In an ugly and sloppy game, the Flyers stumble into their two and half week break with a 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. Let’s wrap:
Better Late…
After trailing 1-0 for a good portion of the game, the Flyers finally found some offense late in the third period. At the 18:46 mark with the goalie pulled, Jamie Drysdale scored on a wrist shot from the left circle after some quick puck movement out high by Trevor Zegras and Bobby Brink. The tally was Drysdale’s 5th of the season and his second in as many games. The young defensemen, however, remains focused on the team’s game moving forward this season.
“I think it’s just a matter of how you can help the team win,” Drysdale said. “I mean, individual stuff doesn’t matter, especially at this point of the year, everyone’s fighting for points. So, nice to get one but would have been better to get two.”
The Flyers are now just 2-8 in three-on-three overtime this season. Ironically, the club fares much better in shootouts these days with five wins in the skills competition.
Stutzle Seals It
Just 47 seconds into overtime, Senators’ centermen Tim Stutzle collected a puck in the neutral zone from Brady Tkachuk with a head of steam and flew past defenseman Travis Sanheim to score on a back-hand shot to win the game for Ottawa. Moments before, the Flyers had an opportunity to win the game themselves when Travis Konecny and Christian Dvorak had a two-one-break the other the way. Opting to shoot, Konecny fired the puck high and wide, allowing the Senators the counter-attack.
“A lot of missed nets, blocked shots,” Rick Tocchet said of his team’s anemic offensive performance. “There’s some skill to that, you know? To fake shots, go around people. When you get struggling scoring goals, you just need to put your head down and shoot.”
The game-winning tally was Stutzle’s 28th goal of the season. The Senators won their fifth game in six outings heading into the Olympic break. The Flyers, on the other hand, stumble into the break, having lost four of their last fives games.
They Said It
Tocchet on the Flyers biggest issue in 3-on-3: “It’s execution. It’s hard to work on that stuff, we’re getting some chances, but we’re not burying them.”
Drysdale on the Flyers making a push for the playoffs post Olympic break: “We’ll need to get red hot. I think we’re capable of it; just take the break, reset. Good luck to Sanny, Vladdy and the guys playing in the Olympics, but we got to come out swinging right away.”
Nick Seeler on the Flyers struggling to create chances: “Obviously, they block quite a few shots and they front pucks. If they don’t block them, they’re going wide. I thought our decision making with the puck, a little too much east/west and when we had a opportunity to get on one on net, we didn’t take it.”
Did You Know?
The Flyers penalty kill has not allowed a goal against in five consecutive games.
On Deck
The Flyers will be off for the Olympic break and will resume the season in Washington against the Capitals on February 25th.
