Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
The Flyers took on the San Jose Sharks in Philly last night. The Sharks were coming in with a very similar record of 5-9-2 compared to the Flyers 5-8-2. The Flyers had the previous two nights off after picking up three points in the last two games of their road trip down South. The Sharks played the previous night shutting out the Devils 1-0.
Matvei Michkov was back in the line-up as was Ryan Poehling. Morgan Frost was the coaches pick to watch the game from the press box. And Jamie Drysdale was placed on the IR list.
Philly vs San Jose
The Flyers got things going very early on, putting the puck in the San Jose net just 1:40 into the game. Anthony Richard took control of the puck at center ice and took off skating into the Sharks zone. It was a nice burst of speed as he moved the cargo up ice with Erik Johnson following on his right hand side. Richard passed to Johnson who put the puck past Sharks goaltender Vitek Vanecek.
Immediately after scoring the goal Erik Johnson ended up dropping the gloves with Givani Smith on the ensuring faceoff. It was a dizzying event that included a lot of spinning. Not many punches landed but a whole lot of spinning. Finally the pair spun their way to the ice. Johnson managed to squeeze two thirds of a Gordie Howe hattrick all into one shift.
Special Teams
The Flyers had a successful penalty kill that saw Ryan Poehling create a nice scoring chance for himself. The Flyers first power-play was a little flat. The Sharks were more than happy to keep the Flyers nibbling around the edges.
The Flyers second power-play looked to become more of the same until Koneckny called for the puck in a specific spot two passes before the shot. He tapped the toe of his stick on the ice in the exact spot. Andrae moved the puck to Michkov. Michkov put the puck exactly where Konecny had asked for it and TK went down to one knee as he smacked the one-timer past Vanecek to put the Flyers up 2-0.
The Flyers kept up pressure on the Sharks and the momentum was clearly with the Philadelphia hockey club. The Sharks must have been relieved to get out of the period and get a chance to regroup.
Matvei Michkov
Much has been said this week as Flyers head coach John Tortorella had chosen to “healthy scratch” the young 1st round pick for the last two games of the team’s three game road trip. Say what you want but Michkov did return to the line-up tonight looking refreshed, energized, and effective.
Just over five minutes into the 2nd period Michkov started creeping up ice as his team regained possession of the puck in their own zone. Zamula dished the puck off to Ryan Poehling who found Michkov sneaking away from the crowd and hit him with a stretch pass sending him in on a breakaway. Michkov beat Vanecek five hole to put the Flyers up 3-0 at 5:09 into the 2nd period.
After a puck was frozen in front of the Flyers net Rasmus Ristolainen shoved Barclay Goodrow into Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler. Seeler did not seem aware that Goodrow’s momentum came courtesy of Ristolainen and he seemed to take it personally. Some crosschecking turned into the gloves dropping and five minute majors for each.
Shark Attack
San Jose was getting their share of chances but Samuel Ersson was making it look routine keeping the Sharks at bay. Finally with 4:31 left in the second period Jack Johnson kicked one just past the outstretched glove of the Flyers netminder. It may sound bitter to say he “kicked” it since it was ruled there was no kicking motion. So we’ll just say he shot it with his moving skate.
With just 1:27 left in the period the Sharks pulled into within one as William Eklund took the puck behind the net after a faceoff in the Flyers zone. Eklund passed the puck to Mikael Granlund who fired a shot that beat Ersson from the top of the circle. The Flyers let the upper hand slip a bit and were headed into the final period with just a one goal lead.
Samuel Ersson
Samuel Ersson had a few big saves in the 3rd period the first was on a breakaway by Fabian Zetterlund. Zetterlund stole the puck from Nick Seeler at the point and was off to the races. Erssons next big save was against Travis Konecny. Konecny was jumping back to break up an odd man rush. He got his stick on a cross ice pass but the deflection turned the innocent pass into a dangerous shot on goal. A surprised Ersson came up with a fine save.
With just 2:24 left in regulation Barclay Goodrow who appeared to be boxed out by Erik Johnson managed to pick up a pass and get the shot past Ersson. The Flyers let the Sharks back into this game and now it was headed to overtime. Matvei Michkov and Macklin Celebrini were getting into it at the Sharks blue line as time ran out. Michkov was without his stick as he took a crosscheck from Celebrini. Michkov responded with two gloves to Celebrini’s face. The on ice official noticed the second punch so the Flyers started the overtime with a penalty to be served.
Extra Challenging Extra Hockey
The overtime period started with two minutes of 4-on-3. The Flyers started with Ristolainen, Sanheim, and Cates. There was so much open ice for the Sharks to work with. Ersson was spectacular as he faced numerous point blank attempts. The pressure was unrelenting with the man advantage.
When Michkov exited the box play continued at 4-on-4 until the next stoppage of play. Both teams managed to create chances. Both goaltenders stood tall. The Flyers outshot the Sharks 43-31.
Another Shootout
Ersson was perfect in the shootout. Michkov scored first for the Flyers with some fancy footwork and a slick move to beat Vanecek. Travis Konecny put the contest away cutting in from the right side, fake, fake, fake, doink where the crossbar meets the post. This game was a super solid effort for both Konecny and Michkov so it is only fitting that they had the honors in the shootout.
The Flyers should have put this one away way earlier, but it all worked out in the end. It was another very exciting night of hockey. The Flyers are starting to look much more like the team that John Tortorella has gotten us used to watching. The team that never gives up.
Next Up: Flyers at Senators Thursday 7:00 PM
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