The Philadelphia Flyers (19-10-7) picked up the second set of points in their back-to-back on Tuesday night, handing the Chicago Blackhawks (13-17-6) their sixth straight loss with a 3-1 win.
First Period
The Blackhawks earned the first power play of the night after Trevor Zegras was sent to the box for tripping, but the Flyers’ penalty kill was successful. Strong defensive plays from Rodrigo Ābols, Cam York, Travis Konecny, and Nick Seeler helped shut down Chicago’s top-10 power play unit.
Just 18 seconds after the successful kill, the Flyers score the first of the game. Konecny opened the scoring off a beautiful setup from Zegras, with Sean Couturier picking up the secondary assist.
The Flyers looked to add to their lead when Colton Dach was called for holding, but the Flyers could not beat the Blackhawks’ fourth-ranked penalty kill. The Flyers were generating chances, with York and Travis Sanheim both registering shots on goal during the power play, but could not covert.
It was a strong opening 20 minutes for Philadelphia, who finished the period leading 6-4 in shots on goal, 7-3 in faceoff wins, and 5-3 in blocked shots, while hits were even at five apiece.
Second Period
Just about 30 seconds into the second, Carl Grundström was assessed a roughing minor after accidentally knocking Wyatt Kaiser’s helmet off. The Flyers successfully killed this penalty, too, with Sam Ersson saving 4 shots during the 2 minutes.
About halfway through the period, Chicago was called for too many men on the ice, with Oliver Moore serving the penalty. This time, the Flyers’ power play capitalized. Noah Cates buried a power-play goal off a slick backhand feed from Konency, marking Konecny’s 300th career assist. Jamie Drysdale earned the secondary assist.
The Flyers headed back to the power play when Connor Murphy was sent to the box for cross-checking, but it did not last long. Just 10 seconds later, Denver Barkey was called for boarding after delivering a hit on Kaiser. Barkey’s hit caused a pile-up along the boards, setting up the 4-on-4 hockey.
Chicago took advantage of the extra space, as Ryan Donato snapped a wrist shot past Ersson through traffic from Bobby Brink, Matvei Michkov, Cates, and Drysdale to make it a one-goal game. Matt Grzelcyk and Artyom Levshunov picked up the assists.
Philadelphia carried a 16-14 shot advantage into the second intermission but went just 6-for-29 on faceoffs in the period.
Third Period
Unfortunately, Barkey did not come out for the third period with the Flyers. According to head coach Rick Tocchet, the decision was precautionary after the hit from behind on his penalty.
At 3:40, Michkov and Nick Lardis were each assessed unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, leading to another stretch of 4-on-4 hockey, but neither team was able to generate a goal.
Midway through the period, Alex Vlasic sent Sanheim down on the ice. Sanheim got up after only a couple of seconds, and had some words for Vlasic, before heading down the tunnel. Sanheim was unable to return to the bench for an NHL-mandated evaluation, though Tocchet believes it will not cost him any additional time. Vlasic was penalized for interference on the play, but the Flyers power play did not strike. Zegras and York had shots on goal during this play, though.
The Flyers got called for a penalty late in the third period, but it took the officials a bit to sort out the logistics. Couturier ultimately served two minutes for hooking against Sam Lafferty, but the Flyers once again killed it off.
The Blackhawks pulled Spencer Knight off the ice, but it seems like that was not properly communicated to the Blackhawks players on the ice. With this confusion, the Flyers sealed the win with an empty-net goal from Grundström, with Couturier and Rasmus Ristolainen earning the assists.
Up Next
The Flyers will head into the holiday break sitting sixth in the NHL and second in the Metropolitan Division with 45 points. They will return to action on Sunday, December 28, when they take on the Seattle Kraken (15-14-6) at Climate Pledge Arena. Puck drop is set for 8pm/ET.
