped on the goal line. Ersson fell backwards landing on the puck and somehow the the Flyers were still ahead one to nothing even though the Bruins were outshooting them at this point 21-12.
Just like the period before as time ticked on the Bruins became more dangerous. Boston kept a ton of pressure on in the Flyers end. The Flyers were blocking shots like crazy and when they were getting through Ersson had them covered. The Flyers had so many great chances tonight where it looked like all they had to do was hit the net. They had so many shots wide or just wiffing on the puck altogether.
Sean Couturier had a chance to seel the deal on a breakaway but Korpisalo stayed right with him. Korpisalo was pulled for the extra attacker at around two minutes. The Bruins kept plugging away. Finally Joel Farabee picked off a pass at center ice, drove into the Boston zone, and fired the puck into the open net. Flyers get the win, Ersson gets the shut out, and a ton of hard work pays off. Final score 2-0 Flyers.
Up Next: Flyers host the St. Louis Blues, Halloween night 7PM at the Farg
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