The Philadelphia Flyers (23-24-6) are on a two-hour scoring drought.
“We’re getting chances. We just haven’t been able to finish. I look at the third period; we have a couple [of] odd man rushes [and] we really get nothing accomplished. A few weeks ago, we were scoring. The one stat I look at is our average goals for and what we’re doing against; shots for and shots against, pretty basic analytics. We were up above three for a little bit because we were consistently getting some goals. Now, we’re not. All we can do is keep plugging away. There’s nothing I can tell them. We’re going to keep on trying to plug away and find a way to finish. I do think the couple of nights that we’ve been shut out, we’ve had some opportunities to score some goals.” – John Tortorella; 1/30/2025
Last night, the New York Islanders (23-20-7) bookended a back-to-back with the New Jersey Devils against the Flyers. Both teams shut out Philadelphia. Jake Allen earned a 5-0 win at the Prudential Center. Ilya Sorokin secured a 3-0 win at the Wells Fargo Center.
But, the game was hardly the story. John Tortorella benched Matvei Michkov, and Morgan Frost exited the game as trade discussions heated between the Flyers and the Calgary Flames. Shortening the bench didn’t help a comeback bid, but Philadelphia did execute a trade with the Flames. Tortorella never confirmed Frost exited the game because of a potential trade, but Daniel Brière included him in the deal with Calgary. Frost performed well in 11:28TOI before being dealt with Joel Farabee for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2028 seventh-round pick.
“Morgan [Frost] just didn’t feel good. He took a rest for a little bit, tried to come [back], and he didn’t feel right. He just couldn’t play.” – John Tortorella; 1/30/2025
Tortorella served as the bench boss for the 1,600th time in the NHL. Here’s how the game unfolded:
First Period
Shots: 10-8, Islanders
Score: 0-0
Tyson Foerster jumped on the attack. He was turned away from the slot but represented the first scoring chance for the Flyers. Philadelphia paced the first period well, picking up the intensity with a check on Maxim Tsyplakov by Garnet Hathaway and Rodrigo Ābols. Ivan Fedotov and Sorokin traded saves on Frost and Adam Pelech.
Tsyplakov already took a double-team check from Hathaway and Ābols, but then Scott Laughton gave him a receipt for the fine from when Ryan Poehling took an illegal hit. Laughton took Tsyplakov down with punches.
Pelech served a double minor for high-sticking. He caught Travis Konecny in the mouth, who skated to the bench. The double minor variety denoted blood from the high stick.
Michkov scored on the powerplay, but the Islanders won their challenge. Frost entered the crease untouched and made slight contact with Sorokin. The overturned goal meant the officials felt Frost obstructed Sorokin, nullifying for goaltender interference. Instead, the Flyers finished 0/3 (0%) on the powerplay. Fedotov stopped a shorthanded scoring chance from Jean-Gabriel Pageau on a breakaway to finish the powerplay.
“We knew it was going to be called back. Frosty [Frost] is doing a good job screening, but once he puts his feet in the blue, if he’s just another foot out, I think it’s a goal. It’s something we’ve talked about with this goaltender [Sorokin]; he’s playing so well for them [the Islanders] right now, that we have to put a screen on him. Once his skates go into the blue, there’s not a lot of contact. There’s a bit. We knew it was going to be called off. Once the skates are in the blue, they’re going to call that off.” – John Tortorella; 1/30/2025
Before the period finished, Fedotov turned the puck over to Pageau in the defensive zone. Pageau couldn’t control the puck to get a shot on goal in time. The same happened to Noah Cates, who had a good chance to score on Sorokin.
Second Period
Shots: 20-18, Flyers
Score: 2-0, Islanders
Foerster served a minor for tripping. Bo Horvat had a clean chance, and Foerster tried a diving poke. He tripped Horvat into Fedotov. All players involved were okay as Philadelphia went on the penalty kill. The Flyers finished 2/2 (100%) on the penalty kill.
Sean Couturier took the first shot of the second period for Philadelphia after 6:30 melted off the game clock. Michkov created the opportunity for Couturier on the rush with an intelligent play in the neutral zone. Not long after this, Tortorella sat Michkov.
“We are so ahead of the process with him [Michkov] being here this year, and that continues, even tonight. We’re trying to teach him how things are done here – the things of understanding conduct of a pro; all the things you do to play. I’m not going to get involved in the situation of something on the bench tonight. I’m not going to give you specifics, but you may not believe it, but it’s for the right reason because we care about him. I care about him, and where he is in the process, how far along he is in the process, and I’m not going to fail him by cowering away from situations that people may second guess. We’re going to do it the right way with this kid because we think he’s that special. It’s my job to do that.” – John Tortorella; 1/30/2025
Simon Holmström scored after Couturier blocked an initial shot by Scott Perunovich. Holmström put the Islanders up, 1-0, with 9:58 remaining in the second period. He went bar-down on Fedotov for the eventual game-winning goal.
Marc Gatcomb scored his first career NHL goal. Tsyplakov earned an assist on the play, pushing the transition into the offensive zone to Kyle MacLean. MacLean set up Gatcomb for the finish, 2-0, with 2:52 remaining in the second period. Gatcomb was a pace ahead of Jamie Drysdale onto the attack.
Third Period
Shots: 28-23, Islanders
Score: 3-0, Islanders
By the time Gatcomb scored, Frost and Michkov were off the ice and didn’t return for separate reasons.
“There’s certain situations you need to accept responsibility. I guess that’s the general term I’ll give. I don’t want to get too involved in it because it’s unfair to him [Michkov]. I get put into a box sometimes when these situations come. This is to help him. In my heart, it’s to help him and I’m going to do the things I think I need to do to try to help him, and we’re going to continue to go through the process together.” – John Tortorella; 1/30/2025
Farabee served a minor for slashing. Brock Nelson joined Farabee, serving a minor for hooking. Four-on-four hockey resulted in a goal for Kyle Palmieri. Pelech found Casey Cizikas in a seam from the neutral zone. Palmieri accepted the drop pass from Cizikas and beat Fedotov, 3-0, with 10:07 remaining in the third period.
Up Next
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday at 3:00pm/ET.
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