Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
The Flyers were in Ottawa on Thursday night looking for their first victory of the new season. Needless to say the search continues. The Senators beat the Flyers 2-1 in a down to the wire contest that was arguably Philly’s best effort so far.
The Senators were coming off a loss to Detroit on Tuesday night. This game against the Flyers was their season home opener. The place was packed and the Senators were obviously looking to show them a good time.
Spark
The Orange and Black did come out with a renewed vigor in this contest. Much has been said about the “lack of compete” in this group. This game was hard hitting, fast moving, and played with intensity until the final horn.
Goaltending
Both netminders deserve credit for playing an outstanding game. Linus Ullmark was virtually unbeatable in the Senators net giving up just one goal which could have easily been erased by a quicker whistle from the referee.
This was the third start in the Flyers net for new comer Joseph Woll who had another fine performance between the pipes. Woll stopped 24 of 26 Senators shots and made some challenging saves throughout the contest. He handles the puck well. His positioning and reaction time was on point. He’s been holding it together and proving himself to be a fine addition to the team.
Woll had an aggressive poke check on a Drake Batherson attempt from in close. He stopped Michael Amadio on a breakaway at a point where another Senators goal would have pushed the game out of reach. Bright spots have been few and far between so far this season, Woll has definitely been one of them.
Shots on Goal
Shots on goal should not be one of your biggest takeaways night after night. But in a season such as this one it most certainly is. Opponents have been regularly doubling the Flyers production in this area.
Tonight the Flyers outshot their opponent for the first time this season. The Flyers topped the Sens 29 to 26. Before this the most shots the Flyers have registered in a game was 25. They have been averaging 19.
The Flyers were outshooting the Senators 6-1 early. They were intentionally going for the net and taking every shot possible. They were also hitting everything and anything that moved. The momentum was definitely in the Flyers favor until they started racking up the penalty minutes. They took four consecutive penalties only seconds apart from each other.
Goals
The Flyers notched but one goal in this contest and it was a bit of a fluker. Trevor Zegras fired a shot from the top of the circle that hit Ullmark in the bread basket. He looked to have the puck pinched off. There was no whistle and the puck slowly piddled out behind him from between his legs. Matvei Michkov was camped out at the edge of the crease. He helped the dribbling puck over the goal line for the Flyers first power-play goal of the season. The Flyers have a total of 6 goals in their 5 games so far this season.
Nick Cousins scored for the Senators in the 1st period. It was a perfect redirection right in front leaving Woll without a chance. The game winning goal was scored by Carter Yakemchuk. It was a rocket from the top of the slot blocker side off a beautiful pass from Claude Giroux.
Up Next
The Flyers are in Boston next to face the Bruins on Saturday afternoon at 1 PM. The Bruins are currently 3-2-0. Every game is an uphill battle for Philly right now but this is probably their best chance of the weekend. They come home and play the mighty Carolina Hurricanes at 7 PM on Sunday night. This will be the second half of a back to back at the end of a road trip against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.
You gotta play the games to see what happens. As they say, anything can happen on any given night. But in this scenario if the Flyers don’t earn their first win on Saturday in Boston they very well could end up on Monday morning having gone seven games into the new season without a victory. At that point you would have to wonder what their next move may be.
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