In what felt like a must-win game, the Philadelphia Flyers held a 2-0 lead in the third period before allowing the Columbus Blue Jackets to tie the game. Overtime solved nothing as Johnny Gaudreau was the only goal scorer in the shootout as Columbus defeated the Flyers, 3-2.
Travis Konecny, who was named to the All-Star Game just before puck drop, scored both goals as Joel Farabee and Sean Couturier each recorded 2 assists. They were the pacemakers in tonight’s game with Cam Atkinson and Morgan Frost serving as healthy scratches.
Damon Severson and Jake Bean scored goals within 5 minutes of each other to tie the game, forcing overtime. Couturier, Bobby Brink, and Tyson Foerster were each stopped by Daniil Tarasov in the shootout, who earned his 2nd victory of the year while making 39 saves along the way.
The Flyers have now lost 4 games in a row (0-2-2) and will look to finally get the elusive 20th win of the season on Saturday against the visiting Calgary Flames.
With the Flyers having had lost their previous 3 contests, John Tortorella decided to change things up a little ahead of their home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Forwards Cam Atkinson and Morgan Frost were both made healthy scratches with Rhett Gardner making his Flyers debut and Marc Staal remaining in the lineup as the 7th defenseman.
Samuel Ersson also returned between the pipes with Carter Hart struggling a little bit over his last 5 games – dealing with a long-standing illness for a good chunk of it as well.
Atkinson has not scored a goal in 22 games and had just posted 6 assists along the way. Frost has just 2 goals and 6 points in his last 14 games.
As for the Blue Jackets, the season hasn’t gone as expected after they swung for the fences by acquiring Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson to add to their mix that included Zach Werenski, Johnny Gaudreau, and Patrik Laine. Gaudreau paced the club with 25 points in 39 games, Werenski remains sidelined for the next several weeks, and Laine is on the mend with a broken collarbone. The Jackets entered tonight last in the Metropolitan Division with a 12-19-8 record and had lost their last 2 games.
Daniil Tarasov earned the start, entering tonight’s game with a 1-2-1 record in 4 games with a 4.02 GAA and an .877 SV%.
FIRST PERIOD
1:15 into the game, Emil Bemström was whistled for a holding minor against Bobby Brink. 2 worlds collided tonight with the Columbus Blue Jackets penalty kill operating at 60% in their last 10 games, while the Flyers were 2 for their last 37. It was Columbus who came out victorious in their first battle but Joel Farabee was robbed off the rush and then Sean Couturier was stopped on the rebound.
At the 11:11 mark of the period, Nicolas Deslauriers was called for a tripping minor, however the third-best penalty killing unit in the NHL shut down the 25th-ranked power play of the Blue Jackets with relative ease.
With 2:48 remaining in the period, the newly-named All Star in Travis Konecny got the Flyers on the board with his 19th of the season. After a very strong forechecking shift along the boards, Couturier came out with the puck, whiffed on a shot that went right to Farabee, who then fed Konecny a perfect pass for the redirection goal.
On the very next shift and with 2:15 left on the clock, Mathieu Olivier was sent to the box for an interference minor. Barely a second into Olivier’s minor, Justin Danforth was nailed for playing the puck with his hand off the face-off, sending the Flyers onto a 2-man advantage. The Flyers failed to capitalize but Daniil Tarasov made 5 saves with another 4 shots having been blocked.
The Flyers entered the intermission with a 1-0 lead and a 14-6 shot advantage.
SECOND PERIOD
3:58 into the second period, Scott Laughton was called for a hooking minor against Adam Fantilli but the Flyers made quick work of another penalty.
In a very fast paced and quickly moving period, the Flyers had the edge for about 18 minutes until the Blue Jackets finally got through the neutral zone lock down. At one point the Flyers had 12 of the first 15 shots of the period.
With 92 seconds remaining, Marc Staal was called for a hooking minor. It was the better of the 3 power play opportunities for the Jackets with Gaudreau producing the best scoring chance, unfortunately for him it rang off the post.
With the period winding down, Damon Severson was called for a tripping minor as the horn sounded, putting an end to their power play that had 28 seconds remaining.
The Flyers took a 1-0 lead into the final period of regulation with a 13-9 shot edge in the middle frame and 27-15 through 40 minutes. Konecny paced the club with 15:19 TOI and Owen Tippett fired 7 shots on goal.
THIRD PERIOD
The Flyers could not capitalize on Severson’s late penalty but once again had a few good looks that Tarasov was able to read, including a Konecny one-time blast – but zero traffic in front.
The top line of Konecny, Farabee, and Couturier struck yet again with all three players getting a touch on the puck before Konecny’s 2nd of the game and 20th of the season.
Couturier lobbed an aerial pass out of the zone that Farabee was able to control, he then dropped it to Konecny who streaked off the wing, dangled through his legs, before sliding the puck past Tarasov’s five-hole.
55 seconds later at the 5:24 mark, the Blue Jackets were able to cut the deficit back to one after Fantilli worked on Tyson Foerster in the corner before finding Severson for a one-time blast past Samuel Ersson.
25 seconds later, Cam York was whistled for a hooking minor against Fantilli – who drew his third penalty of the game. The Flyers killed the penalty but the Jackets ended up tying the game a few minutes after the expiration of the penalty, courtesy of Jake Bean.
Jack Roslovic’s shot off the wing deflected off of Bean’s stick through the legs of Sean Walker and past a befuddled Ersson to tie the game.
Laughton was then found guilty of his second minor of the game with just 7:02 remaining as he was sent to the sin bin for slashing. The Blue Jackets were buzzing and even had Kent Johnson ring another shot off the post, but the Flyers fortunately survived as the ice tilted completely against them.
The ice opened up in the last 5 minutes for both clubs but they couldn’t solve either goaltender for a third time as the game was sent to overtime.
OVERTIME
The first shot of the 3-on-3 overtime session came from Johnson with 26 seconds left. Foerster had the only Flyers shot on goal with 1 second left that was blockered away by Tarasov.
SHOOTOUT
Sean Couturier: Miss
Johnny Gaudreau: Goal
Bobby Brink: Miss
Kent Johnson: Miss
Tyson Foerster: Miss
UP NEXT
The Flyers will be looking to avenge their New Year’s Eve loss against the Calgary Flames (1:00pm ET, NBCSP) on Saturday in a matinee affair.
Union Forge Vodka proudly serves as the Official Vodka of Flyers Nation. This partnership celebrates the unyielding spirit of Flyers fans and offers a quality spirit that perfectly compliments the team’s essence. Whether celebrating victories or showing resilience, Union Forge Vodka embodies the winning spirit of both the Flyers and their dedicated fans. Stay connected with exciting giveaways by following @unionforge and @flyersnation across all social media platforms.
