The Philadelphia Flyers finished up a two-game road trip Thursday night with a matchup against the Nashville Predators. Dan Vladar got the start in net, and Rodrigo Abols joined the lineup after Jacob Gaucher was sent down to Lehigh Valley earlier in the day. The Flyers swept the season series with a three-one victory. Vladar stood his ground in net all game long, and some huge goals by Noah Cates and Matvei Michkov helped seal the deal. The orange and black improved to 8-5-1 on the season.
Ryan O’Reilly gave the Predators a 1-0 lead just 1:44 into the game. Filip Forsberg’s shot from the high slot went off O’Reilly’s arm and past the glove of Vladar. Vladar was also screened in front. Forsberg and Nick Blankenburg picked up assists.
The Flyers got the game’s first power play at the 19:35 mark of the first as Brady Skjei was called for hooking. A very aggressive Predators penalty kill gave the Flyers all sorts of trouble. They couldn’t get set up in the zone and only recorded one shot on net.
Michkov tied the game up at one for the Flyers at the 4:43 mark of the second period. Cam York from behind the goal line fed Michkov, who was in the slot, and he put a wrist shot past the glove of Predators goaltender Juuse Saros. York and Sean Couturier tallied assists.
The Predators got their first power play at the 14:11 mark of the second as Owen Tippett got called for hooking. The Flyers did a great job of blocking shots and clearing the puck when given the opportunity. Steven Stamkos, Travis Sanheim, Jonathan Marchessault, and Garnet Hathaway all got called for roughing with six seconds remaining, but it stayed five-on-four for the Predators.
The Flyers took a 2-0 lead at the 17:37 mark of the second period courtesy of Cates. Saros made the initial pad save on Jamie Drysdale but allowed a huge rebound. Cates got to the rebound and put a wrist shot past Saros’ blocker. Drysdale and Travis Konecny were awarded assists.
Noah Juulsen was called for high-sticking at the 2:16 mark of the third period, which gave the Predators their second power play. They didn’t capitalize on this opportunity, but came close. A few of their shots just missed wide of the net. The Flyers, again, did a nice job of clearing the puck down the ice.
The Predators got their third power play at the 11:36 mark of the third as Hathaway got called for roughing. They managed to record two shots on net, and Vladar had the answers to both. The Flyers had a scoring chance while shorthanded in the beginning, but couldn’t get to the net.
Saros was pulled with two minutes left in the third period, but it backfired. Konecny received a pass from Christian Dvorak at center ice, and Konecny put a wrist shot into the empty net. This gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead. Assists went to Dvorak and York.
The Predators pulled Saros one last time with 1:06 left in the third, but they couldn’t get any more pucks past Vladar.
Flyers went 0 for 1 on the power play but killed off all three of the Predators’ man-advantages.
Vladar saved 23 of 24 shots, giving him a .958 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
O’Reilly (6) Assists: Forsberg (6), Blankenburg (3)
2nd Period:
Michkov (2) Assists: York (7), Couturier (8)
Cates (4) Assists: Drydale (5), Konecny (7)
3rd Period:
Konecny (5) (Empty Net) Assists: Dvorak (4), York (8)
Flyers Next Game
Flyers next game is Saturday, Nov. 8, in Philadelphia against the Ottawa Senators.
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