One glaring condition re-emerged in the Philadelphia Flyers’ (36-27-9) loss to the Florida Panthers (46-20-5). The Flyers, regardless of a postseason berth, need to find a proper backup goaltender. Philadelphia dictated the pace throughout the game, but Felix Sandstrom couldn’t make a save.
John Tortorella said Sandstrom needed to learn to make an extra save for the team in moments last season. This time, Tortorella just shrugged. Akin to a former moment in his coaching career, Tortorella feels almost the same about Sandstrom as he did about John Grahame in 2006 when the Tampa Bay Lightning lost game four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals versus the Ottawa Senators. Sandstrom is trying, but allowing three goals on fourteen total shots tells you everything. Tortorella didn’t have to say a word about it.
At the opposite end, Anthony Stolarz made great saves against a Flyers attack that had life in the second and third periods. A tale of goaltending, Stolarz faced a higher volume of shots and made the saves on ones he could control, which Sandstrom failed to do.
“I thought we played really well. [We] couldn’t score. [Their] goalie [Stolarz] played really well.”
John Tortorella; 3/24/2024
The Panthers limped into the Wells Fargo Center without a win to their credit against Philadelphia to deny a season sweep, 4-1.
Cam York began on pace, working to keep possession sustained in the opening minutes. Garnet Hathaway rumbled Josh Mahura into the boards, and that hit created a chippy sensation throughout the rest of the game. Sam Reinhart served a penalty for delaying the game after he sent a puck over the glass and out of play, but the Flyers didn’t convert. Morgan Frost recorded a shot on goal, but the second powerplay unit couldn’t establish control.
Reinhart, on his next shift, put Florida on the scoreboard. Nick Cousins sent a breakout pass to Anton Lundell, beginning a transition through the neutral zone onto the attack. Lundell and Brandon Montour dished back-and-fourth into the offensive zone before Lundell found Reinhart. Reinhart took his shot low and stick side on Sandstrom, 1-0.
Joel Farabee served a penalty for holding, and Travis Sanheim blocked a shot, sending him briefly to the locker room after his penalty kill shift. Adam Ginning and Ronnie Attard nearly misdirected the puck past Sandstrom, but Philadelphia successfully killed the penalty.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Ryan Lomberg served penalties for interference and roughing, respectively. Olle Lycksell, Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett, Frost, and Farabee all were active on those powerplays, but Stolarz denied every opportunity. At the end of the first period, a scrum broke out between the Flyers and the Panthers. Matthew Tkachuk and Bobby Brink received roughing penalties, but York put Florida back on the powerplay to begin the second period.
Vladimir Tarasenko took advantage of the fallout from the first period, scoring on the powerplay. Montour recovered the puck in the neutral zone, then passed to Reinhart on the offensive zone entry. Reinhart located Tarasenko on a cross-ice feed, and he picked his shot on Sandstrom, 2-0. Philadelphia finished 1/2 on the penalty kill.
Stolarz denied Tyson Foerster from in close. Foerster held his shot a moment too long on what should’ve been a quicker release on the receiving end of a pass from Hathaway. Lycksell won a board battle and set Sean Couturier up for a high-danger chance, but the backhand shot hit the crossbar.
Sandstrom saw how busy Stolarz was at the opposite end, then decided to flash his pads. He sprawled to make a pad save at the post, and Scott Laughton had his back to move the puck out of the defensive zone. Between finding ways to pressure Stolarz and Sandstrom making a few saves, Evan Rodrigues serving a slashing penalty should’ve been more of a blow to the Panthers. Instead, Florida protected Stolarz on another penalty kill, only threatened by a shot from Tippett that missed high.
Philadelphia crept back into the game during the second period. Both teams featured the same amount of high-danger chances in the second, but the Flyers found them at a higher rate as the clock reached the second intermission.
Similar to the first period, Philadelphia was buzzing to begin the third. Hathaway, Brink, and Farabee pressured Stolarz, but he held off the Flyers.
Sam Bennett flipped the puck to Carter Verhaeghe for it to be played with a glove. Brilliantly, Verhaeghe handles the puck in stride, blowing past Ginning, and scores on a wrist shot. Sandstrom seemingly got most of the puck with his glove, but the puck found the back of the net, 3-0.
Konecny had a look at a mostly open net but fumbled the opportunity to break the shutout bid from Stolarz. The upper half of the net was open, and it seemed like Konecny wanted to lift the puck, but his shot was disrupted. It was the icing on the cake of a frustrating evening.
Niko Mikkola served a slashing penalty, and the undisciplined play would finally catch up with the Panthers. Tortorella saw his chance to pull Sandstrom, creating a six-on-four attack.
Brink put an end to the shutout bid. Egor Zamula, at the blue line, changed his shot to a pass down low to Ryan Poehling. Poehling crossed the puck to Brink, who finished the quick stick shot attempt. Officially, Philadelphia was on the scoreboard, 3-1, and finished 1/5 on the powerplay.
Later, Reinhart added an empty-net goal, 4-1. Florida avoided the season sweep against the Flyers for 2023-2024.
Up Next
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers visit the New York Rangers on Tuesday at 7pm.
(AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
