Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
The Flyers 31-23-7 were coming into this game after suffering a frustrating loss to the Washington Capitals not 24 hours prior. The Caps won 5-2 in a game where the Flyers system seemed to have broken down. The young team known for bouncing back just couldn’t find their groove for the final two periods after holding their own through the first. The Senators 25-30-3 were in a similar boat losing to the Cayotes 5-3 on Friday night.
Goaltender Felix Sandstrom would be making his first start for the Flyers this season. Sandstrom was called up from the Phantoms as Cal Petersen cleared waivers. This was a chance for Sandstrom to prove to the organization that he can still compete at the NHL level. Cam Atkinson was in, Olle Lycksell was out, and Travis Konecny missed his 5th game in a row due to an undisclosed upper body injury. Konecny who is the team’s highest scorer is expected to be back sooner rather than later.
Philly vs Ottawa
The Flyers have been setting a trend of scoring early and tonight was no exception. Nick Seeler took a shot from the point through heavy traffic that was deflected in by Joel Farabee just 1:08 into the opening period.
The Flyers dominated the 1st period outshooting the Senators 19-4. Felix Sandstrom did not see a lot of pucks but when he did he was solid. His positioning and puck control was on point. He made a nice play on a rush by Ridly Greig who was blowing through the Flyers defense. Sandstrom executed a nice poke check and drew an interference penalty on the play. The teams went into the 1st intermission with the Flyers leading one to nothing.
2nd Period
Just over four minutes into the 2nd period Vladimir Tarasenko beat Sandstorm with a backhander from the circle. It was a pretty innocent looking shot that seemed to catch the Flyers netminder by surprise. The announcement of Tarasenko as the goal scorer was met with a resounding chorus of boos.
Ottawa was getting a lot more chances throughout the 2nd period but for the most part the Flyers were doing a good job of standing them up at the blue line and keeping the Senators from entering the zone with numbers.
With just under a minute left in the 2nd period Scott Laughton took a faceoff against his old teammate Claude Giroux to the left of the Ottawa net. Laughton cleanly won the faceoff back to Tyson Foerster. Foerster was backing out of the circle as he attempted to settle the puck. He ripped a wrist shot that beat Mads Sogaard top shelf giving the Flyers a 2-1 lead.
As time was running out again it was Foerster making a charge for the Ottawa net. He was hooked from behind and awarded a penalty shot with just two seconds left in the period. Foerster came in cutting from right to left, faked going far side and keeping the puck low beat Sogaard’s pad to the short side of the net. This totally bought the house down as elated Flyers Fans made their approval very apparent. Tyson Foerster had just scored two goals in the last minute of the 2nd period to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead. The Flyers now have five penalty shot goals this season which is an NHL single season record.
3rd Period
Cam York took a double minor for high-sticking 4:10 into the 3rd period. The Flyers ended up spending a good chunk of the final period short-handed. They set up a tight box in front of Sandstrom and played it pretty straight on the penalty kills. The Flyers PK can be very dangerous offensively but tonight they played it pretty conservatively, protecting their lead, and supporting their goaltender.
Double Doink
Ottawa was pulling out all the stops as time was becoming an issue for them. Sandstrom was called on to make a number of key saves to keep the Senators at bay. At one point it looked, and sounded, like Ottawa had scored. A closer look confirmed that the puck had hit both posts but never crossed the goal line. Double doink. Seconds later they hit the post again.
The Senators did not let up and finally beat Sandstrom with a beautiful passing play. Giroux, to Kubalik to Thomas Chabot who slammed it home to make it a one goal game. With less than two minutes left and their goaltender pulled for the extra attacker Ottawa hit a post yet again while keeping prolonged pressure in the Flyers end. Finally a missed pass caused the puck to leave the zone, the crowd roared as Cam York fired from his own blue line into the empty net at the other end of the ice with one second left on the clock. Final score Flyers-4 Senators-2. This was a game that the Flyers could not let slip away and it was a win that Felix Sandstrom really needed.
Up Next: The Blues come to Philly 7:30 Monday night.
