Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
It’s no secret to anyone just how important Flyers netminder Samuel Ersson is to this team right now as he made his 7th consecutive start. Some goalies like to see some rubber right at the start of the night just to get things started and settled in. That’s exactly how this game began, in fact very much so. The Panthers were not only getting chances, they were dangerous high quality chances. Ersson held tight making a few difficult saves and keeping Florida at bay. The swarming Panthers had the Flyers back on their heels and looking very tentative. The Flyers were having trouble completing passes, clearing the zone, and taking advantage of loose pucks
Think outside the box
If you are already looking out-numbered at even strength you’re going to need to stay out of the penalty box. At 9:22 with Nick Seeler in the box for tripping, Carter Verheaghe scored a power play goal. It was a well placed shot through traffic that beat Ersson high blocker side. The Flyers continued scrambling throughout the period. They were turning over pucks like crazy. Owen Tippett, playing in his first game back from injury, had two “brand new contract” style giveaways in a row. One of them in the Flyers defensive end led directly to a scoring chance. As time was running down Travis Konecny was stoned on a breakaway by former Flyer Anthony Stolarz who got the start in the Florida net. The first intermission could not come fast enough.
Bouncing back
The Flyers looked much stronger in the 2nd period. They were spending a lot more time in the Florida zone and getting some good chances. By the middle of the period they had completely erased the Panthers shot advantage. Joel Farabee was having one heck of a 2nd period. He was all over the ice doing all the right things. At 13:33 he dished a pass from the neutral zone springing Travis Konecny in all alone. The all star took winger faked short side then popped the puck high far side to beat Stolarz and tie the game. TK had scored only one goal in his last eleven games.
The Flyers continued to keep the pressure on till the end of the period. Tippett had a couple near misses. At one point Cam Atkinson had what could have been a breakaway but the Panthers were allowed to hack away at him from behind and his shot ended up going wide of the net. As the buzzer went off to end the period both teams wanted to leave a calling card with plenty of yapping and scrapping before leaving the ice.
Hard work
The 3rd period started with some wide open 4 on 4 hockey as Travis Konecny and Gustav Forsling both received slashing penalties for the festivities at the end of the 2nd. During the intermission TK dismissed Florida’s push back, “Their trying to play tough and we’re not afraid of that”.
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Shortly after the penalties expired Noah Kates took advantage of a turnover in the Florida zone. He chose to go in alone, splitting the defense, and ringing one in off the far post to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. That was just his second goal of the season and his first since October. Cates turned 25 yesterday.
Halfway through the 3rd the Flyers efficiently killed off a Florida man advantage which ended with yet another scrum. These two teams really enjoy getting on each other’s nerves. The Panthers are a very strong 3rd period team on a hot streak so the Flyers really had their work cut out for them. They kept plugging away blocking shots and supporting Samuel Ersson who came up big over and over again.
Final push
The Panthers pulled Stolarz with 2:48 left in regulation. The Panthers were buzzing, they had the Flyers chasing the puck, and they just could not manage to clear the puck out of their own zone. Florida kept the heat on, Ersson kept the door shut, and the Flyers skated away with a 2-1 win against a very good hockey team. This game was all about putting in the hard work necessary to bounce back from a weak 1st period and the Flyers proved themselves totally up to the task.
Next up: Thursday night Flyers vs Jets 7PM in Philly
