The Philadelphia Flyers find a way to avenge another loss against one more top NHL team. This time they do it on home ice against the Calgary Flames.
Resiliency is a heck of a trait. Among the Philadelphia Flyers, it is contagious. That much has been proven already. How consistent is their resiliency?
Kevin Hayes willed himself to come back sooner than Alain Vigneault expected. The Flyers have yet to lose back-to-back games in 2021-2022 against elite opponents. On home ice or away ice, Philadelphia recovers.
Tonight, the Calgary Flames played the Flyers for the last time this season. Philadelphia wanted to avenge their shutout loss from the last time these teams matched up. I routinely mention “culture victories” in 2021-2022, and the Flyers were starring another one in the face in the form of the Flames.
Hall of Fame Ceremony
After a victory in the Philadelphia Flyers Alumni Game, Paul Holmgren joined Rick Tocchet as they were both celebrated as the latest team Hall of Fame inductees. Holmgren was very thankful for the organization that allowed him to hold virtually every role. Tocchet shared a comical anecdote about how he got his friends into games.
Here are a few videos from the ceremony:
Following speeches, the latest Hall of Fame inductees received their game-worn jersey of a commemorative moment in their respective careers. Congratulations to Holmgren and Tocchet, Philadelphia’s Hall of Fame class of 2021.
First Period
Going head-to-head between the pipes are Jacob Markstrom and Carter Hart. Entering tonight’s contest, Markstrom has five wins to Hart’s four.
Derick Brassard put the Philadelphia Flyers penalty kill to the test early on. It wasn’t an ideal beginning, considering how dangerous the Calgary Flames are on special teams overall. Patrick Brown, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Ivan Provorov were brilliant, keeping the penalty kill team a perfect 1/1 in the first period.
The Flames controlled a lot of the even-strength play, keeping Hart on his toes.
Eventually, luck broke the wrong way for the Flyers. Oliver Kylington threw a puck on net from nearly the blue line, which glanced off of Sean Couturier past Hart for the 1-0 lead. The unfortunate bounce was the difference between a blocked shot and surrendering an unlucky goal. There wasn’t anything Hart could do, and Couturier played the puck as you would expect a defending forward.
Officiating missed a few calls, such as a trip drawn by Keith Yandle. The powerplay unit was unsuccessful, going 0/3 in the first period. Travis Konecny survived a boarding penalty from Mikael Backlund. Nick Seeler was ready to throw down with Backlund, but a minor penalty had to do. Calgary got away with a few blown calls and non-reviewed plays, but Philadelphia kept disciplined.
Second Period
When the Philadelphia Flyers fell to the Calgary Flames earlier this season, Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk scored powerplay goals. The road to victory led down the path of special teams.
Tonight, Alain Vigneault rallied his troops to play with discipline. The Flyers dealt with Tkachuk for two periods before his antics caught up with him. Scott Laughton drew a penalty shot due to Tkachuk. Justin Braun stepped to Tkachuk. Eventually, Tkachuk would serve for misconduct.
Misconduct became a theme for the Flames. At the end of the second period, Blake Coleman served a minor for misconduct. These two teams are playing like two alpha defenses attempting to establish dominance. They’ve just hit a stalemate after forty minutes.
Kevin Hayes lit the lamp on what seemed to be a cross-ice pass attempt to Joel Farabee. His goal was the equalizer.
After two periods, the game knotted 1-1.
Third Period
Kevin Hayes returned before the third-period faceoff, which was encouraging to see.
Rasmus Ristolainen and Travis Sanheim were fantastic in the third period. Throughout the neutral zone, Ristolainen made different Calgary Flames forwards pay by taking body checks. Sanheim kept making the sure stick plays in the defensive territory. The combined effort of those two kept interrupting the Flames.
James van Riemsdyk and Johnny Gaudreau nearly took the lead for their team. After regulation expired, overtime hockey was upon us!
Overtime
Defensively, the Philadelphia Flyers didn’t allow the early scoring opportunity by the Calgary Flames in the extra frame. Then, Sean Couturier broke into a 2v1 rush with Cam Atkinson. Couturier put a puck on Jacob Markstrom’s pad, and Atkinson finished.
The Flyers avenge their previous shutout loss with an overtime victory, 2-1.
Up Next
Next up, the Philadelphia Flyers host the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The puck drops at 7 pm from the Wells Fargo Center.
