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At this point of the season, every game is an important one for Philadelphia Flyers (39-26-12, 90 points). Which is probably why every one they win seems to be building momentum in their chase for their first playoff berth since the 2019-20 season.
On Sunday, they were able to defeat the Boston Bruins 2-1 in overtime in a critical match-up at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. In doing so, the Flyers moved into sole possession of third place in the Metropolitan Division. Finishing third guarantees them a playoff spot ahead of the two Wild Card positions.
It was a tense, tightly checked game in which neither team gave the other much room to operate.
Rookie Porter Martone (1G, 1A) scored the overtime winning goal on a five on three powerplay. His amazing assist on Christian Dvorak’s goal opened the scoring in the first period.
Dvorak (1G, 1A) would return the favor on Martone’s overtime winner.
In addition, the Flyers got excellent goaltending from Dan Vladar, who finished with 18 saves.
The Bruins made things interesting when they scored a power-play 35 seconds into the third period to tie the game at 1-1. Center Pavel Zacha crashed the net following a hard shot from winger David Pastrnak and beat the sprawling Flyers goalie.
With that, here’s the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Sunday’s game.
The Good
- Porter Martone. What more can you say about the impact he’s had since signing his entry level contract one week ago? While his game winner set off the arena, he really dropped jaws in the first period with his assist on Dvorak’s goal. It was an audacious behind-the-back, between-the-legs pass that sprung the Flyers center on a two on one with Travis Konecny. Martone has picked up his early assignments from head coach Rick Tocchet. And he has fit in seamlessly with his veteran linemates. It just feels like he’s only scratching the surface of his potential.
- The Flyers continue to get outstanding work out of their top defensive pairing of Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen. The big, rugged pair were instrumental in keeping the Bruins out of prime scoring areas (a combined plus-two). But they also were able to show what they could do in the offensive zone as well. On a nice pass from Travis Konency, Sanheim made a hard cut to the net that Korpisalo had to come across on to stop him. In overtime, Sanheim and Tyson Foerster got an odd man break, and the Flyers defenseman came close to beating Korpisalo. Ristolainen picked up the second assist on Dvorak’s goal.
- Good work by the Flyers on faceoffs, winning 59 percent (35 to 24). Dvorak was especially effective, winning 18 of his 25 draws.
- Neutral zone coverage. The Flyers were exceedingly good at keeping the Bruins from getting extended pressure in the offensive zone. Outside of the opening three to four minutes of the first period and a couple extended stretches in the second period, the Bruins struggled getting consistent zone entries in this one. The Flyers seem to be adhering to the post-Olympic break adjustments made by the coaching staff, especially in the last two games.
- The best part of all: Xfinity Mobile Arena had an electric atmosphere. Excited tension before the game even started. A great touch with a surprise rendition of “God Bless America” from Lauren Hart. The crowd plugged into every shift, every scoring chance, every hit. Even every faceoff. The Flyers moved up into a playoff spot. Now they need to maintain it. But Sunday was a microcosm of what makes the NHL stretch drive and playoffs so special. In fact, things only continue to intensify the further a team goes.
The Bad
- In a tied game in the third period, you can’t be sending cross ice passes through two to three Boston defenders near the blueline. Konecny did it twice. While on the face of it, it shows confidence in your linemates, but it can lead to an easy breakaway or odd man rush. This is what Tocchet means when he says the Flyers have to be better at “sensing danger.”
- Winger Carl Grundstrom’s late second period penalty on Charlie McAvoy. Not a good one to take as the referee were likely to give the Bruins a chance on the power-play following the Flyers getting three straight opportunities. And they made the Flyers pay for it 35 seconds into the 3rd period on Zacha’s goal.
The Ugly (Special Teams Before OT)
- The league’s worst power-play (15.2 percent) has been a concern all season. Yes, they scored the game-winning overtime goal, taking advantage of a dumb penalty by Charlie McAvoy on Zegras. But that doesn’t make up for being given the game’s first three opportunities and not cashing in on any of them. The first two power-plays were dreadful. The third saw a few chances, most notably after Tocchet changed up his personnel and paired Martone with Foerster. They survived it today, but it could be the difference between the Flyers holding onto their playoff spot or losing it.
- On a minor note, the Bruins got one power-play, but made the most of it. The Flyers penalty killers couldn’t get the area around Vladar cleared after he made the save on Pastrnak. Currently, the team is 20th in the league on the PK (77.9 percent) and it’s worse at home (76 percent) than on the road (79.4 perecent). That needs to be tightened up in the final games.
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