On home ice, the Philadelphia Flyers (1-3-1) could not repeat the same result versus the Vancouver Canucks (2-1-2).
Sam Ersson started between the pipes versus Kevin Lankinen. It would be the second time these two goaltenders squared off this season. The Flyers and Canucks only play each other twice in the 2024-2025 campaign. John Tortorella coached his lineup to a 1-1-0 record.
A significantly different concept in this affair was the lack of penalties compared to the first four games on the road for Philadelphia. The combined penalties ranged between nine and eleven in each game of the road trip. Reducing the total to five between the opponents allowed for more five-on-five hockey.
In front of 19,083 in attendance, the Flyers did not threaten Vancouver. The Canucks blanked Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center.
First Period
One curious decision by Tortorella featured Sean Couturier on the left wing. Scott Laughton took the opening faceoff. This decision generated a mismatch in the faceoff circle when this line was on the ice, and in the first period, Vancouver won 64% of the draws.
Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink pressured Lankinen on a couple of occasions. First, on a two-on-one rush, Foerster pushed the pace, looking for a pass to Brink. A shot might have forced a rebound for Brink to attack, but the two-on-one failed.
“This has been going on since the start of the year. Shots missed, for me, in the first part of the game, [we’re] just not taking the shots. We’re overpassing. I think Sanny [Sanheim] can take a shot. I think Foerst [Foerster], who has struggled a little bit, looks to make a play instead of shooting the puck. We need to simplify ourselves a little bit that way. That’s what bothered me the most in the first half of the game. Just opportunities to shoot the puck, and we didn’t.” – John Tortorella; 10/19/2024
Garnet Hathaway served every penalty for the Flyers. He could not keep out of the penalty box. A high-sticking minor gave the Canucks the first powerplay, but Philadelphia successfully killed it. On the penalty kill, Travis Konecny drove the puck on the attack, dropping a pass to Travis Sanheim, but the shot was not clean.
The Flyers’ penalty kill stopped 100% of the Vancouver extra-man advantages (2/2). Hathaway did end up in the penalty box again in the first period but caught a stick to the mouth. Brock Boeser drew blood, earning a double-minor for high-sticking, effectively putting Philadelphia on the powerplay instead of a four-on-four scenario.
Earlier, Foerster and Brink did not convert a two-on-one rush. Later, they created another opportunity, but Lankinen made the save. Foerster made a terrific chip pass to Brink, but the wrap-around attempt was unsuccessful.
Elias Pettersson served a minor penalty for tripping. The Flyers went on their first powerplay, clearly working through Owen Tippett and Jamie Drysdale. Drysdale intentionally played at the blue line and not in front of it, preventing a shorthanded rush the other way. Philadelphia could not convert on the powerplay, finishing with a 0% success rate (0/3).
Nils Höglander put the Canucks on the scoreboard, 1-0, with 3:51 remaining in the first period. He was wide open along the crease, getting away from Erik Johnson. Höglander accepted the pass from the slot by Pettersson for a wide-open goal.
Second Period
Not without their chances, the Flyers misfired more than a few times throughout the game. Laughton, Konecny, and Tippett all hit the post on Lankinen. But, in the opening minutes of the second period, Johnson had about as open of a net as Höglander but missed the puck.
“As the second period went on, I think when we moved the lines around a little bit, we started creating some offense; hit some posts, some ‘almost plays.’ [We] played better as the game went on, but lose it.” – John Tortorella; 10/19/2024
Boeser extended the lead, 2-0, with 11:20 remaining in the second period. A backhanded tuck on Ersson began with a sneaky drop pass on the crease from Tyler Myers.
Kiefer Sherwood ripped the puck past Ersson off the faceoff, 3-0, with 10:30 remaining in the second period. Less than a minute later, the Wells Fargo Center had the last wind sucked from the building.
Losing the faceoff battle while being heavily outshot resulted in a lackluster performance. The shots on goal did not force Lankinen to make the extra effort. Either shots were too fine, resulting in missed targets and posts, or pucks pounded the stomach. Lankinen did not have to abandon his position often enough.
Third Period
Hathaway began the third period in the penalty box. Shorthanded, the Flyers did show urgency. They played from behind and had to be overly aggressive.
Sanheim, Laughton, and Foerster tried their hand at shorthanded chances but to no avail. On defense, Tippett slapped a puck away from Ersson to disrupt a powerplay opportunity from Vancouver.
Some smattering Philadelphia Eagles chants broke out with the one-single boo at a time from Philadelphia fans as the Canucks earned the win, 3-0.
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers host the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, October 22nd at 6pm.
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