The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Vegas Golden Knights,5-3, at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday evening. It was generally a solid effort by the Flyers against a strong opponent, but the Flyers did what teams near the bottom the standings do: they found ways to lose.
Work ethic and resiliency were not at issue. In fact, it was a resilient effort for the Flyers, who trailed 2-0 in the second period and 4-1 in the third period but twice made pushes to draw back within one goal. Subsequently, there were chances to tie the game before Vegas sealed the win with an empty-net goal (17th ENG against the Flyers this season).
Ultimately, needless penalties and the Flyers' ongoing penalty post All-Star break were a major setback. So, too, were the club's ongoing struggles to finish off scoring opportunities -- the Flyers' matched Vegas' 17 high-danger chances with 17 of their own -- and a power play that is a net negative (3 PPG, 4 SHGA) since the All-Star break being unable to capitalize on several prime chances. The Flyers forechecked well in stretches, stuck with decent structure in other junctures but spent the night playing catch-up on the scoreboard.
Pavel Dorofoyev (2nd) scored the lone goal of the first period, giving Vegas a 1-0 lead at 8:34. In the second period, an Ivan Barbashev deflection power play tally (13th) gave Vegas a 2-0 lead at 1:58. A deflected pass attempt by Travis Sanheim (5th goal of the season) bounced the Flyers' way at 8:10 of the middle frame. Vegas restored a two-goal lead at 11:06 after Teddy Blueger (3rd) scored from the low slot in a multi-chance sequence.
At 3:01 of the third period, Jonathan Marchessault (22nd of the season) scored a power play goal after the Flyers took a too many men on the ice minor. At 8:24, a stellar individual play by Nick Seeler (4th) brought Philly back within 4-2. Morgan Frost (13th) made it 4-3 by driving to the back-side post and taking a pass from Brendan Lemieux at 10:15. The Golden Knights received an empty-net goal from Barbashev (2nd of the game,14th of the season) at 18:28 of the third period.
Both Flyers' third period goals were nice plays, but Seeler's was downright spectacular. Every once in a while, the physical defensive defenseman pulls off skilled plays that make the beholder do a double take. This one was a jaw-dropper.
The Frost goal came at the end of a tic-tac-toe passing sequence from James van Riemsdyk to Brendan Lemieux to Frost. Frost drove to the far-side post, took a tape-to-tape feed from Lemieux and scored on a shot that went off goalie Jonathan Quick's skate and inside the left post.
Felix Sandström allowed an iffy first goal to Vegas but was solid the rest of the way in stopping 28 of 32 shots. Jonathan Quick earned the win with 27 saves on 30 saves.
The Flyers went 0-for-2 on the power play. The Golden Knights were 2-for-4.
For a detailed recap of Tuesday's game, analysis and more, see the Postgame 5 on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com
Wednesday is an off-day for the Flyers. They will hold an 11 a.m. EDT practice on Thursday and then play back-to-back games at home on Friday against the Buffalo Sabres and Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
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Quick Hits: March 15, 2023
1) Prospect Report: The latest in the Prospect Report series on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com takes a look at Alexis Gendron. The son of former NHL player and current Quebec-based Flyers amateur scout Martin Gendron has made waves in the QMJHL this season (combined 49 goals and 74 points for Blainville-Boisbriand this season). The Flyers drafted Gendron, who turned 19 in December, in the seventh round (220th overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. To read more,
click here.
2) Flyers Hall of Fame defenseman Mark Howe and his brother, former WHA/NHL player Marty Howe, were on hand at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night. They presented a $50,000 contribution to Snider Hockey on behalf of the Howe Foundation. For more,
click here .
3) On the newest edition of the Prospect Pipeline podcast, Brian Smith and I discuss the implications of Danny Briere being promoted the Flyers interim general manager and Brent Flahr being retained as assistant GM. We also discuss the Phantoms' five-game winning streak, the contributions of prospect-aged players to Lehigh Valley this season. the value of an AHL stretch drive and Calder Cup playoff run for prospects and the potential timetables for Cutter Gauthier and Emil Andrae to arrive in the North American pro ranks. To download the podcast,
click here.
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