Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Ok it might not seem like a big win to most people, but to Flyers Fans the 2-1 victory in Vegas Monday night was enormous. The soul crushing six game losing streak has come to an end. Now it’s up to the Flyers to stay focused, avoid a relapse, and make up for some lost ground. One step at a time.
One game at a time
Everything has been a tall order for the Philadelphia Flyers as of late so why not a three game road trip out West starting with a stop in Vegas. The Vegas Golden nights were looking to win their eighth straight game and sweep the season series against the Orange and Black. The Flyers were looking to break the spell after loosing their last six in a row. Bobby Brink was back in the line-up. Ristolainen, Abols, and Dan Vladar are still out due to injury. Samuel Ersson got the start tonight between the pipes for Philadellphia.
Philly vs Vegas
Vegas came out swarming spending the better part of the period in the Flyers zone. Samuel Ersson made several key saves to keep the Knights at bay. Ersson looked much more vigilant than he has in his last few starts. The Flyers were doing a better job of holding down the fort in front of their own net as well.
One shift at a time
When the Flyers got possession it was often little more than an opportunity to dump the puck deep to facilitate a line change.
That was until Travis Konecny picked off a cross ice pass along the Flyers blue line and used his speed to go in all alone on a breakaway. Konecny shot low glove side beating Vegas netminder Aden Hill with the first Philadelphia shot of the game 3:46 into the 1st period.
Special teams
The teams traded power-play opportunities throughout the end of the 1st period and into the 2nd. The Flyers could not capitalize with the man advantage. Their power-play continues to be dead last in the league at 14.9%. Their best special teams chance was a shorthanded break by Travis Konecny. TK was a man on a mission tonight.
One period at a time
The Flyers spent much more time in possession of the puck during the middle period. Their defensemen were strong on the blueline and in the d-zone as well closing down the passing lanes in front of their own net. Big improvement. In fact the Flyers did not allow a Vegas shot on goal for the entire first half of the 2nd period.
Bobby Brink added a noticeable spark in his return to the line-up[. Tippett was flying, and Denver Barkey was working his tail off. Samuel Ersson made a cluster of challenging saves to preserve the one goal lead.
In the final moments of the 2nd period Adin Hill made a double deer hair rolling windmill stop on Bobby Brink. Old-school extreme.
The Flyers needed to get to the end of this well played period. Instead they took a penalty with two minutes remaining and the Knights took advantage.
With just 34 seconds to go Tomas Hertl redirected a shot on the rush from the slot. A between the legs tip right up and into the cookie jar. It was as nice of a redirect as you’re likely to see. No one really has to take the blame for this one. It was a beauty.
20 minutes
So the Flyers went into the final period of regulation just like they came into the game. After 40 well played minutes the score was tied going into the third. They had not been in a situation even close to this in quite some time.
During the six game losing streak games were decided long before the final 20 minutes. No matter how this thing ended it was already a gigantic step in the right direction.
The Flyers spent the entire 1st minute of the 3rd period in the Vegas zone creating multiple chances. They looked loose, confident, and willing to play run and gun with the red hot Knights.
Sin City Sin Bin
The Flyers really temped fate tonight when it came to taking penalties. Unnecessary sloppy stick penalties. Luckily Vegas went just 1-for-7 with the man advantage. Another lucky break for the Flyers is having a quality goal scorer on their penalty kill.
With the game tied at one with just 7:22 remaining in regulation the Flyers were once again down a man due to a high sticking penalty. Travis Konecny picked off a pass at his own blue line and used his speed to drive through the neutral zone in on a breakaway.
It was a carbon copy of his goal in the first period. Konecny again fired from the slot, this time going to the opposite side and beating Adin Hill low blocker side to give the Flyers the 2-1 lead. It was Konecny’s second unassisted goal of the game.
One battle at a time
With 1:49 left on the clock and a faceoff in the Flyers zone Vegas pulled their goaltender to skate an extra attacker. Vegas won the faceoff and Owen Tippett missed the glass in an attempt to bank the puck out of the zone. The Flyers were assessed a delay of game penalty.
So with 1:33 remaining the Knights were on the power-play with their goalie pulled skating 6-on-4 against the Flyers till time ran out. Samuel Ersson remained strong, the Flyers defense held up. There were some dangerously close chances. In fact the last thing you heard before the final horn was the puck hitting a post. One win at a time.
Extra Credit: Travis Konecny was absolutely the hero in this one. He got it done, he made this win happen. Samuel Ersson also deserves credit for his stellar performance tonight. But the fact of the matter remains, the Flyers did not win a game the entire time that Bobby Brink was out of the line-up. So Brink gets my vote for 3rd star just for showing up.
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