There was plenty of effort and positives, but nonetheless, the Flyers were handed their 6th straight loss in Montreal on Saturday night. Let’s wrap on the contest:
First Period
Plus: Just 40 seconds into the opening frame, the Flyers opened the scoring with a goal from defensemen Travis Sanheim. The tally was Sanheim’s 1st of the season and came on two heads up plays by Scott Laughton and Zack MacEwen. Though he’s been good defensively to start the year, Sanheim can certainly be more involved in the offensive zone and maybe this goal will get him going a bit, as the team is desperately needing offense from wherever they can get it.
Plus: In Travis Konecny’s absence, Owen Tippett stepped up and replaced him in this one as the Flyers most threatening forward. The 23-year-old scored his first of two goals on the night with a laser of a shot at the 2:55 mark of the first period.
Minus: The Flyers would let the Habs right back in the game in this period, as Christian Dvorak and Cole Caufield each scored to tie the game at two apiece. Caufield’s goal was on the powerplay, and it now makes the Flyers just four for their last 12 on penalty kill opportunities. Special Teams continues to be a major problem for Philadelphia.
Second Period
Minus: After a prolonged shift in their own zone, the Canadiens would take the lead with a goal from defensemen Mike Matheson at the 11:55 mark of the middle frame. Just a couple minutes before, Morgan Frost was denied on a mini breakaway before Montreal set up shop for prolonged offensive zone time.
Plus: At the 15:50 mark, Owen Tippett would tie the game with a set play off the face-off. As soon as the puck was dropped, Tippett would wire a puck past past goaltender Jake Allen, who appeared to be surprised by the shot from the dot. It was a smart play by Tippett, who seems to be gaining confidence by the shift.
Minus: Towards the end of the period, the Flyers would lose yet another player to injury. Scott Laughton took a heavy hit and left the game after hitting the side of his head and shoulder on the ice. Here’s a better look:
Third Period
Plus: Despite not having his best game, Kevin Hayes scored a key goal to give the Flyers the lead at the 8:17 mark of the final frame. The shot was a long distance one, as defensemen Nick Seeler had a shot attempt blocked that ended ricocheting to Hayes.
Minus: The Flyers had an opportunity to win this one in regulation, before a broken stick defending a 6-on-5 turned into Canadiens forward Cole Caufield tying the game in dramatic fashion. With just 1.9 seconds left in the contest, Montreal captain Nick Suzuki made a cross-ice, seam pass to found Caufield for the one-time shot that beat Hart to send the game to overtime and eventually, a shootout.
Shootout
Minus: Morgan Frost hit two posts on his shootout attempt and it could not have been any closer. Ultimately, the puck never made its way into the cage.
Quick Hits
- According to CapFriendly, the Flyers are missing a total combine cap hit $36,160,000 worth of players due to injuries. Not that it represents an excuse, but this short-handed Flyers team is may be adding Konecny and Laughton to the list if they are to miss any time. Any team would struggle in those circumstances.
- One of those players who has made the most of his opportunity is Zack MacEwen. The bruising forward has seven points in 16 games this year and picked up two assists tonight. He had just seven points in 75 games last year with the Flyers.
What’s Next
The Flyers will return home and have another chance to end their losing skid against the Calgary Flames on Monday night, 7:00 puckdrop.
