Before the NHL breaks for the ‘4 Nations Faceoff,’ the Philadelphia Flyers (24-26-7) found the win column after losing five in a row.
“You always want to leave with a win. Certainly, a different game for us, but it’s a win.” – John Tortorella; 2/8/2025
In 2024-2025, the ‘Battle of Pennsylvania’ is split. The Pittsburgh Penguins (23-25-9) told the story in the first chapter, 7-3. Yesterday, the Flyers rebounded against their intrastate rival.
Each team missed critical players. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Bryan Rust were all out. That trio pads statistics against Philadelphia. Owen Tippett, Rasmus Ristolainen, Ryan Poehling, and Egor Zamula remained out of the lineup for the Flyers. A healthy mix of AHL took to the NHL stage in the second chapter of the ‘Battle of Pennsylvania’ this season.
Sam Ersson occupied the crease for Philadelphia. He went head-to-head with Joel Blomqvist.
First Period
Shots: 10-2, Penguins
Score: 1-0, Flyers
Andrei Kuzmenko jumped on the forecheck on his first shift with the Flyers. Kuzmenko dished out of the defensive zone to Scott Laughton, who leads Philadelphia in points versus the Penguins. Travis Konecny entered on the attack, then dished back to Laughton. Laughton scored backhand, 1-0, with 18:16 remaining in the first period.
After Laughton broke through, Pittsburgh slowed the Flyers down. The Penguins, without Crosby, Malkin, and Rust, began possessing the puck at large.
Rodrigo Ābols had his moments in his recall from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He and Sean Couturier were two big bodies on a line with Matvei Michkov, waiting to streak him onto the attack. Ābols is a crafty and intelligent forward, and after this season, he’s making a case to remain in the system.
Couturier served a minor penalty for tripping. Ersson was sharp throughout the first period, especially on the penalty kill, stopping Anthony Beauvillier and Emil Bemström. Philadelphia finished 2/2 (100%) on the penalty kill.
Second Period
Shots: 21-9, Penguins
Score: 2-1, Flyers
Erik Karlsson sniped Ersson, 1-1, with 15:41 remaining in the second period. His sharp-angle shot slipped into the top right corner of the net. Ersson played the angle but didn’t seal the top corner of the post and crossbar. Emil Andrae took away a potential pass with a slide check, but Karlsson accepted the challenge.
Ersson earned his stripes. He remained under a lot of pressure as Pittsburgh largely possessed the puck.
“This was pretty good, too. He [Ersson] made some incredible saves. We were out-chanced pretty good.” – John Tortorella; 2/8/2025
While the Flyers did not sustain much pressure, they did generate fleeting scoring chances. Michkov had a breakaway opportunity but whiffed. Midway through regulation time, Philadelphia was credited with four shots on goal.
“[We] never had the puck. Give them [the Penguins] credit, they were quicker than us. They were much more determined than us for basically half the game, but we found a way.” – John Tortorella; 2/8/2025
Garnet Hathaway hustled a puck past Blomqvist. Blomqvist tried to clear the puck into the boards, but the Hathaway Hustle™ muscled the puck into the net via a deflection, 2-1, with 7:34 remaining in the second period.
Third Period
Shots: 33-20, Penguins
Score: 3-2, Flyers
Konecny joined, giving the Flyers a brief six-on-five advantage. A delayed penalty moved Ersson to the bench, and Konecny promptly scored. He lined up from the point, and his shot deflected past Blomqvist, 3-1, with 15:33 remaining in regulation. On the scoring play, Travis Sanheim and Cam York notched assists.
Beauvillier put a loose puck into the back of the net, but confusing events followed. The officials ruled the scoring play as a ‘no-goal.’ The puck crossed the goal line, but the official intended to blow the whistle before. There wasn’t any goaltender interference, and because the puck was loose, the Penguins challenged the ‘no-goal’ call and got it overturned. Nonetheless, Beauvillier updated the score, 3-2, with 14:18 remaining in regulation.
Blake Lizotte served a minor penalty for high-sticking. Jamie Drysdale shattered his stick and ended the powerplay for Philadelphia because he committed a holding infraction to stop Danton Heinen on a breakaway. The Flyers finished 0/1 (0%) on the powerplay.
Kuzmenko began the game with strong checking and finished by driving hard toward Blomqvist with the puck. He maneuvered back into the slot, under the hash marks, but Blomqvist denied the chance.
“Very talented. You can see his [Kuzmenko] skill. [He] can skate, [he] has an enthusiasm about him, we play him eighteen-nineteen minutes. He can do some things with the puck. It was a good first game for him.” – John Tortorella; 2/8/2025
His debut in Philadelphia flashed refreshing skill and captured an assist as the Flyers defeated Pittsburgh at the Wells Fargo Center, 3-2.
Up Next
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers host the Edmonton Oilers at 1:00pm/ET after the ‘4 Nations Faceoff’ on February 22nd.
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