After a five-game point streak (4-0-1), the Flyers fall to some familiar faces at home. Let’s wrap on all the sights and sounds of the matchup:
Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee Return
The Flyers welcomed back Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee for the first time in this game. The club prepared a short highlight video for the players, as the crowd cheered each time Lou Nolan announced each of their names throughout the night. Frost actually played quite well, picking up two assists in the Flames win. Farabee, on the other hand, registered four shots on goal.
Goals Galore
The first period saw a very loose effort defensively. According to NHL stats, the Flames and Flyers combined for four goals in 2:14, marking the fastest four goals in a game this season. They bested the previous mark set by the Stars and Sharks on Feb. 8 (2:17).
The Flyers yielded the four goals in the opening frame, and at least three of the four were stoppable for Ersson and Fedotov. Ersson, in particular, had a rough go of it and was pulled from the game after just 9:32 of TOI.
“I thought Feds made some good saves; obviously Ers was off,” John Tortorella said. “But not going to pin on any on person, that’s pretty much a group that struggled tonight.”
On the whole, goaltending has been a sour subject for the Flyers this season, both by the eye and analytics test. According to Moneypuck, Ersson and Fedotov both have a negative GSAx (goal saved above expected) this season, which puts them firmly amongst the worse in the league.
Andrei’s Day
Andrei Kuzmenko picked up a goal and an assist against his former team in the loss.
“It was a good goal but today is not a good feeling because my team lost,” Kuzemenko said. “I need to play better I did not score that second chance with two minutes left. I can be better.”
Kuzmenko now has six points in his last seven games, bringing a nice blend of skating and puck skills to the Flyers lineup.
They Said It
John Tortorella on the Flyers’ Consistency: “It doesn’t matter if it’s Winnipeg or Anaheim. I don’t care who we play next. We have to get back to our structure. It’s key for us, that’s how we survive.”
Travis Konecny on His Scoring Slump: “You could probably assume how I feel. Pretty Frustrated.”
Noah Cates on the Flyers Falling behind 3-0 Early: “It’s obviously tough in any game, going down. The building is quiet, just not finding our game in any area, d-zone, o-zone, neutral zone, we just couldn’t find any traction. You just have to keep it simple. I don’t think that’s where our minds went when we stumbled out of the gate.”
Did You Know?
According to NHL Stats, Travis Sanheim (52-159—211) recorded an assist on the Flyers’ third goal of the game and tied Shayne Gostisbehere (159) for the sixth most by a defenseman in franchise history.
On Deck
The Flyers will return to action on Thursday, when they host the Winnipeg Jets. Puck-drop is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast locally on NBCSP.
