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Flyers Opener Wrap, Phantoms, Flyers Warriors and More |
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Wrap: Flyers Claim Opener in Prague, 4-3
The Flyers trip to Europe ended on a strong note as the team never trailed and went on defeat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3, in the regular season opener at 02 Arena in Prague on Friday. The Flyers tallied once in the first, twice in the second, and added what proved to be a vital insurance goal in the final stanza. Chicago scored once each period.
The victory marks the fourth straight season that the Flyers have claimed an opening-night win, and the club is 4-0-1 over the last five.
Travis Konecny (1st and 2nd) notched a pair of goals for the Flyers. For the second straight opener, Oskar Lindblom (power play, 1st) scored for Philly. Michael Raffl (1st) added to the lead in the third period. Scott Laughton (1st), Tyler Pitlick (1st) and Robert Hägg (1st) picked up the season's first assists.
Patrick Kane figured in all three goals for Chicago, assisting on Alexander Nylander's goal (1st) in the opening period and one by Alex DeBrincat (power play, 1st) in the final 13 seconds of the middle frame before notching his own first goal of the season to narrow Chicago's gap to 4-3 with 2:07 left in the game. Erik Gustafsson earned a pair of assists, while Duncan Keith had one.
Carter Hart played well in his first of the season, stopping 28 of 31 shots. He didn't have much chance on the DeBrincat or Kane's goals. Nylander's goal was scored on a counterattack, and he used Flyers defenseman Justin Braun as a screen on a wrister from the deep slot.
Corey Crawford got the start in goal for Chicago. He stopped 34 of 38 shots. Philly outshot Chicago 13-11 in the first period and 15-7 in the second before the Blackhawks posted a 13-10 shot edge in the third.
The Flyers went 1-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill. Philly dominated in the faceoff circle, winning 62.1 percent of the draw, led by Sean Couturier (12-for-16) and Claude Giroux (10-for-16).
Philly played a strong overall game. Puck management was an issue at times -- turnovers for both teams proved costly, and Philly had 17 of the game's charged giveaways. The closeout wasn't ideal for Philly when the score was 4-2, but after a wide-open Kane brought Chicago back within a goal, the Flyers managed the remainder of the game pretty well. The Flyers gave up two late-period goals in the game; something they'll need to clean up moving forward.
The Flyers forechecked well, and established a cycling game. The 1-2 punch in the middle of a debuting Kevin Hayes (18:33 TOI, one shot on net in three attempts, three credited hits, 6-for-10 on faceoffs) and Couturier (19:21 TOI, three shots on net in five attempts) showed promise of being a formidable duo.
Carsen Twarynski (one shot on goal, two hits, two shot attempts, 11:57 TOI) and Connor Bunnaman (two shots on goal, one hit, 11:06 TOI) made their NHL debuts in the game.
Konecny opened the scoring at 6:24 of the first period, stripping a defender of the puck inside the Chicago blue line. From the right circle, he wristed a shot high-glove over Crawford. Nylander got the goal back at 7:44.
At 6:28 of the second period, Lindblom made it 2-1. It was a bit of self-made puck luck as the puck bounced in off a defender. On the zone entry by PP2, Konency made a nice cross-ice pass to Lindblom, whose left circle snap shot started the pinball sequence.
The Flyers extended the lead to 4-2 at the 18:04 mark. On a 3-on-2 rush, Konecny dangled around Duncan Keith and scored on a rising backhander from the slot; the season's first highlight reel goal for Philly.
Chicago got the goal back on the power play a 19:47. This goal was scored from the weak side, as Kane found the deadly DeBrincat open in the opposite slot, and DeBrincat made no mistake.
Philly re-established a two-goal margin at 9:48 of the third period as Raffl tallied on a wraparound to push the lead to 4-2. At 17:53, Philly gave up way too much time and space and one of the game's most dangerous offensive talents, Kane, made them pay. From there, however, Hart and company slammed the door.
Although Friday's game was a neutral site match, the Flyers were the designated home team (i.e., the Blackhawks will not visit the Wells Fargo Center this season) The Flyers will now return to Philadelphia for their true home opener, as they take on the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.
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USA HOCKEY WARRIORS TOURNEY: FLYERS WARRIORS START OUT 2-0-0
The 2019 USA Hockey Warriors tournament in Las Vegas, sponsored by famed entertainer and longtime Vegas headliner Terry Fator, got underway on Friday. Teams of injured and disabled veterans from across the country are participating, with many of the participating teams having NHL team affiliations. None have closer NHL ties than the Philadelphia Flyers Warriors, who have been officially adopted an affiliated branch of the organization, had a full NHL-style training camp and are coached by Brad Marsh.
The Flyers Warriors are off to a 2-0-0 start. In their earlier game on Friday, they overcame an early 2-0 deficit (the first time the Philly squad has trailed in any game since their creation) and went on to turn it into a 6-2 blowout of the Iowa Warriors at the Las Vegas Ice Center.
The latter game was played at the City National Arena, the state-of-the-art training facility of the NHL's Las Vegas Golden Knight, the Flyers Warriors never trailed in downing the Nebraska Warriors by a 3-1 score. The game was evenly played for the first 10 minutes, but the ice was tilted thereafter and only outstanding goaltending from the Nebraska side kept the game close.
After the second game, tournament host Fator hosted a private reception for the participating teams. Supporting the military and charities that support military families in need is one of Fator's most active causes.
"This tournament means a lot to me, because I've seen the impact that USA Hockey's Warrior program has on our veterans community," Fator said. "The program has grown across the country, and the rate of growth is expanding very fast now, which is wonderful to see. To me, being the presenter of the tournament is just a way of giving something back and thanking our veterans for their service and their sacrifices."
In less than one year, participation in the Flyers Warriors team has grown to the point that they actually could have sent two full teams to Las Vegas if more than one squad per entry could participate. Four additional brand new players just came to the team's most recent practice.
Lifelong Flyers diehard fan Ed Donnelly is the father of Flyers Warriors player Mike Donnelly, and himself a veteran (U.S. Navy). He is attending the tournament with his wife and daughter-in-law to root on his son and support the team. Prior to game against Nebraska, he spoke about what the Warrior Hockey program and the creation of the Flyers Warriors have meant to his family and all of the players.
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Phantoms Open Regular Season
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms open their 2019-20 regular season schedule on Saturday night as they host the Providence Bruins at the PPL Center. Game time is 7:05 p.m. ET.
The game will mark the professional hockey debut of Flyers 2017 first-round pick Morgan Frost. Also slated to play are the likes of German Rubtsov, Isaac Ratcliffe and more. Joel Farabee, although officially down to the Phantoms by the Flyers, is with the NHL team in Prague. Ditto third-year pro defenseman Phil Myers.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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