The Philadelphia Flyers retook the road after a five-game homestand. The Nashville Predators have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NHL this season despite a combination of big signings such as Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei. Throughout 23 games, Nashville has only been able to find seven wins. However, the Flyers were only doing slightly better heading into the contest.
Lineup
For Philadelphia, Aleksei Kolosov got the start on the net. Egor Zamula was scratched for his third game.
Forwards:
Farabee-Couturier-Konecny
Tippett-Frost-Michkov
Foerster-Cates-Brink
Laughton-Poehling-Hathaway
Defense:
York-Sanheim
Andrae-Ristolainen
Seeler-Grans
Flyers vs Predators game recap
The Flyers attacked immediately to start the game, giving Nashville’s goalie, Juuse Saros, some early work. However, with that came negatives, and the Flyers played some sloppy hockey. For this reason, the Flyers and Predators played four-on-four hockey, and Nashville’s Roman Josi gave the Predators a 1-0 lead. Josi’s goal was a classic wrap-around, which Kolosov couldn’t have stopped.
Nearing the midway point of the first frame, Scott Laughton had a solid wrist shot, equalizing the game at one apiece. This was Laughton’s third goal of the season, which couldn’t have come at a better time for him to start producing again. Near the final frame’s end, Ryan O’Reilly had a heavy slapshot that got past Kolosov. The Predators regained the lead 2-1.
The second frame was a lot of back-and-forth. While both teams didn’t score, there was still a lot of excitement on the ice. A minute in, Matvei, Michkov found himself in the penalty box for roughing against Alexandre Carrier. Lately, Michkov has shown a more “aggressive” side to himself on the ice. The second period was defensively substantial for Philadelphia, but players like Owen Tippett had plenty of chances and couldn’t find the back of the net.
However, the real excitement of the game began nearing the end of the final frame. Like the second frame, these final 20 minutes were a lot of back-and-forth hockey. The intensity of the final minute was electrifying. The Flyers had the extra-man advantage with an empty net, and Morgan Frost could score for Philadelphia with 11 seconds remaining in the period. The game was now tied at two apiece; more importantly, Morgan Frost had now scored in two consecutive games. This was a step in the right direction after he voiced his frustrations after the game against Chicago.
In overtime, Travis Konency fed the puck to Sean Couturier, who tipped it in and scored the game-winning goal. The Flyers won the contest 3-2. It was as much of a miracle as a game can get for Philadelphia. The team being able to tie up the contest with 11 seconds remaining of regulation and the captain scoring only a little over two minutes into overtime was unique for this team. Kolosov stopped 25 out of 27 SOG, and bench boss John Tortorella, who usually doesn’t talk about goalie, stated, When there were breakdowns, I thought Koly made some big saves.”
With the win on the road, the Flyers return to home ice for their annual Black Friday game against the New York Rangers. The puck drops at 1 p.m.
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
