Wrap: Flyers Tumble in Trap Game in Ottawa, 2-1
A fast start dissipated quickly, and poor execution eventually cost the Philadelphia Flyers in a 2-1 regulation road loss to the Ottawa Senators on Friday night. The Flyers led 1-0 early, but could not come back after giving up two goals in the middle frame. A frustrating third period that included a failed four-minute power play late in regulation sealed the outcome.
The Flyers easily could have had four or five goals on the night, but just as easily could have given up five.
Tyler Pitlick scored his first goal as a Flyer, assisted by Andy Andreoff. In the second period, Tyler Ennis (power play, 4th) and Filip Chlapik (2nd) scored for the Senators.
The Flyers went 0-for-5 on the power play. They saw their streak of 16 straight successful penalty kills come to an end, and went 2-for-3 on the PK.
Carter Hart stopped 17 of 19 shots. Anders Nilsson denied 26 of 27 Flyers shots.
The Flyers rocketed out of the gates, generating a slew of prime scoring chances. James van Riemsdyk hit the post from close range: one of about high-danger chances he had around the net. Finally, Tyler Pitlick roofed a top-shelfer from the right dot at 2:46.
As the first period progressed, the Flyers' play dropped off. Ottawa had a pair of 2-on-1 rushes. Philly also caught a huge break when Connor Brown tucked the puck wide of an open net. First period shots were 10-6 in the Flyers' favor.
The Flyers played a sloppy second period and also got outworked in puck battles. Philly got away with it for awhile -- including Bobby Ryan missing the open side of the net -- until a leaky power play goal and a lost puck battle ended up in their net.
Late in Ottawa's third power play, Ennis beat Hart from the bottom of the right circle. The puck went toward the blocker side, went across Hart's back and went in on the near side inside the post at 13:12. Erik Brannström got the assist on Ottawa's second home power play goal of the season.
A lost puck battle by Travis Konecny and a quick pass from Chris Tierney to Chlapik resulted in a shot from inside and just above the right dot. The puck deflected off Matt Niskanen's stick and went over Hart's glove.
Second period shots were 8-8, but it was an Ottawa-controlled period with better pressure and more miscues by Philly.
Alain Vigneault shook up his lines and D pairs in the third period, giving very heavy ice time to the intact Couturier line. Philly had their chances to draw even but couldn't get many high-end looks or second-chance opportunities.
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GAME 20: FLYERS VS. ISLANDERS
In the second half of a weekend back-to-back set, Alain Vigneault's Philadelphia Flyers (10-6-3) host Barry Trotz's New York Islanders (13-3-1) on Saturday night. Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast will be on 97.5 The Fanatic (or 93.3 WMMR) with an online simulcast on
Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the second of four meetings this season between the teams. They will rematch on Feb. 11 in New York and March 24 in Philadelphia. On Oct. 27 in Uniondale, the Islanders skated to a 5-3 win that was not as close as the final score would suggest.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers saw a seven-game point streak end in Ottawa on Friday. There is a significant fatigue factor disadvantage for Philadelphia heading into Saturday's tilt.
The Flyers will be playing for the third time in four nights. It will also be the Flyers' seventh game in 12 nights.
Brian Elliott will get the start in goal. The Flyers have shaken up line combinations in-game the last couple games, so it remains to be seen which lines will start the game against New York.
Entering Saturday, the Flyers have averaged 2.89 goals per game with allowing 2.79 per game. The power play comes in at 20.3 percent and the penalty kill at 85.2 percent. The team has won faceoffs at a 53.9 percent clip, although the percentage has been dropping of late with Sean Couturier muddling through a shoulder strain and limited in his ability to take draws.
ISLANDERS OUTLOOK
New York carries a 13-game point streak into Philly. The Isles have won back-to-back games and are a sizzling 9-0-1 over the last 10 games. The Islanders are in a light portion of their schedule that will see them play just twice between Nov. 10 to 18.
On Wednesday, the Islanders skated to a 5-4 win over Toronto, surviving a late-game push that saw the Maple Leafs close a three-goal gap to a single goal.
Entering Saturday's game, the Islanders have averaged 3.12 goals per game and allowed 2.29. The power play comes in at 22.6 percent and the power play at 85.7 percent. The Isles' have won 48.2 percent of faceoffs.
STARTING LINEUPS
FLYERS
12 Michael Raffl - 28 Claude Giroux - 11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom - 14 Sean Couturier - 49 Joel Farabee
25 James van Riemsdyk - 13 Kevin Hayes - 93 Jakub Voracek
44 Chris Stewart - 10 Andy Andreoff - 18 Tyler Pitlick
9 Ivan Provorov - 15 Matt Niskanen
53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 61 Justin Braun
8 Robert Hägg - 6 Travis Sanheim
37 Brian Elliott
[79 Carter Hart]
Power Play 1: Giroux, JVR, Konecny, Provorov, Voracek
Power Play 2: Couturier, Lindblom, Farabee, Gostisbehere, Niskanen
Scratches: 81 Carsen Twarynski (healthy), 8 Robert Hägg (healthy), 55 Sam Morin (torn ACL).
Injured reserve: 21 Scott Laughton (broken right index finger)
Injured non-roster: 19 Nolan Patrick (migraines)
ISLANDERS
27 Anders Lee - 13 Mathew Barzal - 7 Jordan Eberle
18 Anthony Beauvillier - 29 Brock Nelson - 10 Derick Brassard
12 Josh Bailey - 53 Casey Cizikas - 15 Cal Clutterbuck
28 Michael Dal Colle - 21 Otto Koivula - 47 Leo Komarov
32 Ross Johnston - 53 Casey Cizikas - 15 Cal Clutterbuck
3 Adam Pelech - 6 Ryan Pulock
25 Devon Toews - 24 Scott Mayfield
2 Nick Leddy - 55 Johnny Boychuk
1 Thomas Greiss
40 Semyon Varlamov
Power Play 1: Beauvillier, Nelson, Brassard, Barzal, Pulock.
Power Play 2: Lee, Bailey, Eberle, Toews, Leddy.
Scratches: 8 Noah Dobson (healthy), 32 Ross Johnston (healthy).
Injured reserve: 14 Tom Kühnhackl (leg, Oct. 25), 17 Matt Martin (knee, Oct. 25).
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Phantoms Lose in Bingo; Head to WB/S
Scott Gordon's Lehigh Valley Phantoms are winless (0-2-1) in their last three games. On Friday night, the Phantoms fell, 3-1, to the host Binghamton Devils.
The Phantoms were significantly outplayed in a scoreless first period, but J-F Berube pulled them through with 16 saves, including multiple odd-man rushes and breakaways. Lehigh Valley outchanced the Devils over the final 40 minutes but ended chasing the game.
After closely spaced goals by Josh Jacobs (2nd) and Ben Street (power play, 7th) built a 2-0 lead for Springfield before the game was halfway through, the Phantoms got one back at 11:57 as crisp puck movement on the power play was cashed in on a blast by defenseman Andy Welinski (3rd). Cal O'Reilly and Grey Carey got the assists.
Mikhail Maltsev extended the lead for Binghamton to 3-1 early in the third period. Lehigh Valley generated a lot of pressure on goalie Louis Domingue (26 saves on 27 shots) as the period progressed but couldn't cut into the deficit.
The Phantoms (6-4-5) return to action on Saturday, visiting the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins (9-5-2). Game time is 7:05 p.m. ET.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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