The Philadelphia Flyers traveled to the windy city of Chicago on Tuesday night to take on the Blackhawks in the second game of a back-to-back and their last game before the holiday break. Sam Ersson got the start in net, and there were no changes to the lineup. Ersson had himself a solid night in net, and the Flyers were able to take a lead and hold it for the victory. The orange and black improved to 19-10-7 on the season.
The Blackhawks got the game’s first power play at the 7:59 mark of the first period as Trevor Zegras was called for tripping. Ersson had to make a big save on Oliver Greene, and the Flyers did a nice job of stealing pucks and clearing down the ice.
Travis Konecny gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at the 10:17 mark of the first. Zegras found Konecny driving the net from the left circle, and Konecny put a wrist shot past the glove of Blackhawks goaltender Spencer Knight. Zegras and Sean Couturier tallied assists.
The Flyers got their first power play at the 14:29 mark of the first period as Colton Dach got called for holding. They had some chances in a scrum in front of the net, and Knight ended up having to make saves of Travis Sanheim and Cam York.
Carl Grundstrom was called for roughing just 34 seconds into the second period. This gave the Blackhawks their second power play. Ersson had to come up with four big saves, and the Flyers were able to clear the puck down the ice a few times.
The Blackhawks got caught with too many men on the ice at the 9:56 mark of the second, which gave the Flyers their second power play. Oliver Moore served the penalty. They’d capitalize on the opportunity thanks to Noah Cates. Konecny fed Cates with a between-the-legs pass from the side of the net, and Cates put a snapshot past the glove of Knight from the low slot. Konecny and Jamie Drysdale picked up assists.
The Flyers got their third power play at the 17:37 mark of the second period as Connor Murphy got called for cross-checking. 10 seconds into the power play, Dever Barkey got called for boarding. This made the game go to four-on-four, and then the Blackhawks would get an abbreviated power play.
The Blackhawks got on the board at the 18:30 mark of the second on the four-on-four. Ryan Donato took a pass from Matt Grzelcyk and put a wrist shot past the blocker of Ersson. Ersson was screened in front. Grzelcyk and Artyom Levshunov were given assists. This made the score 2-1 Flyers.
The game went to four-on-four again at the 3:40 mark of the third period as Matvei Michkov and Nick Lardis were both called for unsportsmanlike conduct. Both goaltenders had to make one save each, and that’s it.
Alex Vlasic was called for interference at the 7:29 mark of the third. This gave the Flyers their fourth power play. Knight came up with saves on Zegras and York, and the Blackhawks did their job of clearing the puck down the ice.
Couturier got called for hooking at the 15:36 mark of the third period, which gave the Blackhawks their fourth power play. Ersson stood his ground in net, and the Flyers did a nice job of blocking a few shots and clearing the puck down the ice to waste time.
The Blackhawks pulled Knight with 2:12 left in the third just as the Flyers were moving up ice after the penalty. Carl Grundstrom took advantage and gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead with an empty-net goal. He took a pass from Couturier and put a wrist shot into the empty net. Assists went to Couturier and Rasmus Ristolainen.
Knight was pulled again with 1:42 left in the third period, with the Blackhawks down by two. However, they couldn’t get any more pucks past Ersson. The Flyers held on for a three-one victory.
Flyers went one for four on the power play and killed off all four of the Blackhawks’ man advantages.
Ersson saved 20 of 21 shots, giving him a .952 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Konecny (11) Assists: Zegras (22), Couturier (14)
2nd Period:
Cates (9) (Power Play) Assists: Konecny (22), Drysdale (14)
Donato (9) Assists: Grzelcyk (7), Levshunov (15)
3rd Period:
Grundstrom (5) (Empty Net) Assists: Couturier (16), Ristolainen (1)
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Flyers next game is Sunday, Dec. 28, in Seattle against the Kraken.
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