The Philadelphia Flyers started up their sixth set of back-to-back games Tuesday night as they traveled up to Vancouver to take on the Canucks. Dan Vladar got the start in net, and there were no changes to the lineup. They’d give up the first goal and looked slow coming out, but they picked up their game in the last 40 minutes and never looked back. With the help of Vladar standing on his head most of the game and the offense coming alive, the Flyers were able to seal the victory. The orange and black improved to 20-11-7 on the season.
Nick Seeler and Evander Kane dropped the gloves just 1:44 into the first period. Seeler looked to have won the fight as he threw most, if not all, the punches and took Kane down. Both players got five minutes each for fighting.
David Kampf gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at the 3:45 mark of the first. Drew O’Connor, from below the goal line, found Kampf in front of the net, and he put a wrist shot past the blocker of Vladar. O’Connor and Marcus Pettersson tallied assists.
The Canucks got the game’s first power play at the 4:14 mark of the first period as Bobby Brink was called for slashing. Vladar had to make a huge save on Pettersson, and the Flyers did a nice job of blocking a few shots and clearing pucks down the ice.
The Flyers tied the game up at one at the 12:02 mark of the first period courtesy of Noah Cates. He took a pass from Matvei Michkov and put a wrist shot past the glove of Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko. Michkov and Bobby Brink picked up assists.
The game went to four-on-four at the 15:25 mark of the first as Travis Konecny got called for slashing and Filip Hronek for cross-checking. Neither team recorded a shot on goal, but both had good looks in their respective zones.
Carl Grundstrom gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead at the 3:40 mark of the second period. Nikita Grebenkin poked the puck up the boards to Grundstrom. Grundstrom then put a wrist shot over the blocker of Demko from the right circle. A nice pass by Travis Sanheim helped start the play. Grebenkin and Sanheim were given assists.
Sanheim was called for tripping at the 7:19 mark of the second. This gave the Canucks their second power play. Vladar came up with two huge saves, and Christian Dvorak had a chance while shorthanded on a mini breakaway.
The Flyers took a 3-1 lead at the 16:20 mark of the second period thanks to Konecny. Demko made the initial save on Konecny but allowed a rebound. Konecny then collected his own rebound and put a wrist shot into a wide-open net. Assists went to Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras.
Pettersson got called for high-sticking at the 18:01 mark of the second, which gave the Flyers their first power play. It was short-lived, however, as Drysdale was called for interference 28 seconds in. Demko had to make saves on Ristolainen and Dvorak on the four-on-four, and the Flyers did their job of clearing the puck on the Canucks abbreviated power play.
O’Connor got the Canucks within one at the 1:08 mark of the third period. Kampf whiffed on a pass, but the puck still made it to O’Connor. O’Connor then put a wrist shot past Vladar. Kampf received the lone assist. 3-2 Flyers.
26 seconds later, Brink gave the Flyers a 4-2 lead. Michkov and Brink went on a two-on-one. Brink ultimately deflected Michkov’s pass into a wide-open net. Michkov and Cates were given assists.
Grundstrom was called for holding at the 15:32 mark of the third, which gave the Canucks their fourth power play. The Flyers did a great job of stealing pucks and clearing down the ice to waste time. With 25 seconds remaining on the power play, the Canucks pulled Demko in favor of the extra attacker.
Owen Tippett took advantage and scored an empty-netter at the 17:19 mark of the third period. Rodrigo Abols batted the puck out of the Flyers zone and straight to Tippett. Tippett then put a wrist shot into the empty net from the Canucks blue line. This made the score 5-2 Flyers. Assists went to Abols and Rasmus Ristolainen.
The Canucks weren’t done just yet as Tom Willander made it 5-3 at the 18:16 mark of the third. He found a loose puck off a rebound from Kiefer Sherwood’s shot and put a wrist shot into a wide-open net as Vladar was down on the ice. The goal was unassisted.
Demko was pulled one last time with 1:14 left in the game. It backfired, again, as Dvorak scored the second empty-netter for the Flyers. Zegras made a pass to Dvorak in center, and Dvorak let the puck slide into the empty net in the Canucks zone. Zegras and Konecny tallied assists. The Flyers went on to win six to three.
Flyers went zero for one on the power play but killed off all four Canucks man advantages.
Vladar saved 32 of 35 shots, giving him a .914 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Kampf (2) Assists: O’Connor (6), Pettersson (7)
Cates (10) Assists: Michkov (12), Brink (9)
2nd Period:
Grundstrom (7) Assists: Grebenkin (6), Sanheim (14)
Konecny (12) Assists: Drysdale (15), Zegras (23)
3rd Period:
O’Connor (10) Assists: Kampf (1)
Brink (10) Assists: Michkov (13), Cates (12)
Tippett (12) (Empty Net) Assists: Abols (5), Ristolainen (2)
Willander (2) Assists: none
Dvorak (9) (Empty Net) Assists: Zegras (24), Konecny (23)
Flyers Next Game:
Flyers next game is Wednesday, Dec. 31, in Calgary against the Flames.
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