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The Philadelphia Flyers (23-17-8) started a tough road trip on Monday with a gutty 2-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. In the process, Rick Tocchet’s team halted both their own six-game winless streak and Vegas’ seven-game winning streak.
Travis Konecny scored two separate unassisted breakaway goals — one at 5-on-5, the other while shorthanded in the third period. Samuel Ersson played arguably his best game of the season in stopping 23 of 24 shots. Only a Tomas Hertl power play re-direct in the second period got past him.
Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly from Monday’s game.
The good
- The Flyers desperately needed one of their best players to lift up the team in the clutch. Konecny delivered in a big way. On his first goal, he scored low to the glove side. Subsequently, he beat Adin Hill low the blocker side on his shorthanded game winner.
- Ersson made a half-dozen key saves . Meanwhile, in most cases, he did with no rebound allowed.
- The Flyers played with much better structure. They only allowed a couple of odd man rushes. Additionally, they virtually shut off the weak side. This had been a major culprit in why the previous five games got out of hand.
- The penalty kill, recently in a horrific tailspin, stepped up repeatedly. The Hertl power play goal was not a breakdown. Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and especially the goal scorer’s re-direct, were all very nicely executed.
- The Flyers blocked 17 shots, and most of them were very timely plays.
- Philly welcomed Bobby Brink back to the lineup after a five-game absence. He played with a lot of energy, blocked a couple shots and had one prime scoring chance of his own.
- The Flyers won 25 of 40 faceoffs.
The bad
- Too many turnovers, especially in the first period.Philly committed eight giveaways in the opening frame (18 overall).
- Careless penalties. The Flyers found themselves shorthanded seven times in the game.
- The Flyers got outchanced 36-20 overall (22-15 at 5-on-5, with a 10-6 disparity at 5-on-5). Ersson’s key saves and improved structure overcame turnovers in dangerous areas of the ice. This, too, was particularly the case in the first period.
The ugly
- Some of the Flyers turnovers and penalties fall into this category.Noah Cates took a penalty 200 feet from his team’s net. It led to the lone Vegas goal. Matvei Michkov, on the ice for at least 90 seconds, turned over the puck in the neutral zone. Christian Dvorak helped save a goal in this instance.
- Denver Barkey had a very rough first period: two turnovers, a careless high-sticking penalty. Later, he settled in a bit.
- The power play was 0-for-2. One was short-lived. The other nearly resulted in a Vegas shorthanded goal. While the PK showed encouraging progress. the power play is still a mess.
Flyers lineup
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Travis Konecny
Nikita Grebenkin — Sean Couturier — Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Carl Grundstrom – Lane Pederson – Garnet Hathaway
Cam York — Travis Sanheim
Emil Andrae — Jamie Drydale
Nick Seeler — Noah Juulsen
Samuel Ersson
[Aleksei Kolosov]
Postgame reaction
Flyers Daily (January 20)
Jason Myrtetus breaks down Monday’s win in Vegas. He also talks about how expectations fluctuate during a season. What adjustments are in order now?
