The Philadelphia Flyers are finally back in the win column after a thrilling shootout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. This brings the team to 11 points after a month of hockey. The Flyers, who were in last place, are now 27th in the league. However, there are a lot of struggling teams that are all within two points of each other.
Pre-game chaos
Heading into the contest, bench boss John Tortorella said that Matvei Michkov has been healthy scratched. While this news might be shocking to the average Flyers fan, it doesn’t come as a surprise. Tortorella has made it clear that he treats all players equally despite their status. Last season, not even a week after being named captain, Tortorella benched Sean Couturier. The former Lightning coach said ahead of the game, “They (young guys) can watch games too as far as development is concerned. So it’s trying to help him.” While Michkov was the rookie of the month for October and a vital part of Philadelphia’s offense, he did find himself struggling five-on-five.
Another missing link was Aleksei Kolosov, who appeared to get hurt during the morning skate. With an already injured Sam Ersson, the Flyers had to go with Ivan Fedotov, who struggled in all appearances up to this point.
Flyers vs Lightning recap
Philadelphia also signed Kyle Konin to a one-day amateur contract. Konin is used as the EBUG for the Lightning. The 26-year-old has been in similar situations for teams such as Tampa Bay and the St. Louis Blues. Signing Konin to a one-day contract allowed him to back up Fedotov. It gave the team more flexibility by having him in warmups, allowing him to be dressed, sitting on the bench, and having him in the game without injuring the healthy goalie. If the team used an EBUG, that player would not be allowed on the bench and could only dress if the team needed him due to the starting goalie getting injured.
The Flyers and Lightning battled it out in the first frame. The Lightning did have more position; however, Philadelphia did a good job defensively clearing the puck out of their zone. It wasn’t until the final minute that Tampa Bay’s star Nikita Kucherov scored the Lightning’s only goal of the game. Kucherov’s goal was beautifully executed, as he could wrap the puck around the net without Fedotov seeing where he was.
Both teams remained scoreless in the second frame, but Fedotov made some vital saves against a robust Tampa Bay team. The pace of the game felt more equal as the Flyers were able to make solid contact offensively. It wasn’t until the final frame that the action picked up.
With time running out and there being less than five minutes of regulation hockey, Owen Tippett would get the puck from Travis Konecny, skate down the entirety of the offensive zone, and get the puck in with a backhander. The Flyers were able to bring this game to extra minutes.
While nothing happened in overtime, it was the dreaded shootout that would determine the game’s winner. Luckily, Fedotov could stop all of Tampa’s attempts, and with Konecny and Tippett scoring, Philadelphia found victory.
impressive performance made him the night’s first star, as he had 22 saves and only let one in. This was also Fedotov’s first NHL career win. The Russian player shared his excitement after the contest, and was emotional talking about what it meant for him. With his incredible performance, the organization can regain trust in him and potentially have him in a rotation, with Kolosov backing up Ersson once he’s back.
With all that went wrong before the game and the odds against Philadelphia, they were able to pull off a massive win. The Flyers end their southern road trip in Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday as they take on the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
