The Philadelphia Flyers dropped their fourth consecutive game as they were shutout by the Detroit Red Wings, 3-0. It was an extremely flat and disappointing performance with less than 10 scoring chances created in the entire game.
The Red Wings opened the scoring less than 100 seconds into the second period after Dylan Larkin scored his 20th goal, then Moritz Seider doubled their lead 6 minutes later before Andrew Copp scored a backbreaking shorthanded goal less than 3 minutes after that.
Samuel Ersson allowed 3 goals on 17 shots, Alex Lyon earned his 2nd shutout of the season with 29 saves to his name, and both clubs went 0-3 on their respective power plays.
Having dropped their last 3 games – all on home ice – the Flyers traveled to Detroit to face off against the Red Wings for the third and final time this season. Things haven’t been easy for the Flyers in recent days with Owen Tippett being placed on IR and Carter Hart being granted an indefinite leave of absence, but John Tortorella and the rest of the team have shown their resiliency, however they can’t keep playing from behind.
The Flyers went back to the 12/6 formation with Rasmus Ristolainen and Marc Staal serving as healthy scratches, Nicolas Deslauriers returned to his fourth line duties alongside Scott Laughton and Garnet Hathaway, Jamie Drysdale was paired up with Egor Zamula, and Samuel Ersson returned between the pipes.
Another big line change was Noah Cates being placed on Sean Couturier’s left wing with Travis Konecny opposite him.
As for the Red Wings, they were 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and had won 4 of their last 5 games before their most recent defeat against the Dallas Stars. Dylan Larkin continued to pace the club with 19 goals and 43 points, followed by Alex DeBrincat‘s 18 goals and 42 points, Lucas Raymond‘s 37 points, and Shayne Gostisbehere‘s 32.
Alex Lyon was confirmed as the Red Wings’ starting netminder, sporting an 11-6-1 record, a .919 SV%, and a 2.67 GAA with 1 shutout entering this game.
FIRST PERIOD
7:06 into the game, Scott Laughton was whistled for a hooking minor, sending out a very dangerous Detroit power play – 3 power play goals against Dallas in their last game – onto the ice. The Wings set up immediately and had a shooting gallery for the first 70 seconds but the shot blocking of the Flyers was on full display with at least 5 registered.
The first period had a quiet lull to it for the most part but that was primarily because of the shot blocking prowess from both clubs with Philadelphia edging Detroit 11-9 in that category. The period ended with the Flyers holding a 8-4 advantage in shots and had the far more dangerous opportunities.
SECOND PERIOD
1:37 into the second period, Dylan Larkin extended his point streak to 10 and scored his 20th of the season after finishing off a rebound opportunity in and around the blue paint. Samuel Ersson made the initial stop on Lucas Raymond but popped the rebound right to Larkin who was left unmanned at the side of the net.
At the 3:06 mark, Olli Määttä was whistled for a holding minor against Noah Cates, bringing out a Flyers road power play that had converted just 5 times out of 63 opportunities. Make that 5 for 64 as they failed to register a shot on goal.
The Red Wings doubled their lead courtesy of Moritz Seider‘s first goal in 20 games at the 7:15 mark of the period. Seider’s pass attempt to Alex DeBrincat – who was wide open at the front of the net – was deflected by Morgan Frost‘s stick blade and sailed over Ersson’s blocker.
The referees missed a checking from behind call on Seider when he rammed Travis Konecny, however on his next shift, Seider did the same thing on Tyson Foerster but it was called – although Foerster lost his footing a bit – with 11:27 remaining.
Andrew Copp then tallied his 100th career NHL goal after blasting a shot past Ersson while shorthanded at the 10:08 mark. Michael Rasmussen brought three white jerseys behind the Flyers cage and he made very easy work of Egor Zamula, outmuscling him before setting up Copp for his one-time blast.
After looking for a dance partner all period, Nicolas Deslauriers got Klim Kostin to drop the gloves with 1:23 left to play in the period with the former taking down the latter.
They each received 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct for removing their helmets before the fight and 5 each for fighting, while Hathaway and former Flyer Shayne Gostisbehere each received 2 for roughing.
The period ended with the Wings scoring 3 goals on 8 shots and taking a commanding 3-0 lead into the final frame of regulation. The Flyers held a 19-12 shot advantage through 40 minutes.
THIRD PERIOD
Laughton earned his second minor of the game as he was called for a tripping penalty at the 3:36 mark of the period. The Flyers survived and then jumped on their third man advantage of the night with 13:06 left in regulation after Jeff Petry was called for interference.
The penalty march continued with Olle Lycksell heading to the sin bin for holding at the 11:03 mark. It was another successful kill, the Wings barely created chances, but the clock kept ticking with the Flyers unable to create much of anything – just 8 scoring chances through the first 50+ minutes.
With 19 seconds left in the game, a scrum ensued after Laughton hit David Perron against the boards but the former was the only one who earned himself a trip to the box – his third minor of the game. Before the puck dropped for the faceoff, Kostin and Hathaway each received 2 for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Similar to the first period, the 20-minute frame zoomed by with minimal chances being created by both clubs. The Flyers looked listless, dead in the water, and lackadaisical at times as they slumped to another defeat.
UP NEXT
The Flyers will return home to play the Boston Bruins with Mark Recchi being inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame on Saturday (12:30pm ET, NBCSP) at the Wells Fargo Center.
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