The Philadelphia Flyers found no tricks and all treats in their 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Philadelhia was heading into this contest with a testy 2-0 victory over the Boston Bruins. With the Mom’s of players returning to support them for the second consecutive game, Philly was able to pull out a big win over the Blues.
With Sam Ersson getting the start after one of the best performances of his career in Boston, he dominated the net yet again.
Flyers off to a strong start
In the first frame, both teams went back and forth. While it seemed like St. Louis was drawing pressure, the momentum shifted once Ryan Poehling had an incredible feed to Garnet Hathaway, who could get the puck behind the Blues’ netminder Jordan Binnington. There was a visible celebration on the ice between the two players as this was Hathaway’s first of the season.
While the Flyers scoring was a good sign, a bit of concern was felt when Nick Seeler blocked former Flyer Brayden Schenn’s shot. It took Seeler some time to recuperate, but as he was skating to the bench, there was a loud cheer from the Flyers faithful as he continued to do what he did best. Philadelphia finished the first frame with a 1-0 lead and the momentum of their side.
The middle chapter offered no surprises
The second frame was uncinematic hockey. The Blues had enormous turnovers that the Flyers couldn’t capitalize on. While the ice looked choppy, there is no excuse for the number of opportunities Philadelphia had. One of the closer moments was Morgan Frost’s rebound attempt, which Binnington denied. Other than that, the action on the ice was dull. The Flyers did have opportunities to increase their lead but needed help finding their way to the Blues’ net.
A late burst of energy
The final frame was dull at first, but around the midway point, St. Louis’ Nathan Walker scored his first goal of the season, tying the game. However, it did not take the Flyers long to regain the lead as Bobby Brink scored. This was Brink’s second goal of the season, and he’s also been dealt in and out of the lineup recently. Philadelphia had a 2-1 lead which became a victory despite the effort the Blues put in up until the final seconds.
Postgame reactions
After the game, Poehling stated that the team played well but still needed to up to their standards. He anlso acknowledged the celebration between him and Hathaway and how special that moment was.
Brink shared how good it felt to get a puck behind the net and wants to continue that in the next game.
Ersson was pleased with the defensive help in front of the net in the contest and feels even more confident after back-to-back stellar performances. Ersson had 20 saves. He played five full periods of shutout hockey across the two games. While in the other locker room, Kyrou stated that he needed to score more, and that was all there was to it. While he was one of the few Blues players with the most opportunities, he couldn’t execute on.
All in all, Philadelphia outplayed a team that, on paper, has more talent than them, which is a testament to the coaching bench boss John Tortorella installed. Philadelphia hosts the Boston Bruins on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
