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The Philadelphia Flyers (3-7-3) entered Saturday’s game with the Anaheim Ducks hoping to build on the momentum of a successful week. But a 5-4 loss to the Ducks halted their winning streak at three games at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. Despite staking themselves a two goal lead in the opening 20 minutes and special teams scoring (2 PPG’s and 1 SHG), the Flyers’ sloppy play and untimely penalties proved to be their undoing.
Forwards Matvei Michkov (two goals) and Porter Martone (1-1-2) continue to carry the Flyers offense. They scored power-play goals 1:03 apart from each other in the first period.
The Russian winger has eight goals and 10 points in 13 games to lead the Flyers in scoring. Trevor Zegras added two assists, while winger Tyson Foerster scored a short-handed goal, as well.
However, Ducks center Leo Carlsson, who the Flyers offer-sheeted this summer, got the Ducks back into the game with a goal in the second period.
Following miscommunication between goalie Joseph Woll and defenseman Nick Seeler after a Cutter Gauthier shot, Carlsson swooped in to beat Woll at 8:38 and turned the tide.
Both teams traded goals during the latter half of the game. The Flyers got a golden opportunity to tie the game with a six-on- four power-play in the final minutes. But they ultimately couldn’t get the tying goal.
“We came out hot and the crowd’s amazing,” Martone said, postgame. “You get up 2-0 going into the second period. Credit to them, they had no quit. I liked our bounce-back there in the third, but we’ve got to be able to play with a lead. That one definitely stings, to blow that one and lose by one goal.”
Ducks defenseman Tristan Luneau helped to lead the Ducks comeback with a goal, three points, and a plus three rating. His third period goal gave Anaheim the lead. Carlsson finished with two points (1-1-2), while forwards Beckett Sennecke, Judd Caulfield, and AJ Greeer added goals of their own.
Woll finished with 21 saves on 26 shots. In addition, defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen came off of injured reserve for his first action since October 3. He played on the third pairing to start the game, but got shifts with regular partner Travis Sanheim in the third period.
For an in-depth recap, read it here.
The Good
- The Flyers opening 20 minutes and early part of the second period were particularly strong. They consistently won board battles and generated good scoring chances. In some ways, they could’ve had three or four goals, but Dostal was able to keep them at bay.
- Michkov is a threat to score every time he touches the puck right now. His partnership with Martone over the past four games have shown how each feeds off the other’s talents.
- Foerster was rewarded for a strong game when he scored his shorthanded goal to briefly give the Flyers the lead in the second period. Prior to that, he was strong with his board work and found line mate Sean Couturier in the slot for a first period scoring chance.
- Zegras was an offensive threat throughout the game. In addition to his two assists, he had a couple genuine chances to score goals. While he did have three giveaways, his overall performance outweighed that.
The Bad
- Ristolainen’s return game wasn’t one to write home about, with three give-aways. He was at fault for the Ducks’ game tying goal in the second period when he let Judd Caulfield behind him as the Ducks forward crashed in. It wasn’t entirely surprising as Tocchet sheltered him overall for his first game (14:34 TOI).
- Despite Ristolainen’s struggles, Oliver Bonk’s game wasn’t good either, as he had three give-aways as well.
- Yes, the power-play scored twice on their first two attempts. However, they struggled in their remaining four opportunities when the Ducks took some bad penalties, as their movement became stagnant. A big reason for it remains the lack of a consistent power-play quarterback, especially since Jamie Drysdale struggles in that department. Bonk has flashes, but it’s still far too early to expect it from him.
- It was interesting to see how the Flyers fortunes mirrored their face-off totals in this game. They won 12 of 21 draws in the first period. The Ducks flipped those numbers over the next 20 minutes. Final numbers: Ducks won 33 of 64 draws.
The Ugly
- After a strong 27 minutes of hockey, the Flyers struggled to maintain their form following the Carlsson goal. They allowed themselves to get in a shooting gallery after controlling the Ducks attack (11-6 shots in their favor during the first period, 14-10 against in the second period).
- The Flyers are still carrying some residual fragility from their losing skid and it showed. Their play became far too loose in the later part of the second period. According to Natural Stat Trick, they had an Expected Goals Against of 0.58 in the first period. At the end of the second? 2.84.
- Woll’s had rough moments in the game at critical junctures of the game. More on that below.
Flyers Lineup
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Noel Acciari
Porter Martone – Noah Cates – Matvei Michkov
Alex Bump – Sean Couturier – Tyson Foerster
Denver Barkey – Jacob Gaucher – Cole Knuble
Travis Sanheim – Oliver Bonk
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Hunter McDonald – Rasmus Ristolainen
Joseph Woll
[Daniel Vladar]
Team Toyota Spotlight: Joseph Woll
During the Flyers nine game winless skid to start the season, Joseph Woll’s performance in net was a big reason why the Flyers weren’t blown out on a consistent basis.
His numbers so far this season back that up: in six games, he had a 2.64 goals against average with .917 save percentage. However, his performance in Saturday’s game was a notably rough one. While he made some critical stops (such as his tandem against Cutter Gauthier late in the second period), he made some major mistakes that took the air out of his team’s efforts.
His (and Seeler’s) stick-handling miscues in the second period allowed the Ducks to get back into the game. And he gave up an ugly third period goal to Luneau that gave the Ducks the lead for good.
Considering how good Woll has been in relief of starter Dan Vladar, it was a surprising development.
“I thought we played well enough to win the game, and I don’t think I played well enough to win the game, and sometimes it goes like that,” Woll said, succinctly. “So, yeah, that’s disappointing.”
All goalies are going to have clunkers during the season. After all, Vladar gave up some bad goals in the Flyers season opener. The key will be to put those behind them.
All Woll can do is “flush it and get back to work.”
Tocchet Postgame Video
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