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The Philadelphia Flyers played the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Thursday night to open their season at Amerant Arena in Sunrise.
The Flyers carried an 8-0-2 record in season openers since 2014-15 into tonight’s game.
Rick Tocchet’s debut as Flyers head coach couldn’t have had a higher level of difficulty. A thin defense which was missing defenseman Cam York, a line-up searching for chemistry from the start, and the official first start for goalie Dan Vladar.
Facing them was a powerful Panthers club, albeit one that didn’t have captain Sasha Barkov or star winger Matt Tkachuk. With their opponents’ physical line-up, Tocchet opted for a heavier look with Nic Deslauriers drawing in ahead of Nikita Grebenkin with Rodrigo Abols and Garnet Hathaway.
Game Summary:
The Flyers found themselves in a spot of trouble early when Matvei Michkov was called for tripping. But thanks to Vladar’s goaltending (stopping 13 shots), they were able to keep the game scoreless through 20 minutes.
In the second period, a Trevor Zegras interference call led to the Panthers taking a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by center Anton Lundell. Lundell scored off the rush following a good rush and centering feed by winger Even Rodrigues. Despite the Panthers widening their shot margin in the period, the Flyers were able to keep them close.
Late in the period, Noah Cates tied the game at 1-1 after winning the draw. Winger Tyson Foerster picked up the loose puck and fired it at the net. The Flyers center was able to knock it past Bobrovsky as he fell going through the crease.
Early in the third period, Brad Marchand scored the game winning goal, with A.J. Greer perfectly timing a screen on Vladar as the shot came through. The intial shot went wide and Marchand just threw it at the net.
Both teams would trade near scoring chances with Marchand missing a breakaway and Travis Konecny getting a one time chance came off an outstanding feed from Tippett. With two minutes remaining in regulation, Foerster just missed on an opportunity made by Cates before Bobrovsky poke checked it away.
Foerster would get tagged with a interference call on Marchand with 1:16 remaining which pretty much iced the game with the Panthers on the power-play.
As a result, the Flyers were unable to keep their season opening winning streak going, losing 2-1.
Here are some of my postgame takeaways:
Vladar With Impressive Debut In Net
There’s little question that Panthers could have won by two to three more goals. Vladar’s performance in net kept the Flyers in the game, with 32 saves on 34 shots.
The former Calgary Flame saw some early rubber thanks to a shortened power-play and four on four action, as the Panthers pressured the Flyers defense. That seemed to get him into an early rhythm that carried him throughout the game.
Moreover, he was able to track play successful through traffic in front consistently and he looked fluid going from post to post. Even on scrambles, his 6 foot 5, 209 lb. frame carried enough space to stop a Panthers shot with Sam Reinhart knocking him over coming through the crease.
While the goalie net is likely to be shared between Vladar and Sam Ersson, the former put his best foot forward in this one.
Cates Line Shines Again, Others Not So Much
Another silver lining was Cates line with Foerster and Bobby Brink put consistent offensive pressure on Florida through the game.
Brink’s relentlessness was on display on an early shift when he and Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov collided. In addition, Foerster came close to scoring on a rush chance with Cates with a little over two minutes left. Cates drove the puck to the net, but Bobrovsky was able to poke-check it away.
And of course Cate’s late second period goal was indicative of the line’s hard driving style.
Conversely, the Flyers top two lines struggled to get much of anything going agains the Panthers defense. However, with a little less than nine minutes remaining, Trevor Zegras’ line got a glorious rush chance. Konecny’s one timer at the right post, which came off an outstanding feed from Tippett, forced Bobrovsky to make a critical stop.
In addition, Christian Dvorak’s debut was one to forget as he was at fault for two penalties.
Flyers Depth Defenseman Struggle
It was not a good night for Egor Zamula and Adam Ginning, and a bit of a mixed one for Noah Juulsen.
Zamula made a number of poor reads, most notably on a bad second period exchange that forced Vladar to make a stop. He also made two direct turnovers to Panthers players.
Additionally, Ginning made an egregious turnover to a breaking Sam Reinhart and gifted the Panthers a prime scoring chance in the second period. He also had some miscues defensively.
To Juulsen’s credit, he made a critical pass breakup stopped a potential Panthers odd man rush in the first period. However, he was at fault for a giveaway that allowed Marchand to walk in with a clean chance. Earlier in the game, he was blasted by Panthers’ center Eetu Luostarinen near the corner boards.
Next Up
The Flyers head north to Raleigh, North Carolina, to take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
