In the first meeting this season, the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks met in Prague, Czech Republic. With two different goaltenders in net, Carter Hart and Corey Crawford, the result was still the same with the Flyers edging the Blackhawks in a 4-3 victory. Now, officially heading into enemy territory, Philadelphia had to prove that they could keep their winning ways alive from Monday night against the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The setting was different and so were the goaltenders, with Brian Elliott getting the start against Robin Lehner. The Flyers rolled through Chicago, streaming a 4-1 victory.
During the first period, the Philadelphia Flyers would score the lone goal off the stick of Oskar Lindblom. His production has gone through the roof alongside his teammate, Travis Konecny. In this play, the Chicago Blackhawks had the offensive possession and Duncan Keith couldn’t corral the puck. Lindblom tapped the puck towards the offensive zone and Konecny skated down the ice to set up a two-on-one situation. The cross was beautiful from Konecny to Lindblom who finished the one-timer right by Robin Lehner.
Next, in the second period of play, something that the Philadelphia Flyers fans have been longing for all season happened! Claude Giroux scored his first goal of the season and James van Riemsdyk recorded his first assist of the year! On the play, van Riemsdyk passed the puck from behind the net to Travis Sanheim, who also was in on the assist. Sanheim crossed the puck to the middle of the crease, banking the puck off of the stick of Giroux. Alain Vigneault has been pressuring a veteran presence and he got his wish in the second period.
The Chicago Blackhawks answered back with a goal off the stick of Brandon Saad. Andrew Shaw made a beautiful backhanded pass from along the wall to the middle of the ice, finding Saad on a breakaway goal against Brian Elliott. That was Elliott’s one blemish this game through an otherwise brilliant performance. The Philadelphia Flyers answered back and Joel Farabee notched his first career NHL assist. This time, it was Kevin Hayes who possessed the loose puck and scored a breakaway goal on Robin Lehner.
It was a bitter-sweet night for Joel Farabee, who came mere inches of scoring two goals on top of the assist he recorded. What makes it even worse is that the pucks did find the back of the net, proving Farabee is NHL ready. Those goals were called back when Kevin Hayes was offside, twice! I’m about finding a silver lining in all of this, which was welcomed in the form of a James van Riemsdyk goal! The final goal for the Philadelphia Flyers may have been the filthiest of the night as van Riemsdyk had Robin Lehner moving like a puppet on strings.
Brian Elliott
The Helmet was placed on “Moose” back in the Philadelphia Flyers locker room following the 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. It’s well-deserved because Brian Elliott has been electric this season. In this game, he recorded twenty-three saves on twenty-four shots, which is good for a 95.8% save percentage. Another quality start between the pipes for Elliott and another game in the books that proved he was the best back up goaltender the Flyers could have had on this roster. Good re-sign this offseason.
James van Riemsdyk
Going into this game, James van Riemsdyk hadn’t recorded a single point. After the end of regulation against the Chicago Blackhawks, van Riemsdyk played a vital role in a 4-1 victory. He notched his first point of the year with an assist on Claude Giroux’s game-winning goal. Following the non-goal from Joel Farabee, van Riemsdyk put the exclamation point back on the scoreboard, shaking Robin Lehner down to his core. We’ve questioned where he has been this season and he showed life in Chicago.
Claude Giroux
He’s been making plays here and there via assists, but Claude Giroux notched his first goal in a big way against the Chicago Blackhawks. It wasn’t the cleanest goal, but it counted as the game-winner. “Captain Claude” remained relevant this season and proved that the veteran leadership hasn’t disappeared from the Philadelphia Flyers lines. He’s also been strong at the faceoff circle so far this season. Here’s to hoping to see more production from Giroux and James van Riemsdyk against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers are back home at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets. This game takes place on Saturday, October 26th at 7:00 pm. Thank you for reading and be sure to give a follow for more Flyers coverage at EricReesePSN on Twitter!
Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
