At long last, a win. The Flyers finally break through and snap a five game skid on their longest homestand of the season, with a shootout winner from Owen Tippett. Philly now owns a record of 5-3 in the skills competition this season. Let’s wrap on all the sights and sounds of the game:
Pregame: Ristolanien Misses Game Due to Injury
Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was unavailable for Thursday’s matchup with Tampa Bay due to an injury he has been nursing. Ristolainen is “banged up” according to coach John Tortorella, though it is unclear when the big defensemen picked up the knock.
Egor Zamula entered the contest for Ristolainen and logged 17:03 TOI on 22 shifts. The Russian defender also picked up one block, one hit and had a plus-2 rating in the win as well.
Bobby in the Bank
Bobby Brink was far and away the Flyers most noticeable player in this game with his two goal, one assist performance. His new linemates, Ryan Poehling (1g, 1a) and Olle Lycksell (2a), also picked up multi-point games as well. Brink was flanked by Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster for a majority of the season, but in an effort to get other players going, Tortorella has opted to bring them up.
“Those two guys, Cates and Foerster, are great to play with, but Lycky and Poehls played great today,” Brink said. “Unbelievable plays on the goals. Made life easy on me.”
With 5:40 to go in the opening period, Lycksell and Poehling both made great passes to spring Brink on the rush. Then, the 23-year-old Minnesota native made no mistake, ripping a laser past Jonas Johansson. Brink owns nine points (3g-6a) in the last nine games and 10 points (3g-7a) in his last 13 games. He ranks tied for fourth on the team in points (32) and tied for eighth in goals (10).
Pelletier Needs More Ice
Since being acquired in the trade of Farabee and Frost, forward Jakob Pelletier hasn’t seen the type of ice-time he needs for the Flyers to know if he can be a player here or not. The 24-year-old forward is playing mostly fourth line minutes and Thursday, only logged 5:45 TOI in the entire game.
Nevertheless, Pelletier did make a worthwhile play in his very limited ice-time. In the second period, he did take a puck to the net, drawing a penalty in the process.
For a team with little to play for in way of making the playoffs, the club should be using the remaining games to evaluate everyone. With a player like Pelletier, he certainly has the kind of profile that the Flyers should want to get extended look with better linemates, ice-time and perhaps even powerplay time.
They Said It
John Tortorella on Former Flyer Cam Atkinson Scoring in the Game: “I wasn’t happy at the time but we win the game, I’m happy he scored because he was on for two against. I know the guys have seen him. I coached him for eight years so we have a little bit of a history and I’m not sure where it all goes for him now as he keeps on going but it was great to see him.”
Bobby Brink on Building Towards a Win: “Yeah, I think we’ve played well the last couple. Not going to win every game you play good. Tonight, we come out on top and move and try to get another two points on Saturday.”
Olle Lycksell on Learning to Shake AHL Habits in NHL: “It two different leagues. You have to work in practice and in games to get back to those winning habits.”
Ryan Poehling on His Nifty Second Period Goal: “I saw he was out of his crease a bit. I had a little bit of time and space so had it few times and it hasn’t worked out so it’s nice that it did that time.”
Did You Know?
According to NHL stats, Thursday marked Bobby Brink’s second career multi-goal game. He last potted two on Oct. 26, 2023.
On Deck
The Flyers will put the finishing touches of their seven homestand on Saturday night, when they play host to the Carolina Hurricanes. The matchup is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast locally on NBCSP.
