In a shootout, the Philadelphia Flyers fell short against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. Before the contest against the Florida Panthers, the Flyers made one lineup change.
Sam Ersson would take his position back in the net, and Ivan Fedotov would back him up. Ersson was out for a week with a lower-body injury but quickly recovered. This came at the right time for Philadelphia as they had to use the Lightnings EBUG to back Fedotov in their last contest, where they defeated Tampa Bay.
As the Flyers didn’t change the lineup, Matvei Michkov was healthy scratched for back-to-back games. This surprised many because Tortorella wanted Michkov to watch the last game, which would help his development. However, now there could be a deeper reason, with this being the second game in a row. While Brad Shaw, Flyers’ assistant head coach, didn’t give much ahead of the contest, making assumptions is unfair. Hopefully, Tortorella can provide a reason for this, but he’s also not obligated to.
Flyers vs Panthers recap
In the first period, Ersson was tested early with a shot that went off the post and a sequence of quick rebound attempts ensued. Despite the starting goalie missing time, he didn’t miss a beat.
The Flyers were the first to get on the board. Bobby Brink had a shot attempt, and while it seemed like Florida’s goalie Sergei Bobrovsky shut down the play, Joel Farabee deflected the puck into the net. The Flyers also looked to perform better on their power play with actually taking shots on goal. While they couldn’t increase the lead, they managed to keep it a 1-0 game heading into the second frame.
Nate Schmidt, who signed a one-year contract with the Panthers, had an incredible and powerful shot and was able to tie the game. While Ersson was tested earlier in the frame, those were mainly shots close to the net. Schmidt’s shot was closer to the neutral zone.
The Panthers continued scoring as Dmitry Kulikov was able to get another puck against Ersson. However, as soon as the puck entered a net, Ersson lifted his glove and disputed the goal. Ersson and the Flyers believed the puck was out of bounds, hit the netting, and should have been blown dead, which would cancel out Kulikov’s goal. However, after review, the call on the ice still stood, and the goal was good. Luckily for Philadelphia, Anthony Richard scored his first goal with the Flyers on a delighted penalty and having an extra skater on the ice.
The party ain’t over yet
Most importantly, the contest was now tied 2-2, which didn’t last long. Carter Verhaeghe had an incredible pass, and Sam Bennett was able to capitalize, giving the Cats a 3-2 lead heading into the final frame. In the third period, the Panthers continued to test Ersson, but he kept it a one-goal game with elite saves.
That all changed around the halfway mark as Garnet Hathaway was able to tie up the contest against Philadelphia. With competitive hockey, the game went into overtime, where Travis Konency had a great chance during the last five seconds to end the contest but was denied by Bobrovsky. This meant the shootout was the way to settle who gets the two points.
The Panthers won, but the good news for Philadelphia is that Owen Tippett scored a goal in the shootout, and Ersson still had an incredible game. Shootouts are not the best way to settle a game, but with this skills-based contest, there isn’t much anyone can do.
Fortunately, Philadelphia is returning from this road trip with three out of six points. Who would have thought that they would end in a shootout in both Florida games without Michkov? After the contest, Tortorella explained he was impressed with defenseman Emil Andrae. Other than this, he explained that this is the standard of hockey that this team should be playing. Philadelphia hosts the San Jose Sharks on Monday before taking on Claude Giroux and the Senators in Ottawa.
Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
