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The Philadelphia Flyers (1-6-3) have finally halted their team record season opening losing streak. They beat the Ottawa Senators 3-1 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday night to earn their first win following a nine game skid.
Thanks to a consistently strong forechecking effort and strong defense in the third period, the Flyers were able to shrug off their early season struggles, at least for one night.
Wingers Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone each had a goal and assist.
Forward Trevor Zegras was able to preserve the win with an empty net goal with 13.8 seconds remaining in the game. Goalie Dan Vladar was particularly strong in net, especially in the final period, and finished with 25 saves.
The Flyers first win of the season was a tightly contested affair. Which wasn’t unexpected based on the fact that head coach Rick Tocchet had to contend with another short-handed forward group. Right wing Travis Konecny missed his fourth straight game with a lower-body injury. In addition, winger Owen Tippett was ruled out with an upper body injury.
Philadelphia fell behind in the second period on a Drake Batherson goal. However the Flyers responded four minutes later when Martone tied the game on the power-play. The big forward crashed the net and deflected home a Michkov pass following a Thomas Chabot turnover. Martone would return the favor to Michkov at 18:33 on the power-play to give them the lead for good.
Prior to the game at morning skate, Flyers radio host Jason Myrtetus met with the team. Myrtetus is fighting Stage Four Metastatic colon cancer. He spoke with the team about his 30 minute philosophy in the context of giving up or fighting and how he makes the decision to fight on every time. It was evident that it had an effect on the team’s effort and performance.
For more about the game, click here.
The Good
- The Flyers forechecking efforts were predominantly consistent from all four lines tonight. It’s what allowed them to keep consistent pressure on the Senators in the opening forty minutes. They won puck battles along the boards and had seven high danger chances (63.6 percent per Natural Stat Trick.
- Another strong performance from defenseman Oliver Bonk. Playing on the top pairing with Travis Sanheim, both are communicating well with each other. Bonk made several key pressure release plays as he won several board battles and was able to turn the puck up ice quickly. In addition, his father Radek (who played for the Senators) travelled down from Ottawa to watch him play, according to the Senators’ broadcast.
- Dan Vladar remains a rock in net, no matter what his early season statistics say. He made several critical stops as the Senators pressed the Flyers in the third period.
- Even if he didn’t get a point, Denver Barkey played his best game of the season so far. He was fishing pucks out of board battles, getting to the net, and got a good hit on Fabian Zetterlund in the neutral zone in the second period.
The Bad
- The Flyers got a bit passive in the third period, at a time when they needed to attack. They were able to keep the Senators out of prime scoring areas at least, but it was little defensive oriented.
- Trevor Zegras had an up and down game. He secured the win with his empty net goal, but had some defensive lapses. A notable one: with about five minutes left in the second, he allowed Shane Pinto to walk in on Vladar at the right post. Even if Pinto has the angle, he needed stay with him to make the angle tougher to score on.
- As good a game as Michkov had, it wasn’t perfect. Near the end of the first period, he attempted a risky cross ice pass at the Flyers blue line. Had a Sens’ forward got the puck, they would’ve had a free break-in on Vladar.
The Ugly
- Defenseman Jamie Drysdale finished with a plus two in 21:50 of ice time. But he had two giveaways that weren’t charged, including one in the first period where he fumbled the puck at the point, and Sens forward Warren Foegele took off with it. Fortunately, Vladar was able to cut off the angle and freeze the puck.
- It was a rough night in the face-off department for the Flyers. They lost 34 of 58 draws to the Senators.
Flyers Lineup
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Tyson Foerster
Denver Barkey – Sean Couturier- Michael Bunting
Porter Martone – Noah Cates – Matvei Michkov
Garrett Wilson – Jack Studnicka – Noel Acciari
Travis Sanheim – Oliver Bonk
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Simon Benoit – David Jiricek
Dan Vladar
[Joseph Woll]
VIDEO HERE
Team Toyota Spotlight: Michkov & Martone’s Growing Chemistry
While the Flyers present struggles took center stage early on, behind the scenes chemistry between two of their young star players was growing. In so many ways, the duo of Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone was key getting the Flyers their first win of the season.
After being a contributor to a playoff run, Martone has faced alot of expectation and like the rest of the roster struggled at times during their losing skid. Michkov knows what that burden feels like.
The off-ice work between the two of them was prevalent. And while Martone is the younger of the two, he has gone out of his way to help Michkov become even
“These past couple weeks I think we’ve gotten a lot closer,” Martone said about his relationship with Michkov. “I think for him, English isn’t his first language, so I think for me to go out of my way and start those conversations. I ask him about his family and about his brother. I think that just builds chemistry on the ice. He’s been awesome this year.
Michkov echoed Martone’s sentiments, remembering how tough it was to transition to playing in the NHL.
“I remember my first year. I was playing every game so hard. I know for him it’s hard,” Michkov said. “He needs support. I support him on the ice and for life. This was his second goal for him, so step-by-step I want to help him.”
So much of the Flyers future is riding on them, so a strong relationship between the two is paramount.
“For us, we’re 19 and 21 in this league,” Martone said. “We’ve got a long ways to go. I think we can be a good duo in this league for a long time.”
Tocchet Postgame Video
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