The Philadelphia Flyers enjoyed a 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night. The Flyers were coming off a 6-3 win Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers. The team has now scored 12 goals their first two games since returning from the break.
Flyers vs Penguins recap
This wasn’t a typical Flyers-Penguins physicality type of game. It lacked momentum, drama, and tension.
The scoring began for Philadelphia when Rasmus Ristolainen connected the feed from Egor Zamula. Matvei Michkov also picked up the secondary assist on the opening goal. Noah Cates picked up his first goal of the game a little over the midway point of the first frame with a strong pass from Bobby Brink. After 20 minutes, the Flyers lead the Penguins 2-0.
The Penguins’ youngest player, Philip Tomasino, was able to score the lone goal for Pittsburgh. Sam Ersson was just out of position, but it was still one of his stronger performances. The Flyers were soon able to regain their two-goal lead with a one-timer from Foerster. It wouldn’t have been possible without the feed from Jamie Drysdale.
For Drysdale, he’s blended in a lot lately, but it was a much-needed assist for the defenseman. Nearing the end of the second frame, there was a lot of chipping by the Penguins’ net as Cates made the contest 4-1. Following Cates’ goal, not even 10 seconds later, Brink got the third goal of the second frame. Philadelphia led the Penguins 5-1 as the final frame approached.
In the final frame, Owen Tippett, six minutes in, was able to get the sixth and final goal for Philadelphia. Flyers fans were chanting, “We want 10!” There were a few scoring opportunities Pittsburgh had that Ersson denied. Overall, there was no return for the Penguins as Philadelphia had all of the momentum with their five-goal lead. Time ran out, and Philadelphia won the contest 6-1.
Following the game, Cates spoke about getting back to scoring, saying, “The break helped. It felt like before the break, I was personally struggling. I took the break personally, and you can see that.”
Another player who had a big game was Ristolainen. Not only did he have the opening goal, but he was strong defensively. He spoke on the team win, “A lot of good individual team efforts. We battled hard, and we outworked them (Penguins).” Ristolainen also stated that the team that scores more goals usually wins, which he even chuckled after saying.
Michkov had another multi-point game and was stern, saying that he prefers to be the one who scores but will set up a play if it’s for the team’s betterment. He also believes there isn’t a point in training if the playoffs aren’t on his mind. This is a very determined Matvei Michkov.
The head coach was impressed with Cates’ line tonight, as they were the dominant line in the contest. He also acknowledged that the break was needed for players like Michkov, who have this new sense of energy. Another player that the head coach liked in the contest was Drysdale. He said that Drysdale wouldn’t survive in this league if he was only a defensive-focused player and that his speed and offensive play are his most valuable assets.
The Flyers face the Penguins this time in Pittsburgh on Thursday night at 7:30.
