Flyers hockey finally came home as they’d play at their newly named Xfinity Mobile Arena Monday night against the Florida Panthers. Dan Vladar got the start in net once again as he faced them in Florida last Thursday. Emil Andrae made his season debut with Egor Zamula exiting the lineup. Sean Couturier would record four points and Vladar put on another solid performance in net. Rick Tocchet sealed his first home game win as the new coach. The Flyers improved to 1-1-1 on the season.
The Flyers got the game’s first powerplay just 1:23 into the first period as Aaron Ekblad was called for slashing. They were able to set up in the zone early but only managed to get one shot on net. Vladar also had to make a huge save on Anton Lundell while shorthanded.
Owen Tippett got called for slashing at the 4:30 mark of the first which gave the Panthers their first man advantage. The Flyers did an excellent job of keeping the Panthers players to the outside and getting into shooting lanes to block shots.
Tyson Foerster gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at the 8:54 mark of the first period. Couturier backhanded a pass from the wall to Foerster in the slot and he put a wrist shot past the blocker of Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov. Couturier received the only assist.
The Panthers got their second powerplay of the game at the 2:57 mark of the second period as Couturier was called for hooking. Vladar had to make a few tricky saves in tight, and Travis Sanheim had a huge scoring chance while shorthanded but missed the net.
Sam Bennett got called for tripping at the 6:33 mark of the second. This gave the Flyers their second man advantage of the game. They’d spend a majority of the time in the offensive zone and got some good shots on net, but Tarasov had all the answers. The Panthers did a nice job of blocking shots as well.
The Flyers got their third power play at the 12:31 mark of the second period as Jesper Boqvist was called for holding. Only two shots on goal were recorded and the Panthers played a game of keep-away for a majority of the man advantage.
Couturier gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead at the 15:47 mark of the second. Travis Konecny fed him with a pass up the ice for a breakaway. Couturier finished with a wrist shot off the right post and in past Tarasov. Konecny and Sanheim tallied assists.
Seth Jones was called for delay of game at the 18:05 mark of the second period which gave the Flyers their fourth powerplay. They wouldn’t capitalize on this opportunity, but the Panthers would. Sam Reinhart scored a shorthanded goal to get the Panthers on the board. Vladar made the initial save on him, but Reinhart stayed after the puck and ultimately beat Vladar on a wrap-around attempt. Anton Lundell received the only assist. This made the score 2-1 Flyers.
Matvei Michkov got called for hooking just 1:01 into the third period. This gave the Panthers their third powerplay. The Flyers came up with another solid penalty kill as they only allowed the Panthers to get two shots on net and did a great job of stealing and clearing the puck.
The Panthers received their fourth powerplay of the game at the 9:00 mark of the third as Tippett was called for tripping. They’d capitalize on this opportunity and tie the game up at two. Reinhart made a pass to Bennett from behind the Flyers net and Bennett put a wrist shot into a wide-open net. Vladar was down and out of position. Reinhart and Marchand were awarded assists.
Garnet Hathaway was called for goaltender interference at the 12:33 mark of the third period. This gave the Panthers their fifth powerplay. However, with 55 seconds left, Bennett committed a slashing penalty. This made it four-on-four and then the Flyers got an abbreviated powerplay. No goals would be scored here.
Just after the Flyers abbreviated powerplay ended (15:50 mark), Couturier gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead. Trevor Zegras made an insane pass to him from behind the net and Couturier put a snapshot past the glove of Tarasov. Zegras and Jamie Drysdale were given assists.
The Panthers pulled Tarasov with 3:04 left in the third period in favor of the extra attacker while only being down by one. However, it backfired. Bobby Brink would score an empty-netter to give the Flyers a 4-2 lead. Noah Cates missed the net wide, but Brink took the bounce off the boards and finished with a wrist shot. Cates and Nick Seeler tallied assists.
Tarasov would be pulled one more time and again, it backfired. Christian Dvorak scored his first as a Flyer. He deflected Sanheim’s shot into the net from in front. Sanheim and Couturier recorded assists.
Flyers went 0 for 5 on the powerplay but killed off four of the five Panthers man advantages.
Vladar saved 24 of 26 shots, giving him a .923 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Foerster (1) Assists: Couturier (1)
2nd Period:
Couturier (1) Assists: Konecny (2), Sanheim (1)
Reinhart (2) (Shorthanded) Assists: Lundell (2)
3rd Period:
Bennett (1) (Power Play) Assists: Reinhart (1), Marchand (2)
Couturier (2) Assists: Zegras (2), Drysdale (1)
Brink (2) (Empty Net) Assists: Cates (2), Seeler (1)
Dvorak (1) (Empty Net) Assists: Sanheim (2), Couturier (2)
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