Photo credit: Our very own Rob Windfelder
The Flyers returned home Thursday night hoping to shake off a 6-4 loss to the Red Wings the previous night. The Los Angeles Kings (18-9-4) came to town as the Flyers (14-14-4) looked to snap a 2-game losing streak and get back on the winning path. The Flyers entered this match-up with a 1-4 record on the second end of back-to-backs this year. The Flyers’ lineup looked different from the last game, as Aleksei Kolosov got the start in net and defenseman Emil Andrae was back in the lineup for Cam York. York had a costly turnover in the second period of the last game and was benched for the entirety of the third period. Andrae has been a healthy scratch the previous three games so he got the start over York this game. For the Kings, Darcy Keumper started in the net.
First Period
The Flyers opened the game with strong play in their offensive zone. Aleksi Kolosov bailed them out of a few turnovers and made big saves when he had to early on. The Flyers had more shots on goal in the first 10 minutes of the game tonight than they did the entire first-period last game. With 9:07 left the Kings would strike first. A pass from Philip Danault would set up Kevin Fiala on a breakaway. Fiala pulled off a beautiful move to deke around Kolosov scoring his 11th goal of the season. 1-0 Kings.
The Flyers would strike back after a great play from Bobby Brink against the wall led to him finding Noah Cates wide-open in the slot. Cates deked around Darcy Kuemper and scored his fourth goal of the year. The Flyers tied the game 1-1 after going over 5 minutes without a shot on goal. It was a great play and effort by Brink to get possession of the puck against the wall leading to him finding Cates.
The rest of the period included multiple opportunities for both the Kings and the Flyers, with both goalies making key saves to keep the game tied after the first period. With seconds left in the period, there seemed to have been a missed tripping call on Flyers’ Matvei Michkov causing loud boos from the stands. The Kings outshot Flyers 11-9 but they were tied 1-1 after the first.
Second Period
The Kings swarmed the net starting the second period leading to multiple scoring chances early on. The pressure would become too much, as the puck hit off Jamie Drysdale in front of the net, and Kings’ Tanner Jeannot knocked the puck in for his fourth of the year, giving the Kings a 2-1 lead. It was a tough play for the Flyers as they were now trailing early in the second. Bobby Brink had a breakaway that led to a great save by Kuemper using his left pad to make the stop. The Flyers would then have a near-goal when Sean Courtier deflected a puck that skipped directly across the goalline but not in the net keeping the game tied.
With 10:44 left in the second period, the Kings got their first powerplay of the game after a tripping penalty was called on Tyson Foerster. The Flyers would kill off the penalty as the score remained 2-1 Kings. Shortly after the penalty was killed Scott Laughton skated into the offensive zone and unleashed a slapshot on net. He got his rebound and wrapped around the net only to be stopped by Keumper. The rebound went to Tyson Foerster who slammed it home scoring his 7th goal of the year tying the game 2-2. A great play by Laughton to throw the puck on the net helped set up the goal giving the Flyers a momentum boost.
With 7:03 to go the Flyers headed to their first powerplay of the game after a tripping penalty to Kings’ Tanner Jeannot. The Flyers had consistent pressure in the second half of the powerplay leading to multiple scoring opportunities. Seven seconds after the penalty expired Morgan Frost held the puck behind the net and found Tyson Foerster who scored his 8th goal of the year from the low slot. It is Foerster’s 5th multi-goal game of his career and his third point of the night.
With 45 seconds left a shot on goal was saved by Kolosov as the puck bounced to his left. He went to reach for the puck to cover it up with his glove but couldn’t freeze the puck. Kings Anze Kopitar reached for the puck and was able to tip it past Kolosov tying the game at 3-3 after two periods of play. The Flyers played a strong second period scoring two unanswered but a late goal by Kopitar caused a tie game after 40 minutes. Shots on goal in the second period went in favor of the Flyers 15-8. The late goal by Kopitar was a momentum killer for the Flyers.
Third Period
The third period started with the Kings having steady pressure in their offensive zone. Kolosov made a big save on a breakaway but the pressure would become too much for the Flyers. A shot from Jordan Spence was going wide of the net, but a tip from Warren Foegele deflected the puck in, giving the Kings a 4-3 lead. It is Foegeles 9th of the year and helped put the Kings in the driver’s seat.
With 13:58 left in the 3rd a tripping penalty on Kings’ Jacob Moverare gave the Flyers a power play opportunity and a chance to tie the game. The power play resulted in zero shots on goal and an awful-looking power play that struggled to enter their zone. The power play has been terrible as of late, being a major weak spot of the team.
At 9:21 a play in the Kings’ offensive zone by Alex Turcotte gave him possession of the puck as he zipped a pass to Anze Kopitar in the slot. Kopitar shot the puck past Kolosov extending the Kings lead, 5-3. Joel Farabee missed a scoring chance with about 4:30 left that would have provided the Flyers with some late momentum. John Tortorella pulled Kolosov with 4:10 left and it resulted in a Quinton Byfield goal, his 5th of the season making it 6-3. Moments after a pass from Alex Laferriere found Kevin Fiala at the side of the net giving him his second goal on the night and 12th of the year. 7-3 Kings. The Kings rallied off 5 straight goals in the third completely outplaying the Flyers in the third period.
Tired Legs
The Flyers played a good first and second period generating scoring opportunities and constant pressure in their offensive zone. What they did not do well was protect the puck, as a night full of turnovers gave the Kings an easy path to multiple goals. The third period was one of if not the worst period of the year in my opinion by this Flyers team. Getting outscored 5-0 and allowing another goal even after the empty netter is disheartening. The Flyers lost a step in the third which you figured would happen on the second end of a back-to-back. Tyson Foerster had his best game of the season registering three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in the loss.
The Flyers need to find a way to snap this three-game losing streak as the team has looked out of sync in the last few games. The Flyers have a day off Friday, followed by a game in Philadelphia on Saturday as the Columbus Blue Jackets Come to town. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
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