The Philadelphia Flyers took the ice for Saturday night’s annual holiday spectacular game. Despite the Flyers’ three-game losing streak, the result put the orange and black back in the win column.
Ahead of the contest, it was announced that Flyers captain Sean Couturier would be missing the game for personal reasons. Sam Ersson was also set to get the start on the net.
With the tragic passing of Johnny and Matt Gaudreau this summer and the two men’s connection to South Jersey and Philadelphia, the Flyers organization honored them. Not only did members of the Flyers show up to the contest wearing their jerseys from Gloucester Catholic, but the organization held a beautiful tribute. The entire Gaudreau family participated in the ceremonial first puck drop.
Remembering the Gaudreau Brothers
Blue Jackets forward, but more importantly, best friends with Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, and Scott Laughton, met the family for the puck drop in center ice. Following the contest, John Tortorella, Flyers coach, said that the holiday season can be challenging for families and that the organization made a classy move.
Starting strong
The contest started on the right note for the Flyers. Joel Farabee, Jamie Drysdale, and Matvei Michkov took shots at Columbus’ net, which Elvis Merzlikins saved. However, after two minutes, Morgan Frost was sent to the penalty box for a two-minute interference minor. For Philadelphia, they were able to kill the penalty. The Flyers found themselves with the extra man advantage not too long after, but yet again, the Flyers’ power play couldn’t generate anything.
Columbus bites back
Columbus got on the board first as Mathieu Olivier saw an empty net, which Ersson was out of, and was able to bank the shot home for Columbus to score. The Blue Jackets lead Philadephia 1-0 after 20 minutes.
The second frame was ugly for Philadelphia, as the whole team looked slow and off. Mikael Pyyhtia’s goal for the Blue Jackets was all on Sam Ersson. Ersson went behind the net to retrieve the puck, but with a lousy attempt to clear forced a turnover, and Pyyhtia had an empty net. The Blue Jackets took a 2-0 lead and rattled up Ersson as he looked off after that goal.
One final Flyers push
Morgan Frost started the scoring for Philadelphia nearly seven minutes into the final 20 minutes. Frost slammed the puck into Columbus’ empty net with a solid feed from Owen Tippett. It didn’t take long for Noah Cates to tip the puck in the net to tie up the contest 2-2. Cates was able to tip in the puck from Foerster’s feed.
The Flyers found themselves trailing yet again after Kirill Marchenko scored his 12th goal of the season. Columbus regained the lead 3-2. In response, Morgan Frost scored his second goal off the game with a strong snapshot that got the Flyers back on an even playing field, tying up the contest 3-3.
Jake Christiansen scored his first goal of the season and got the puck past Ersson. As Columbus retook the lead 4-3, Philadelphia pulled Ersson and allowed for the extra attacker on the ice. Konencny took a shot, but with Foerster’s redirect, the Flyers were able to tie up the game for the final time.
With both teams scoring four goals, the contest went overtime to decide the winner. With 90 seconds remaining in overtime, Noah Cates took the puck up the ice with a feed to Owen Tippett, and he scored with a backhander. The Flyers won the contest 5-4 despite playing bad hockey for most of the game: an impressive third period and overtime for the orange and black. The Flyers prepare to take on the Penguins Monday night in Pittsburgh.
Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
