Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
The Flyers were in Los Angeles Sunday night to face the Kings. It was the second game of a five game road trip and the second half of a back-to-back after defeating the Ducks Saturday afternoon. It was also the second game in as many days for the Kings so that negates that issue, or it should anyway.
Matvei Michkov showed a renewed energy in his skating after sitting the entire 3rd period the previous day in Anaheim. Early in the 1st period Frost hit Michkov with a pass that sprung him and Scott Laughton in on a 2-on-0 break. Michkov made a crafty pass to Laughton after a flashy fake that may have faked out Laughton as well. Scott was not able to close out the play but it was an early sign that Michkov was back.
First blood
The Kings were the first on the board when Kevin Fiala beat Aleksie Kolosov. Kolosov was hugging the short side post allowing Fiala to rip one past him long side from the far side of the circle 5:14 into the period.
The Kings chose retaliation over a power-play setting up a 4-on-4 situation for a full two minutes. At 8:17 Tyson Foerster accepted a Cam York stretch pass at the LA blue line and he was off to the races. He used his speed to pull away from the defense going in alone and beating David Rittich with a wrist shot.
Michkov Laughton 2.0
14:09 into the period Laughton and Michkov were at it again right in front of the Kings net. Michkov attempted a short side shot. The rebound went in off of Laughton who was up in the paint. The assist broke a seven game pointless streak for Michkov who did look energized throughout the period.
With just 3:06 left in the period the Kings evened things up at two apiece when Adrian Kempe beat Kolosov with a slapper from the slot sending the teams into the intermission right back where they started. Even Steven.
Round two
The game was much more buttoned up at the start of the second stanza. Both teams took turns controlling the puck in the neutral zone for the first half of the period.
With just 8:47 left in the period the Flyers showed one of the first flashes of offense. Rasmus Ristolainen was driving to the net with the puck. His attempt ended up behind the net. Michkov picked up the puck and fired it from behind the net off the back of the LA goaltender and into the net. 3-2 Flyers.
Just 2:42 later after a great effort Garnet Hathaway fought his way into the Kings zone with the puck and slid a pass across the slot to Joel Farabee who scored his second goal in as many games. Letting Scott Laughton shave his head seems to have lifted the spell. 4-2 Flyers.
The two goal lead was short lived. Travis Koneckny attemped a behind the back pass to Ristolainen at the Kings blue line only to have the pass intercepted setting up a breakaway for Warren Foegele. Kolosov made the initial save but Foegele burried his own rebound with just under five minutes left in the period. 4-3 Flyers.
Familiar territory
Ten days ago in Philly the underdog Flyers were in good shape going into the final period against the visiting Kings. That 3rd period was a nightmare for the Orange and Black and now they a chance to make up for that melt down in the Kings barn.
The Kings came out hard followed by a few solid chances by the Flyers. Owen Tippett used a double toe drag to get himself behind the defense and put a strong backhander off of the Kings goaltender. Travis Konecny dinged a pipe. A couple near misses lead up to a prolonged possession by the Kings in the Flyers zone.
Swarm
LA had the Flyers bottled up and in desperate need of a line change. The Kings were easily moving the puck around the offensive zone. The Flyers failed to clear again and again. Finally the puck bounced off of Anze Kopitar and into the Flyers net to tie it up. Deja vu. Score tied at four.
With just over nine minutes left in the period it was Kopitar again deflecting a shot past Kolosov. The tying and go-ahead goals were separated by just 2:11. 5-4 Kings.
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This was a strange game, even with all of the goals the shots were tied at just 19 at this point in the game. Over the course of these two recent meetings between these two teams there have been a total of 19 goals.
A variety of calls led to us seeing some 4-on-4, 4-on-3, and 5-on-4 play in the Flyers advantage but they failed to capitalize. Travis Sanheim had the best opportunity and somehow missed a wide open net from right in front. The Flyer pulled Kolosov with 2:40 to go in regulation. The Flyers created a few chances but it was not meant to be. The Kings accomplished what needed to be done to surpass the Flyers once again in the third period and win the game.
Extra Credit: Matvei Michkov responded very well after being benched for the 3rd period in Anaheim yesterday. This is the second time he has bounced back after a bit of time to reflect and recover. Flyers Fans maybe should avoid the stress bubble that can be contagious on the internet and see that this guy is not that fragile.
He’s a very talented young athlete. He’s very competitive. He’s a rookie with much to learn and the professional attitude to take his lumps, learn his lessons, and get past it. He’s a potential superstar who himself readily admits he has things to work on and much to learn. He is not going to take his ball and go home when more is asked of him.
