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The Philadelphia Flyers began a grueling six games in 10 days stretch on the right foot with a resounding 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Entering Saturday’s game, the Flyers had allowed the game’s first goal and had trailed after the first period in six straight games. Despite that, they had three wins, but a continued pattern of slow starts isn’t a recipe for winning hockey over the long term.
After yet another deficit following an early New Jersey power-play goal, the Flyers erupted for four goals in three minutes and 32 seconds in the first period.
Even more remarkably, they set a new team record with three of those goals coming in 26 seconds, beating the previous record by nine seconds (set in 1979)
The Flyers were led by Noah Cates’ strong performance with a goal, two assists, and a plus three rating. Cates’ linemate Tyson Foerster added two goals. Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras, and Bobby Brink each added goals of their own.
Goalie Daniel Vladar picked up his eighth win of the season, stopping 32 of 35 shots.
It was the first time this season the Flyers scored six goals in a game this season. It carried additional significance as it was the Bernie Parent Tribute Game, following the team’s celebration of life ceremony on Friday night.
Flyers Game Recap
Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet deployed similar forward units to their Thursday night match-up against St Louis. However, their third defensive pairing saw Egor Zamula draw in for Noah Juulsen. It was Zamula’s first action since November 2 against the Calgary Flames. He would finish with a solid performance with a plus-five rating in 14:18 of ice time. In addition, winger Nikita Grebenkin was scratched for the second straight game.
Matvei Michkov – Sean Couturier – Bobby Brink
Trevor Zegras- Christian Dvorak – Owen Tippett
Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Travis Konecny
Nicolas Deslauriers – Rodrigo Abols – Garnet Hathaway
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Emil Andrae – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Egor Zamula
First Period
The Devils took a 1-0 lead after taking advantage of a Cam York hooking minor. Winger Timo Meier was able to pick up the puck after a Jesper Bratt shot hit off the glass behind the net. He took two whacks at it before it went past Vladar. The Devils had all kinds of pressure prior to the goal after the Flyers struggled to clear the puck.
Philadelphia responded 1:23 later when Noah Cates tied it at 1-1 as he followed a rebound of an Egor Zamula shot and puts it past Jake Allen.
After a little over three minutes elapsed, the Flyers erupted for their record breaking scoring trioka.
First, Matvei Michkov got a clean breakaway and beat Allen five hole at 12:06. At 12:15, Tyson Foerster made it 3-1 when Cates made a brilliant back hand cross ice pass that he one-timed home from the slot. Right off the draw, Foerster scored his second goal as he sent a shot high over Allen’s shoulder, following a quick sequence from Nick Seeler and Cates.
After starting the first period trailing 8-1 on shots, Philadelphia finished the period ahead 10-9.
Second Period
Following a successful penalty kill of Matvei Michkov’s slashing penalty, Philadelphia was able to continue playing high paced hockey throughout the period. After missing on a couple golden scoring chances, including a Christian Dvorak shot off the cross bar, the Flyers were able to stretch their lead to 5-1. Bobby Brink flew into the Devils zone and scored top shelf following a quick spring pass off the board from Sean Couturier.
Later in the period, the Devils finally managed to gain extended offensive zone time and were able to get a goal back. Following Luke Hughes cutting into the zone, Nico Hischier was able to convert a one-time tapper past Vladar to make it 5-2.
Third Period
The Devils began to press in the Flyers defense in the third period, but Philadelphia did a solid job in keeping Devils chances to the non-dangerous variety. One example saw Dawson Mercer got a near break-in on Vladar, but Andrae closed on him quickly and forced him to take a meek backhander.
Shortly after, Vladar was forced to make a momentum save when Timo Meier slid a pass to Jesper Bratt that the Flyers goalie got his right pad on.
However, the Devils were able to cut into the Flyers lead further when Hischier got his second goal of the night, tipping home a point blast from Nemec at 13:27.
But the Flyers once again were able to respond when Trevor Zegras scored on a breakaway to restore the Flyers’ three goal lead. As New Jersey attempted to apply offensive pressure. Dvorak was able to get the puck up to Owen Tippett in the neutral zone. The winger chipped the puck up to a streaking Zegras, who beat Allen through his pads.
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Drysdale-Andrae Pairing “Getting Some Runway”
For the second game, the Flyers deployed an Emil Andrae- Jamie Drysdale pairing. Andrae was especially impressive early with a near scoring chance after the Devils backed off him. The Swedish defenseman kept going forward and took it right to the net and through the blue paint. He missed on his chance, but it was their best early scoring opportunity.
Additionally, Andrae made an outstanding cross ice stretch pass to Christian Dvorak deep in the Devils zone on another shift. In the second period, he made an impressive retrieval and quick zone entry by wheeling the puck by himself.
In similar fashion, Drysdale was an all-zones presence throughout the game. He made a critical stop on a puck in the crease at the right post in the third period, while Vladar was on his left. He read plays well and hit on several zone release passes.
“I thought (Drysdale) was our best defender by far tonight,” Tocchet said. “I thought Andrae too. Andrae’s not afraid to go into the corners. Those two guys were defending hard tonight.”
Cates’ Line Central To Flyers’ Big First Period
Saturday’s game was one of the strongest of Noah Cate’s career, even beyond the scoring. For a Flyers team that has struggled with slow starts, the timing of his game tying goal couldn’t have been better. The Devils had established an 8-1 shot advantage prior to his fifth goal of the season.
The 26 year old leads the Flyers most consistent line during the early months of the season with Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink. In a quest for more offense, Tocchet moved Travis Konecny to replace Brink. Konecny was a threat throughout the evening, with two chances to score going wanting. Despite that, the former All-Star provides an extra speed dimension that opens things up offensively for Cates and Foerster.
“TK adds a lot, just in different reads with him,” Cates said. “Knowing how offensive he is, finding the spots where he is compared to where Bobby is.”
“I’ve played with him a couple years ago. We had some good chemistry, but he’s obviously such a special player. When the puck is on his stick, good things usually happen. So you just try to get space for him, take the middle, and coming up with more speed off our rushes.”
Flyers Charities & Ed Snider Hockey Establish Bernie Parent Goalie Development Program
On Saturday, Flyers Charities and Ed Snider Youth Hockey and Education announced the establishment of the Bernie Parent Goalie Development Program. The program will honor the legacy of the Flyers Hall of Famer and extends his influence as a Snider Ambassador for future generations.
It intends to deliver high quality training, academic support, life skills, and leadership development for more than 100 goalies in Snider Hockey. The program will include experiences inspired by the legendary Flyers goalie and will be designed to prepare young people for success on and off the ice.
“Bernie was an unwavering champion for our student athletes and coaches, inspiring them to strive for success,” said Scott Tharp, President of ESYHE. “We are grateful to our partners at the Philadelphia Flyers and Flyers Charities for enabling us to honor Bernie’s remarkable legacy.”
“Together, we will continue to empower young men and women to pursue their aspirations of becoming goalies, while guiding them on a productive path of education and career opportunities.”
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