Flyers defeat Red Wings following NHL Trade Deadline

The Philadelphia Flyers secured a victory versus the Detroit Red Wings, representing the lone positive in the first week of March 2023.

Flyers season ticket holders booed Chuck Fletcher at the Xfinity Live! It all culminated following another flop after Fletcher stated the team was ‘selling’ at the deadline but yielded a return of a 2023 sixth-round pick, a 2024 fifth-round pick, ‘future considerations,’ and Brendan Lemieux.

Ironically, Philadelphia played host to the Red Wings. Fletcher tried trading James van Riemsdyk with a little less than an hour and a half remaining before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, but Steve Yzerman froze that offer. After 3pm on Friday, Fletcher cited he didn’t receive other offers for van Riemsdyk.

Both teams were carrying losing streaks heading into the opening faceoff last night. The Flyers were losers of four straight games, most recently including a hostile takeover by the New York Rangers and their fans at the Wells Fargo Center. Detroit was on a five-game losing streak, hammered on the road by the New York Islanders. Did Philadelphia get back into the win column, or did a miserable week keep its stance?

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Detroit Red Wings

Both teams were testing goaltenders in the opening minutes of the first period. Owen Tippett and Joel Farabee were turned away by Ville Husso. Farabee did many things correctly to get into the offensive zone, but he couldn’t beat Husso. David Perron did break the ice, scoring his second goal in twenty games from the slot; 1-0.

The Philadelphia Flyers aren’t playing for much in 2022-2023, which should allow the forwards to play more freely. Farabee is close to scoring a critical goal to boost his confidence, but seeing him struggle is frustrating.

Nicolas Deslauriers and Noah Cates struck in the second period. First, Deslauriers escaped through the neutral zone on a shorthanded breakaway, beating Husso to tie the game 1-1. Then, Nick Seeler rifled a shot on goal from the blue line, deflected by Cates for the eventual game-winner; 2-1. The Flyers played the Detroit Red Wings twice this season, and Cates has both game-winning goals. Philadelphia possessed the puck a lot more in the second period, propelling into a lead on the scoreboard.

“The biggest thing with these games is managing he blue line, the board battles, little things; not hurting yourself. When we’re playing well, we’re not hurting ourselves.”
Noah Cates; 3/5/2023

Dylan Larkin tried to tie the game in the third period on the powerplay, but Carter Hart improved after allowing a goal in the first. He snagged a one-timer with his glove, denying Larkin. Cates denied Larkin with a poke check. If Cates hadn’t made the poke in time, Larkin would’ve had a wide-open net to tie the game. Eventually, Husso skated to the bench to give the Red Wings a 6v5 advantage, but Scott Laughton scored an empty-net goal in his 500th game; 3-1.

The Flyers were victorious in their first game at home following the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline.

Joel Farabee

He was comfortable with the puck on his stick, but couldn’t score. It’s frustrating, but everything he did to get in position for a scoring chance was encouraging.

“He could’ve had two or three, that’s the first step. He’s involved in the offense; you noticed him tonight. Hopefully he’ll keep on going from there.”
John Tortorella; 3/5/2023

A season ago, Farabee was fourth on the team in goals scored. He trailed names like van Riemsdyk, Cam Atkinson, and Claude Giroux. In 2022-2023, he’s yet to hit double-digits in 63 games. In June 2022, Farabee underwent neck surgery, which effected his training camp before the season began.

Power Kill (+)

Deslauriers scored on the penalty kill. He jumped the opportunity to break loose with the puck toward Husso for a clean scoring chance, and the rest is history.

In addition to Deslauriers, Tortorella cited he wants to continue working Tippett, Lemieux, and Tanner Laczynski on the penalty kill:

“Tip and Laz; I’m going to use Brendan there a little bit. It’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve as far as how we kill. That’s been a struggle of ours, and we’ve had to struggle for the past little while, the past ten or twelve games. We don’t pick enough spots to be aggressive; we’re sitting in on that blocking mentality of our penalty kill.”
John Tortorella; 3/5/2023