Lots of goals, momentum swings, and a fourth straight Flyers defeat, as they fall to the Blue Jackets in this one 5-4. Philadelphia did, however, grab one standings point in this contest. Let’s wrap on the loss:
First Period
Minus: At the 12:36 mark of the opening period, Columbus forward Sean Kuraly opened the scoring for the game to give the Jackets a 1-0 lead. The goal was Kuraly’s 3rd of the season and for the Flyers, it was badly timed line change that had the team scurrying. This continues the trend of the club giving up the games first goal. It was the 12th time in 16 games that Philadelphia has yielded the first tally this year.
Minus: John Tortorella minced no words during in-game interview with ESPN’s Brian Boucher about his teams’ passivity on the forecheck. “We suck,” Tortorella told Boucher during the broadcast. “We haven’t forechecked, we haven’t done anything as of right now” the Flyers coach continued, and he was right. The team did very little in the offensive zone in the first twenty minutes of play.
Second Period
Plus: After some line juggling and perhaps a Tortorella lacing in-between periods, the Flyers started to play better in the opening minutes of the middle frame.
Minus: Owen Tippett wiped out a Flyers powerplay with an interference penalty on Jackets’ forward Eric Robinson and it cost the club shortly thereafter. At the 14:24 mark, Boone Jenner slammed home a feed from none other than Johnny Gaudreau to give Columbus a 2-0 lead.
Plus: At the 11:06 mark, the Flyers cut into the deficit with a good ol’ fashioned, physical forecheck that would create a goal. Forward Scott Laughton was the first forward in, and he effectively took the body on the Blue Jackets defensemen Andrew Peeke, while Travis Konecny swooped in to secure the puck. Konecny then found a wide-open Kevin Hayes in between the dots for a one-time blast that beat goaltender Elvis Merzlikins to make it a one goal game.
Plus: The Flyers would continue to build their game from there, as Noah Cates would tally the equalizer at the 12:16 mark of the period. Owen Tippett and Zac MacEwen would each make pretty passes before Cates was able to score on the odd-man rush. The goal was Cates 3rd of the year, and the period would end all tied at two.
Third period
Plus: The Flyers would erase another two-goal deficit in a wild third period alone with goals from Travis Konecny and defensemen Nick Seeler. This team is incredibly short on talent, but they deserve high marks for the compete level here.
Overtime
Minus: Forward Kevin Hayes would force a pass that would lead to the game winning goal for Columbus, as they would ice the game on a 3-on-1 break to win the game 5-4. It was an awful sequence for Philadelphia in the extra frame, as they had possessed the puck a ton, but had no real quality looks at the Blue Jackets net.
Quick Hits
- Travis Konecny registered a goal and an assist for the Flyers to extend his point streak to seven games games (3-7=10). He ranks T-5th in the NHL in scoring since Nov. 2. He leads the Flyers in goals (7) and points (19) to start the year. He’s been consistently excellent for Philadelphia.
- Defensemen Tony DeAngelo logged an impressive 31 minutes of TOI, leading all Flyers skaters in the loss.
What’s Next
The Flyers will continue their road trip when they had to Boston for matchup with the Eastern Conference leading Bruins on Thursday night, 7:00 puckdrop.
