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The Philadelphia Flyers (24-17-9) passed a Herculean test on Friday night. They were coming off an agonizing 5-4 overtime loss in Utah two nights earlier. Meanwhile, Rick Tocchet’s team had to go up against the NHL’s best team. The Colorado Avalanche entered the match with a staggering 20-1-4 record on home ice.
Protecting and extending leads has been an issue for Philadelphia this season. They’ve actually played better in comeback mode, at least until recently. On Friday, the Flyers took a 2-0 lead to the first intermission. That lead vanished. Philly quickly restored a 3-2 edge. That one went away in barely over a minute.
The game now hinged on a single period. The Flyers needed it a lot more than Colorado did, both mentally and mathematically in their respective Conference standings.
To their credit, Philly rose to the challenge. They scored four unanswered goals to skate off with a 7-3 victory.
The good
- Without much notice or fanfare, Owen Tippett has played some of the best all-around hockey of his Flyers career in recent weeks. He’s been noticeably more physical on a consistent basis. He’s used his size and speed combination. He’s also made some defensive plays. He had an uptick in goals and points, but nothing staggering. That is, not until Friday. Tippett exploded for a four-point game (hat trick and an assist). Tippett sealed his hat trick with a shorthanded breakaway goal through the five hole against Mackenzie Blackwood.
- Matvei Michkov had seven shots on goal in Wednesday’s game. On Friday, the second-year winger broke free for a three-point game: even strength and empty net goals, plus a nicely executed power play primary assist.
- Michkov and Denver Barkey (power play goal, one assist) showed hints of chemistry previously. On Friday, they worked well together again.
- Coming in, the Flyers just hoped to get the match into “win a period, win the game” territory. It may not have been the ideal way to do it. They got outshot by a 17-6 margin (10-1 before Tippett’s first goal) in the opening period. Philly’s 2-0 and 3-2 leads slipped away in the middle frame. Nevertheless, once the game went to the third period dead even, the Flyers rose to the challenge.
- Samuel Ersson slammed the door on Colorado in both the first and third periods. It’s not often a netminder can yield three goals in a single period and still deserve mention among the unofficial three stars of the night. However, that was the case on Friday. The official three stars were Tippett, Michkov and Barkey.
- Bobby Brink deserves mention for his hustle on the response goal that gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead after Colorado tied the score at 2-2. The 3-2 lead was short-lived but it hinted at the resolve Philly brought.
The bad
- The Flyers once again took too many penalties. Fortunately, the PK stepped up and went 4-for-4. The Flyers were also 1-for-2 on power play. It’s always positive to win the special teams battle (+2 on this night).
- If Ersson had not brought his A game for the second time on this three-game road trip, Philly may well have come home with an 0-2-1 record instead of 2-0-1. However, last I checked, goalie play was still a key element in team success. Besides, the Flyers had plenty of offensive, too, in the last two games.
The ugly
- Christian Dvorak has had a strong overall season. Unfortunately, Friday wasn’t his night. He uncharacteristically lost more faceoffs than he won. Even more out of character, he was charged with six giveaways. Dvorak was the culprit in a second period turnover that led to a Colorado goal and opened the door.
- The Flyers took a pair of early first period penalties. The successful kills were a rallying point. Nonetheless, Philly tempted fate against the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
Flyers lineup
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Travis Konecny
Denver Barkey — Sean Couturier — Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Carl Grundstrom – Lane Pederson – Garnet Hathaway
Cam York — Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler — Jamie Drydale
Emil Andrae — Noah Juulsen
Samuel Ersson
[Aleksei Kolosov]
Postgame reaction
Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet
Flyers winger Owen Tippett
Trade Tippett. Value is high