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The Philadelphia Flyers (4-8-4) snapped their three game winless skid with a 6-3 win over the Utah Mammoth at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Philadelphia got goals from six different players, as they reached their single-game season high. Following a rough loss in Washington three days earlier with team culture questions, it was the type of emphatic win the team needed. Their lineup was bolstered by the return of veteran forwards Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett following lengthy injury stays.
Winger Matvei Michkov opened the scoring with his team leading 10th goal of the season. Konecny and Noah Cates scored in the second period, while center Christian Dvorak, defenseman Oliver Bonk, and forward Cole Knuble scored in the third period.
Additionally, defenseman Jamie Drysdale had one of his best statistical games as a Flyer with three assists and a plus five rating. Goalie Dan Vladar finished with 19 saves on 22 shots on goal.
The Mammoth got goals from defensemen Dimitri Simashev and Mikhail Sergachev, along with forward Logan Cooley.
For an in-depth recap, read it here.
The Good
- One of the keys to the Flyers win: head coach Rick Tocchet putting an emphasis on involving all four forward units. No unit had more than 17 minutes and the lowest time on ice average was Knuble at 10:44 Every unit helped the Flyers to maintain a withering forecheck from the second period onward. That collective effort helped to put the Mammoth in a four-goal hole midway through the third period.
- Tocchet reunited a successful line from last season when he grouped Konecny with Dvorak and Trevor Zegras. No one looked more energized offensively than Dvorak, who finished with a goal and an assist. He also nearly scored in the second period when he rang a shot off the inside of the post. He won nine of his 16 face-offs, as well.
- The stat line might not show it, but Vladar put forward another strong performance in net. The Mammoth had opportunities to keep the game closer, but the Flyers goalie was able to keep them at bay.
- The Flyers top defensive pairing of Jamie Drysdale and Travis Sanheim were strong over the final 40 minutes of the game. They finished with a combined five assists and plus-nine rating.
- There was some mild surprise when Alex Bump was a game-time scratch. But Cole Knuble continues to justify the coaching staff’s faith in him. His tenacious hustle flustered Mammoth defenseman Andrew Peeke into a second period interference penalty that gave the Flyers their first power-play of the game.
The Bad
- As good as the Flyers looked in the second period, they were a bit loose with the puck in the opening 20 minutes. On their first penalty kill, they struggled to get the puck out on three chances. Fortunately, they were able to settle themselves, until they had a penalty parade in the third period that allowed the Mammoth to close the gap before Knuble’s empty net goal put the game out of reach.
- Putting Denver Barkey between Owen Tippett and Tyson Foerster was an interesting look. In practice, it wasn’t a particularly effective group. While Foerster had one of his better games through a more physical approach (with six hits), Tippett was fairly quiet. Additionally, Barkey struggled on face-offs, only winning four of his ten draws.
- Going up against the NHL’s best power-play, the Flyers penalty killing started well in killing off the Mammoth’s first three chances. However, they were thoroughly overmatched on the final two and were fortunate that they built up a big enough lead.
The (Potentially) Ugly
- Trevor Zegras took the brunt of a collision between Konecny and Mammoth defenseman Artem Duda in the second period. After Duda checked him to the ice in the corner, Konecny took a bee-line straight at the Mammoth defender. Unfortunately, the hit sent Duda careening onto the top of Zegras head. The Flyers forward was down on the ice following Cates’ goal. He came back to the bench in pain and briefly went up the locker room tunnel. Zegras returned and played the rest of the game, but it’s a situation worth monitoring prior to Tuesday’s game with the Minnesota Wild.
Flyers Lineup
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak — Travis Konecny
Tyson Foerster – Denver Barkey – Owen Tippett
Porter Martone – Noah Cates – Matvei Michkov
Cole Knuble – Sean Couturier – Noel Acciari
Travis Sanheim — Jamie Drysdale
Cam York – Oliver Bonk
Nick Seeler — Simon Benoit
Dan Vladar
[Joseph Woll]
Team Toyota Spotlight: Konecny’s Return A Spark For Flyers
With the Flyers starving for offense, they received welcome news with Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett’s return.
Konecny was especially effective in his first action in 10 games with a second period goal. He, Dvorak, and Zegras were an effective unit last season and seemed to pick up right where they left off. He finished with two points and a plus three rating.
“There’s a lot of chemistry there,” Konecny said, after the game. “I played with Z and (Dvorak) last year and those guys made it pretty easy. They are guys I know how to read off of. I was trying to keep it simple and they were doing alot of good stuff.”
Most notably, he played his trademark brand of abrasive hockey as he threw hits in his shift disturber role (four in totla). In some cases, he might have been a bit overzealous, such as in the case of the Zegras hit.
For the most part, the Flyers assistant captain helped give his team an edge that they’ve lacked the past few weeks.
“That line did a nice job did a great job converting on their chances and played good defense, and he was a big part of that,” Tocchet said.
Tocchet Postgame Video
Weekend Off The Post Radio with guest James Nicholls
The latest edition of Off The Post Radio on Hockey Hot Stove is now available on our YouTube channel, powered by Team Toyota!
New Jersey Devils beat writer James Nichols from New Jersey Hockey Now joined me, Michael Augello, and Russ Cohen on today’s show. We discussed the impact of the Connor Hellebuyck trade, GM Sunny Mehta’s roster building, and more.
Plus we give our takes on the Nikita Kucherov trade request, and the latest on the Flyers and Maple Leafs, so check it out below!
Today in Flyers History
In the history of the Flyers’ franchise, there have been seven players to score 300 or more regular season goals as a member of the team: Bill Barber (420 in 903 games), Brian Propp (369 in 790 games), Tim Kerr (363 in 601 games) Bobby Clarke (358 in 1,144 games), John LeClair (333 in 649 games), Rick MacLeish (328 in 741 games) and Reggie Leach (306 in 606 games).
Falling just a bit short of the Flyers 300-Goal Club due mainly to the number of games he missed was Eric Lindros (290 in 486 games). Also shy of the mark are the likes of Simon Gagne (264 in 702 games), Rod Brind’Amour (235 in 633 games), Mark Recchi (232 in 602 games) and Rick Tocchet (232 in 621 games).
On November 1, 1987, Propp became the fifth member of the 300-Goal Club. Set up by Murray Craven. Propp scored a third period goal against the Los Angeles Kings’ Roland Melanson in a 4-1 Flyers win at the Spectrum. Propp celebrated with his signature “guffaw” hand gesture.
Although Propp never nailed down an elusive 50-goal or 100-point season as a Flyer, he had four seasons with 40 or more goals and achieved 90 or more points four times, including a pair of 97-point campaigns.
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