Date Published: 1-27-2023
Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
It was quite the eventful 1st period in Minnesota last night as the Flyers faced-off against the Wild. The Flyers Noah Cates deflected a Rasmus Ristolainen shot from the point with an as of yet undetermined part of his body. The puck went over the line so slowly that the slow motion replay made it even harder to figure out what actually happened
Fight Club
Then things started to get a little feisty. Nicolas Deslauriers squared off with Ryan Reaves. The lead up seemed like this was going to be the heavy weight bout of the night. They both got too good of a grip on each other and were able to dodge most of the punches thrown until they both finally petered out. No one wanted to get in the middle of this one and I don’t blame them. Deslauriers leads the league with nine fights so far this season, and the Flyers now lead the league with 25 fighting majors on the season.
As soon as those two players were tucked away in the penalty box Wade Allison grabbed Mason Shaw and took him down with a one hit wonder before his hands even got cold. Deslauriers and Allison barely had time to catch up in the penalty box chatting and giggling when Zack MacEwen and Marcus Foligno decided to give it a go. Foligno got the win on this one, Zack seemed like maybe he got his jaw rocked a bit. The total amount of clock time that it took for all three of these fights to transpire was 15 seconds.
Before the period ended Marc-Andre Fleury absolutely robbed Owen Tippett. Tippett stole the puck at the Wild blue line and went in on a breakaway. He tried to go top shelf on Fleury who flashed the leather and snapped the puck out of the air. I know that Fleury was a Penguin for years but he is still an exciting hockey player and a real pro. He currently sits at number three on the NHL all time wins list behind Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. That is pretty amazing company to keep.
Second Period
The second period started out with more of the same. Less than three minutes in Patrick Brown was going at it with Brandon Duhaime. Minnesota was starting to rack up the wins in the fight game and that momentum lead to their first goal. Matt Boldy finished a nice passing play by putting the puck behind a sprawling Carter Hart. At this point the game settled down a bit and went back to a more traditional style hockey game with skating and passing and all that kind of stuff. Carter Hart made some huge saves in the second period, looking a little more animated in the net than usual. Hart is known for his disciplined positioning, but his play matched the overall mood of this game which was a bit more over the top and very entertaining.
Third Period
The third period opened up with these two teams tied at one on a night where it felt like almost anything could happen at any given moment. Matt Boldy scored his second goal of the game on the power play at 15:12 tipping a pass up and over Carter Hart. The Flyers were outshooting the Wild at this point and getting plenty of chances but Fleury was really putting on a show. Teams have been giving Travis Konecny a lot less room to work with lately and for good reason. He has been red hot. Frustration seemed to be building up for him as he pushed a Wild player into their own goalie. Three Wild players jumped TK up against the boards, a pile-up ensued and somehow the Flyers ended up shorthanded. John Tortorella argued the call for all he was worth but to no avail.
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With just over 1:30 left in regulation the Flyers pulled Carter Hart for the extra attacker. Kevin Hayes carried the puck into the zone and dished it off to Tony DeAngelo who put the puck up and over Fleury’s glove to tie the game. It was clutch to the max. This game was going to overtime!
There was a moment in overtime where it looked like it would be the Flyers night. Travis Konecny came in with the puck on a 2-on-1. He had all night to set up his shot at first it looked like it was in!.…Fleury stopped it. (I absolutely apologize ahead of time for writing this last sentence) Mats Zuccarello came down the other way 1-on-2 worked his way around two defenders and the goaltender to end the game.
“It’s a game of two willing teams, in a hard building to play in. Happy to get a point, but it leaves you wanting more.” – John Tortorella said post-game
