The Philadelphia Flyers (20-13-6) snapped their 4-game losing streak and finally earned their 20th win of the season after dispatching of the Calgary Flames by a score of 3-2.
Jonathan Huberdeau got the scoring started 115 seconds into the second period before Morgan Frost tied things up just 2:30 later. MacKenzie Weegar then retook the lead before Sean Couturier potted the Flyers’ first power play goal in 21 attempts.
In the third period, Travis Konecny scored his 21st of the season while shorthanded to give the Flyers a 3-2 lead that they never relinquished. Jacob Markström was tough to beat today as he made 39 stops, Carter Hart stopped 22 shots to earn his 10th win of the season.
Looking to get back on the winning track, the Flyers looked to avenge their New Year’s Eve loss against the Flames in the Ed Snider Legacy Game. After defeating the Vancouver Canucks to begin their road trip, the Flyers had lost their last 4 games.
Carter Hart returned between the pipes, Cam Atkinson and Morgan Frost made their way back in the lineup after being made healthy scratches against Columbus, and Marc Staal found himself in the press box with the club going with a 12/6 formation.
As for the Flames, they had won 3 straight games and had gone 6-2-2 in their previous 10 games, including a 4-3 victory against the Flyers. Blake Coleman paced the club with 15 goals and 29 points while Jacob Markström returned in goal after the Flames went with Dan Vladař their previous game, looking to improve on his 10-10-2 record.
FIRST PERIOD
8:46 into the game, Garnet Hathaway was whistled for a tripping minor against Nazem Kadri. Going along with theme of the game, it was a fast-paced 2 minutes, with chances coming from both sides with each club registering 2 shots on goal. Nevertheless it was a successful penalty kill for the 2nd ranked (85.95% before the game) unit in the NHL.
Kadri drew another tripping penalty, this time on Sean Walker, with 6:11 remaining in the period. Another penalty kill, another shorthanded odd-man rush with Scott Laughton and Travis Konecny but the latter’s shot was gloved down by Markström.
With 3:26 left to play in the first period, Noah Hanifin was whistled for a cross-checking minor. The 32nd-ranked power play that was clicking at just 9.84% went toe-to-toe with the 5th-best penalty killing unit that were also tied with the Flyers for most shorthanded goals scored this season.
No dice again – resulting in the Flames’ 19th successive penalty kill over their last 6+ games – but this time around the Flyers power play went back to the basics with point shots and traffic in front of the net which resulted in several scoring chances, primarily from Egor Zamula and Konecny.
16 seconds after the Flames killed Hanifin’s penalty, they were assessed a too many men on the ice minor with. Zamula kept firing at will from the point but his shots either went just wide or were blocked by the mass of bodies in front.
The period came to a close with both teams scoreless and the Flyers with the slight advantage in shots at 9-8.
SECOND PERIOD
After Markström robbed Konecny on the tail end of the power play, the Flames rode the wave of momentum and scored the first goal of the game shortly after. Jonathan Huberdeau raced down on a breakaway after a great clearing pass from Martin Pospisil, moved away from Owen Tippett’s stick check, and roofed it over Hart for his 6th of the season 1:55 into the period.
At the 4:15 mark of the middle frame, Morgan Frost tied the game after jumping on the loose rebound in the blue paint for his 6th of the season. Walker’s initial point shot was blocked by Huberdeau, bounced right back to Walker whose second shot was padded aside by Markström, but it went right to Frost for the easy tap-in.
A.J. Greer was nailed for a boarding minor with 14:29 left to play against Travis Sanheim, sending the Flyers out on their third power play in eight game minutes. The defensemen have finally been activated on the man advantage, creating chances from the point and having players camped in front of the goaltender, but Markström had all the answers – again.
The Flames retook the lead after MacKenzie Weegar jumped on a redirected puck in the slot to get it past a screened Hart. Blake Coleman couldn’t get his stick on the puck after Andrew Mangiapane’s pass but the loose puck led right to Weegar, who was left unmarked with 3 orange jerseys on Coleman.
On the very next shift and off the faceoff, Elias Lindholm drilled Cam York along the Flyers bench, which resulted in Joel Farabee stepping in with a fight. The referees originally ruled it as a major penalty and after a lengthy review they overturned it and assessed Lindholm with a 2-minute minor for elbowing.
Lindholm received 2 minutes for roughing and elbowing as well as a fighting major, while Farabee received 2 minutes for instigating, 5 for fighting, and a 10-minute misconduct. York also went straight to the locker room. The Flyers registered 5 shots on the power play but once again Markström stood tall.
With the shots 20-8 through the first 14 minutes of the period, Hart had several chunks of time of inactivity but was tasked to make a big breakaway save on Kadri to keep the deficit to one. A minute later, Cam Atkinson was robbed on a breakaway of his own – still mired in a 22-game goal drought- but he was hooked before taking the shot, which resulted in a minor penalty against Weegar.
21 seconds into their 5th man advantage and on their 12th power play shot, Sean Couturier banked the puck from below the goal line past Markström.
Zamula was able to keep a Coleman clearance attempt in the zone, found Frost at the faceoff dot whose initial shot missed the net, which then allowed Couturier to corral the puck and bank it in for his 10th goal of the season.
After a raucous 2nd period, 2 goals apiece, strong goaltending from both keepers, and a lot of penalties, both teams headed into the final frame tied up. The Flyers held a 24-10 shot advantage in the period and 33-18 through 40 minutes.
THIRD PERIOD
1:54 into the third, Hathaway was called for a roughing minor even though it looked like he got swarmed by a mass of Flames jerseys. Nevertheless, the “ power kill” only needed 33 seconds to get on the board as Konecny jumped on a breakaway and beat Markström glove-side for his 21st of the season and the Flyers’ league-leading 10th shorthanded goal.
For a split second it looked like the Flames had tied the game but it was quickly waived off as the retaliatory Connor Zary pushed Nick Seeler in front of Hart for an interference minor with 6:38 to go.
The Flames pulled Markström with 2:25 left on the clock but the Flyers were stout defensively as Calgary was barely even able to set up in the offensive zone.
Tempers burst at the end of the game, which was not so surprising considering how chippy the game was from start to finish.
The Flyers held on for the comeback victory, it was also their 20th of the season, and during the Ed Snider Legacy Game to boot.
UP NEXT
In game three of their four-game homestand, the Flyers will welcome their cross-state rivals in the Pittsburgh Penguins (7:00pm ET, NBCSP) to the Wells Fargo Center on Monday.
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