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Wrap: Flyers Rally Twice, Lose in OT to Columbus
The Philadelphia Flyers erased a pair of two goal deficits but settled for one point as they lost in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-4, at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday evening.
On the positive side, the Flyers once again showed their resilience. They have convincingly shown that they will keep battling even when down by a goal or more; a trait they were lacking the last couple years but especially last season. Even with an off-day on Monday, it was still the Flyers' fourth game in six nights and they actually showed more energy and jam (after a lackluster first period) as the game went along than they did earlier in the game.
However, the fact that the Flyers yet again found themselves trailing in the first place is nothing to celebrate. Nor is giving up two goals in a 13-second span in the third period as a 2-2 tie became a 4-2 deficit in the blink of an eye. Once again, the Flyers were their own worst enemies at crucial junctures: paying the price for bad line changes, turnovers in dangerous areas, lost coverages, odd-man rushes yielded.
Some of the hardest bad habits to correct are ones that displayed by players at the top of the lineup, especially when it's a team that lacks high-end talent and true depth. The Flyers' top line is scoring -- desperately needed, as no one else on the team is with any sort of consistency -- but they've also been involved in far too many errors of commission and omission of late that have ended up in the Philadelphia net. The Kevin Hayes line -- which has had a couple of different left wingers skating with Hayes and Travis Konecny of late, is minus-seven over the currrent winless streak.
The penalty kill, which entered this past weekend, ranked in the top six leaguewide, has been torched for five opposing power play goals on their last seven opportunities. Over the last four games, the Flyers' power play has connected just once. In Sunday's game against Dallas, the Flyers went 0-for-6 with a shorthanded goal yielded and a failed 59-second five-on-three opportunity along the way.
Lastly, let's be real here: The Blue Jackets are an injury-racked team with six regulars unavailable heading into the game and two more that went down in the course of Tuesday's game. Additionally, it's a team that is 2-9-3 against the rest of the NHL but now 2-0-0 against the Flyers.
So it's hard to feel very good right now about claiming a point in Columbus from the pair of two-goal comebacks on Tuesday.
Sean Kuraly (3rd goal of the season) opened the scoring for Columbus at 12:36 of the first period on a puck that Flyers defenseman Justin Braun accidentally deflected into the Philadelphia net.
In the second period, Columbus grabbed a 2-0 edge on a Boone Jenner power play goal (5th) at 5:36, The Flyers pushed back for tallies by Kevin Hayes (4th) at 8:54 and Noah Cates (4th) at 12:16 to send the game to the third period tied at 2-2.
Seeming disaster struck the Flyers early in the third period when Jenner scored a breakaway goal (second goal of the game, 6th of the season) at 3:22 followed a mere 13 seconds later by an Eric Robinson marker at 3:35 to restore a two-goal margin for Columbus.
Nick Seeler (2nd) found the net on a point shot at 4:58 of the third period. The Flyers drew even again at 4-4 and forced overtime after Travis Konecny (7th) stashed the puck home at 9:14.
In overtime, Vladislav Gavrikov (2nd) netted the game winner for the Blue Jackets on an odd-man rush at 3:14 of 3-on-3 sudden death.
Carter Hart stopped 28 of 33 shots for Philadelphia. Elvis Merzlikins started the game in goal for Columbus but had to exit with a lower-body injury right after Cates' goal. Merzlikins (15 saves on 17 shots) gave way to Joonas Korpisalo (18 saves on 20 shots), who earned the win.
For an in-depth look at Tuesday's game -- period-by-period recaps, analysis, key stats, and Flyers highlights -- see the Postgame 5 on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com.
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Quick Hits: November 16, 2022
1) Wednesday is an off-day for the Flyers (7-6-3). The team faces a very tough challenge on Thursday as they pay a visit to TD Garden to take on the Boston Bruins (14-2-0, four straight wins).
2) The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have a grueling three-in-three gauntlet upcoming this weekend. On both Friday and Saturday, they have road games against the Providence Bruins. On Sunday, they will pay a visit to the Springfield Thunderbirds.
3) Flyers alum Don Saleski is doing a fundraiser for BLOCS (Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools) in conjunction with Giving Tuesday. Saleski has been an advocate, fundraiser and a board member for BLOCS. The Flyers Alumni Association is helping to raise awareness of Saleski's fundraising campaign.
Flyers alum Don Saleski is raising money for BLOCS (Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools) in conjunction with Giving Tuesday. BLOCS provides educational opportunities for Del Vall students, pre-K through 12th grade.
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