Postgame 5: Flyers Defeat Chicago, 3-1

The Philadelphia Flyers dispatched the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-1, at United Center on Wednesday evening. The Flyers took control of the game in the second period and then closed it out over the final 20 minutes.

With the win, the Flyers earned their 30th victory of the season (30-20-7). The Blackhawks dropped to 15-39-5 overall.

Philly controlled most of the territorial play in the first period, but flirted with danger in allowing several counterattacks with speed through the neutral zone. The teams traded off one goal apiece despite a heavy shot and scoring chance advantage for the Flyers.

The Flyers grabbed a 1-0 lead at 5:18 of the first period. On a partial line change, Joel Farabee won a puck battle. The puck went off a defender and bounced over to Scott Laughton, who passed back to Travis Sanheim (6th goal of the season). The puck was heading wide of the net but redirected off Alex Vlasic and into the net past Arvid Söderblom. The assists went to Laughton and Farabee.

Chicago got the goal back 1:17 later at 7:35 on a transition rush. Sean Couturier and Cam York bumped into each other near the offensive blueline. Joey Anderson connected on a stretch pass to Colin Blackwell. Blackwell (4th goal of the season) then beat Samuel Ersson over the glove. The lone assist went to Anderson.

The Flyers played a better second period from a 200-foot, attention to detail standpoint than the opening stanza. They continued to control the territorial play and got rewarded with two goals.

At the end of a shift, Travis Konecny (27th of the season) rushed the puck down the ice in transition and fired a nice shot from the left circle inside the far post at 3:15 of the second period. The goal was unassisted.

Söderblom was eaten up by a high slot shot by Noah Cates. Garnet Hathaway (6th goal of the season) knocked home the rebound from the doorstep for a 3-1 lead at 11:55. The assists went to Cates and Ryan Poehling.

The Flyers didn't generate much offense in the third period -- they also didn't give up much until the final five minutes -- but staged a workmanlike closeout. At one stretch there was five-and-half minutes of whistle-free hockey with no high-quality scoring chances allowed.

Ersson stopped 22 of 23 shots to earn the victory.  Countryman Söderblom made 30 saves on 33 shots in a losing cause. 

The Flyers did not receive any power play opportunities in this game. Philly was 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

74 Owen Tippett - 14 Sean Couturier - 89 Cam Atkinson
86 Joel Farabee - 48 Morgan Frost - 11 Travis Konecny
27 Noah Cates - 25 Ryan Poehling - 19 Garnet Hathaway
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 21 Scott Laughton - (rotation)

18 Marc Staal - 6 Travis Sanheim
24 Nick Seeler - 26 Sean Walker
8 Cam York - 9 Jamie Drysdale
5 Egor Zamula

33 Samuel Ersson
[40 Cal Petersen]

TURNING POINT

The Flyers stepped up their collective game in most of the second period after the game was tied headed into the frame. The Konecny goal put the Flyers in the driver’s seat, but don't overlook the saves Ersson made on the too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty kill. Chicago could easily have tied the game and altered the momentum

POSTGAME 5

1) The Flyers won the opening faceoff. The game's first shot came from Farabee above the dot in the left circle off a feed from Frost at the 46-second mark of the first period. Ersson stopped a point shot from Jaycob Megna through traffic at 2:21. Philly generated four of the first period's first five shots on net through four minutes.

At 4:59, Ersson moved laterally to rob Taylor Raddysh with the glove off a 2-on-1 rush with Tyler Johnson. Johnson's pass was right on the tape, and Ersson made a great reaction save.

Philly took a 1-0 lead on Sanheim's friendly bounce goal at 5:18. Shortly after that, the Flyers gave up odd-man rushes on back-to-back shifts. Blackwell scored at 7:35. Johnson was stopped on a breakaway at 8:03.

Zamula tripped Bedard In the Flyers' defensive zone at 9:02. The Flyers killed it off without allowing a shot on goal. Poehling and Seeler blocked attempted shots.

2) First period shots on goal were 16-7 Flyers. Shot attempts were 38-15 Flyers. Scoring chances were 13-8 Flyers. High-danger scoring chances were 6-3 Flyers. Faceoffs were 11-10 Chicago.

3)  For the second straight period, the Flyers won the opening faceoff and spent the first shift in Chicago's end zone.  At the 2:00 mark, Poehling was denied on a wraparound. 

Right before Konecny scored at 3:15, the Blackhawks had a 2-on-1 opportunity. Sanheim broke it up. At 5:40, Seth Jones fired Chicago's first shot on goal of the period.

The Flyers were caught with too many men on the ice at 7:05.  At the 51-second mark of the power play, Ersson stopped a Phillip Kurashev one-timer from the right circle.  Shortly thereafter, he denied Johnson from the doorstep.

Blackwell made a goal-saving shot block on Couturier near the midpoint of the period. The Blackhawks benefitted from a questionable icing call at 10:59. Fararee seemed to have beaten it out. 

Hathaway's rebound goal at 11:55 opened a 3-1 lead for the Flyers. Philly iced the puck at 13:36. Chicago won the ensuing faceoff and pressured in the Flyers' zone. Ersson stopped shots by Jones and Kurashev.

After a center pass to Frost in the low slot, Söderblom scrambled back just in time to stop Frost from 15 feet at 17:13. That's a scoring chance Frost would want back, although it wasn't an easy turn-and-shoot play to make. It gave Söderblom just enough time to get back to his crease.

4) Second period shots on goal were 14-8 Flyers (30-15 Flyers overall). Shot attempts were 23-16 Flyers (61-31 Flyers overall). Scoring chances were once again 14-8 Flyers (28-16 Flyers overall). High-danger scoring chances were 6-2 Flyers (12-5 overall, four for Frost according to Natural Stat Trick). Faceoffs were 11-8 Flyers (21-18 Flyers overall, led by Couturier at 6-for-9)

5)  As with the first two periods, the Flyers won the opening shift of the third period. Ten seconds into the frame, after stealing the puck from the goalie behind the Chicago net, Frost made a centering feed to Konecny in the low slot. Söderblom made the save on the short-side attempt. At the 28-second mark, Farabee was tripped in the neutral zone. There was no call.

Seeler dropped the gloves and fought Reese Johnson at 2:51. Seeler landed a couple of early shots.  At 4:29, Farabee took a high-stick to the face (no call) from Issac Phillips. An after-the-whistle scrum ensued but calmed down before any penalties were called.

Third period shots on goal were 8-3 Chicago (33-23 Flyers overall). Shot attempts were 19-6 Blackhawks (66-43 Flyes overall). Scoring chances were 10-2 Blackhawks per Natural Stat Trick (30-23 Flyers overall). High-danger scoring chances were 6-1 Chicago with Philly's lone Grade A chance being Konecny's in the first 10 seconds  (13-9 Flyersoverall). Faceoffs were 7-4 Chicago (tied at 25-25 overall). The Flyers blocked 26 shot attempts including a half-dozen blocks by Walker and four by Seeler.

Hathaway blocked a shot with 8:10 left in regulation during a five-and-a-half minute stretch of whistle-free play. At 13:01, Poehling took the puck away from a defender near the Chicago blueline. Chicago's Kurashev had a good scoring chance from the right circle at 14:22.

Chicago pulled Söderblomg for a 6-on-5 with 1:51 left in regulation. Laughton hit the post on an empty-net attempt after a Koneny blocked shot.