Watch PHLY Flyers postgame
The Philadelphia Flyers did what they do best in Montreal, allowing the Canadiens to score the first goal of the game so they could come back and take the lead.
Carl Grundstrom tied the game late in the first quarter 39 seconds after the Habs took the lead. From there, Trevor Zegras and Bobby Brink made it 3-1 in the second inning, while Dan Vladar continued to provide the expected solid performance between the pipes for the Orange and Black.
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The first half of the third period was all Vladar, with the Canadiens trailing by a few goals.
Philadelphia did enough to stem the tide, investing some time and effort on offense, but still relied primarily on the efforts of its goaltending and defense to seal the win and end Philly’s three-game losing streak.
Travis Konecny scored the insurance goal, albeit late and in an empty net, to end it all for Philadelphia, and suddenly we were talking about a five-game winning streak!
Issue 1
Not much happened in the first seven minutes, with a total of five shots on goal. Dan Vladar did make a nice glove save on Cole Caufield in the right post, but as far as highlights go, that’s about it so far.
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Rasmus Ristolainen returns with Juraj Slafkovsky’s masterpiece. Ivan Demidov retaliated with a couple of cross-checks to put the Flyers on the power play. Risto hit Nick Suzuki in the neutral zone earlier, so it looks like the #55 is back. What’s coming back? An incompetent power play. I think we’re always going to have some success early in the season.
However, the team got redemption a few minutes later when Christian Dvořák converted a tripping penalty in front of his own goal, so the attack needed another two minutes. One or two good chances, but nothing crazy. The Flyers had up to eight shots on goal, but none were a huge test for Jacob Fowler.
The Habs struck first. With 59 seconds left before halftime, the Flyers were unable to get the puck deep into Montreal’s zone, leading to a transition rush that ended with a shot by Alexandre Texier. It took a while, but the Phillies gave up their customary first goal of the game, which puts them in good position to score at least one run tonight.
Carl Grundstrom ties! Just 39 seconds later, the new trio of Sean Couturier, Owen Tippett and Grundstrom pushed the puck up the ice, and Tippett sent a nice pass to Grundy, who was driving past the left post, and he buried the puck. That’s three goals and four points for Grundstrom in the last five games.
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The game went into halftime with the Flyers tied 9-6 SOG.
Second issue
Travis Konecny nearly made it 2-1 in the first 92 seconds, getting a second chance at the net with a backhand shot through Fowler’s five-hole, but the Habs’ 21-year-old netminder managed to keep the pads tight.
A minute later, Montreal threatened in front of Vladar, and Slavkovskiy won a plate battle and passed the ball to Demidov, but Vladar made a save and blocked the rebound. Both teams had some chances near the crease, getting off to a quick start to second.
After a turnover on Grundstrom’s breakaway, Kutz was whistled for holding onto Owen Baker’s stick as the puck came back to them. The Habs’ fourth-ranked power play (26.4%) now comes into play. The Flyers, who have struggled on the PK since mid-November, did a good job of taking away passes in the middle and across the ice and survived the first MTL power play of the night.
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Trevor Zegras made the score 2-1! After the penalty, Montreal set up in Philadelphia’s zone, but Emil Andrae’s pressure at the point and a well-timed puck poke to Zegras created a 2-on-1 situation for Zegras and TK. Ziggy found TK early, allowing him to break to the middle and pass Lane Hutson Hutson) received a leadoff pass that put him on a 1-on-0 with Fowler, and the Flyers’ No. 46 beat the young goaltender five holes. Zegras extended his career-high goal tally to four games, and his 14th goal of the season moved him to just 10 shy of his career high in just 32 games played so far.
With 7:11 left in the second quarter, Vladar had only faced nine shots, but several of them were huge. He stopped some odd rushes and one-time scores to keep Montreal’s total score at one point.
Fowler kept the puck in the back of the net, waiting for Matvey Michkov’s anticipation, who stole it and passed it to Bobby Edge! 3-1! A miscommunication or some mix-up in the goalie, making his third career start, allowed Michkov to find Brinker’s shot and Fowler trailed late, but to no avail. nice one.
The goal with 50 seconds remaining gave Philadelphia a two-goal lead at the break. The Flyers went 9-0-0 when leading after two quarters, but that’s not to say their lead was perfect. Let’s see if they can avoid overtime and win this game in 60 minutes.
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The third issue
The Flyers survived Montreal’s first possession in the first 90 seconds or so, with Dan Vladar making several big saves to maintain a two-goal lead. I know this team tends to play conservatively when leading, but the insurance goal in the first half would be huge.
About four minutes into the game, the Habs had a couple of dangerous chances, with Vladar having to fend off Hutson and Slavkovsky. The Flyers still held a two-point lead with less than 14 minutes left in the game, but it seemed like they wouldn’t be able to hold on to that lead if they didn’t do something to relieve the pressure.
Montreal enters the period with 10 SOG. With 10:41 left, they had seven. Philly needs to regroup and spend some time in the offensive zone. The Flyers are a strong defensive team, but the Canadiens have a lot of players who can score — chances must be limited at some point.
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The Flyers have held back that momentum lately, getting some deep pucks and taking a few shot attempts. If they can use the front defense to squeeze the clock like they did in the run game, it will help them learn how to lead and not just rely on goaltending and winning D-zone draws to hold on in Game 3.
Zegras was hit from behind while clearing the puck from the defensive zone, but he slowly made his way back to Philadelphia’s bench. He was on the bench, possibly testing his knee. We’ll see if he takes the next shift.
The Flyers got a power play when Nick Seeler “drawn” the high stick (I’ll take it), but after two roughing calls to Zegras and Josh Anderson, the Habs had a better chance shorthanded, starting with a Michkov fumble on the half wall. Vladar, however, continues to get the job done. 20 each with 30 seconds left on the initial free throw and 4:38 left in the game.
Montreal pulled Fowler with about 3:20 left in the game, and the FlyGuys had to know how to do it in a 6v5 matchup against one of the most man-advantaged teams in the league.
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Grundstrom’s physicality at point guard, Cam York’s blocks, Risto’s shot by Risto and TK’s empty-net goal combined to give the Flyers a win on the road, ending their three-game losing streak.
Watch PHLY Flyers postgame
