On a momentous night for the Philadelphia Flyers and Keith Yandle, who tied the NHL record for most consecutive games played at 964, the Flyers’ losing streak extended to 12 games after the Dallas Stars handled their business at the Wells Fargo Center tonight, taking down the shorthanded and hapless Flyers 3-1. Carter Hart’s 33 save performance was for nought as Roope Hintz, who scored a goal and added an assist, and the Stars top line were too much for the Flyers to handle.
FIRST PERIOD
Pace was hardly an issue to start the game, which is surprising to say for a Flyers team that is usually lacking, however both teams came out firing. The Dallas Stars had the best chances early on, forcing several turnovers, some right in front of Carter Hart but he was able to keep the game locked in at 0-0. The Flyers had 4 pretty good chances before the first commercial break but they all missed the net as Ivan Provorov recorded their first shot on goal six and a half minutes into the game.
Harbouring an 11-game losing streak, heading into the second period tied 0-0 wouldn’t have been the worst thing, however with a little over 2 minutes to go and in the offensive zone, Travis Konecny turned the puck over trying to bank the puck off the boards to the point man. Instead it hit Jason Robertson’s stick and he flipped it through the defenders to a streaking Roope Hintz who was all alone against Hart and made no mistake firing it through his five hole.
With less than 20 seconds left in the first period, the Flyers who won the defensive zone face-off turned the puck over and the Stars were inches away from converting had it not been for a timely Cam Atkinson stick-check. Robertson’s slap-shot yielded a rebound to which Joe Pavelski wrangled a shot on goal off his stomach, beating Ivan Provorov and Justin Braun. Hintz grabbed the loose puck but couldn’t getting the puck off in time as Atkinson was able to keep the Stars lead at 1.
SECOND PERIOD
With chances hard to come by, having a 2-18-3 record when giving up the first goal, and being a bottom 3 team in the second period; the odds were stacked against the Flyers to tie things up and it seemed that way for more than half the period until an Ivan Provorov flutter-shot towards the net went off John Klingberg’s skate and past Jake Oettinger. The Finnish defenseman, who has requested a trade from the Stars, seemingly kicked it into his own net but the Flyers will take them any way they can get them.
With the second period winding down both teams had their chances to break the deadlock. The Gerry Mayhew – Morgan Frost – Max Willman line was cycling and firing the puck at will but Oettinger stood tall and thwarted several chances; some of which ensued from a scrum. Meanwhile, the top line for the Stars were jamming away at the crease as Carter Hart was trying to cover the puck for a face-off.
THIRD PERIOD
The third period followed suit from the opening 40, tightly checked with a little bit of madness peppered in. The Flyers had several opportunities but the Stars were either able to stick check the Flyers or the Flyers just missed the net. Travis Konecny caught a lob from Scott Laughton and tried to beat Oettinger on a wrap-around, but Robertson was able to block the open net opportunity. Meanwhile the Stars’ best chance to break the deadlock came from Miro Heiskanen, who had a yawning cage but Hart was able to slide over and glove his shot down.
With the game in the balance and nearing the end of regulation, the Dallas Stars delivered the kill-shot with a goal from Jacob Peterson, which was initially thought to have hit the post. The referees quickly blew the whistle to announce it had gone in and a quick review upstairs gave the Stars a late 2-1 lead. Travis Sanheim got bodied behind the net by Peterson who jumped on the loose puck and found Alexander Raduov in the corner. He danced by Jackson Cates and then fed the puck through the slot to Peterson who darted towards the net after beating Sanheim earlier.
A couple minutes later with the net empty, the Stars iced the game with an empty net goal from Joe Pavelski. The Flyers tried to set up with the extra man but Travis Konecny turned the puck over again as he tried to flip the puck to the point, but instead he fumbled the pass to Roope Hintz who found Pavelski and he made no mistake from long distance.
There were no penalties called for either team tonight, which probably helped the Flyers a little considering how rough their special teams play has been of late. Carter Hart did all he could in net tonight as his only blunders came from turnover-created chances by the Stars; one on a breakaway, the other on a goal-mouth shot labelled for the top corner. The Flyers have now lost 12 in a row and 23 of their last 28.
UP NEXT
Up next for the Flyers are the New York Islanders tomorrow on the road at UBS Arena at 7:30pm ET.
