Postgame RAV4: Flyers Burned by Flames

On New Year's Eve, the Philadelphia Flyers suffered a 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Five different Flames players scored one goal apiece. Calgary swept the two-game season series.

Mikael Backlund (10th goal of the season) gave Calgary a 1-0 lead in a low-event first period. The second period was much more eventful, although not in a good way for Philly. Jonathan Huberdeau (8th) and Rasmus Andersson (PPG, 8th) sandwiched goals around a Trevor Konecny tally (13th). Later, Yegor Sharangovich (PPG, 8th) extended the Calgary lead to 4-1.

In the third period, Connor Zary (6th) turned a Flyers' turnover down low into a four-goal lead for Calgary.

Samuel Ersson allowed five goals on 24 shots. For Calgary, Dustin Wolf turned back 25 off 26 shots.

FIRST PERIOD SYNOPSIS

Playing in place of Emil Andrae, Noah Juulsen had the period's lone shot on goal through the first 10 minutes.

At 13:30, amid a transition rush, Backlund took a drop pass from Matt Coronato and scored. The secondary assist went to Blake Coleman.

Play picked up a little bit over the final five minutes. Trevor Zegras wasn't quite able to get his stick on a rebound.

Flyers winger Owen Tippett landed a heavy hit on Yan Kuznetsov. Former Flyers center Morgan Frost won five of six faceoffs in the period. The Flyers blocked seven Calgary shot attempts and the Flames blocked five.

High-danger scoring chances were 3-0 in Calgary's favor.

Shots: Flyers 4 - Flames 3
Faceoffs: Flyers 8 - Flames 11

SECOND PERIOD SYNOPSIS

At 3:02, after Frost won an offensive zone left circle faceoff to Kuznetsov, Mackenzie Weegar passed to Huberdeau. Huberdeau's shot deflected off Jamie Drysdale into the net.

At 4:12, on a delayed Calgary penalty, Seeler fired a center point shot that found the net. The Flyers' Carl Grundstrom attempted to move in front for a screen or deflection. Calgary challenged the play for goaltender interference. The goal was overturned and Kuznetsov went off for tripping. The power play was unsuccessful.

At 7:06, Wolf made his toughest save of the game to that point off a Tippett scoring opportunity.

At 8:49, the Flyers got on the board as Kadri accidentally put a trickling puck over the goal line. The goal was originally waved off but quickly corrected. The assists went to Christian Dvorak and Zegras.

Cam York tripped Joel Farabee at 10:21 At 10:25, Kadri drew a high-sticking penalty on Dvorak to create a lengthy 5-on-3. Andersson hammered a shot through traffic for a 3-1 Calgary lead. The assists went to Connor Zary and Kadri.

An after-the-whistle scrum produced offsetting roughing minors on Seeler and Adam Klapka. Two minutes of 4-on-4 play ensued. Huberdeau very nearly scored his second goal of the period.

Drysdale put the puck over the glass from the defensive zone for a delay of game penalty at 16:13. The puck may have gone off a Calgary stick. Dvorak and Sanheim had a shorthanded chance. At the other end, after the Flyers failed to clear the puck, Sharangovich scored to make it 4-1. The assist went to Matt Coronato at 17:52.

In the waning seconds, Ersson stopped former Flyer winger Farabee on a breakaway. York turned the puck over at the offensive blueline at the start of the sequence.

Shots: Flyers 9 (13 overall) - Flames 11 (14 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 7 (15 overall) - Flames 8 (20 overall)

THIRD PERIOD SYNOPSIS

Through the first 4:39 of the period, shots on goal were 3-0 Calgary. On the next shift, Konecny nearly beat Wolf to the short side.

At 9:37, after a turnover behind the Flyers net, the puck came right out in front to Zary, who scored. Ryan Lomborg had the lone assist.

With 2:36 left in the game, Weegar took an interference penalty just outside the defensive blueline. Dvorak, on his unofficial sixth scoring chance of the game, tipped a puck just wide. The Flyers were unable to score.

Shots: Flyers 13 (26 overall) - Flames 10 (24 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 12 (27 overall) - Flames 8 (28 overall)

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Trevor Zegras - Christian Dvorak - Travis Konecny
Denver Barkey – Sean Couturier – Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Carl Grundstrom – Rodrigo Abols – Nikita Grebenkin

Travis Sanheim - Jamie Drysdale
Cam York – Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler - Noah Juulsen

Dan Vladar
{Samuel Ersson]

Postgame RAV4 (RAV4 Things Revisited)

1. Energy management

Playing their third game in four nights, the Flyers were not sharp physically or mentally for much of the game.

2. Special teams

The Flyers went 0-for-2 on the power play. On the penalty kill, the Flyers went 1-for-3 against Calgary's 32nd-ranked power play. One, however, was a lengthy two-man advantage for the Flames.

3. Follow-up game for Michkov

Coming off arguably his best game of the season, Matvei Michkov was unable to carry positive momentum into Calgary. Overall, in 16:16 of ice time across 19 shifts, Michkov did not attempt a shot on net. He was credited with one takeaway.

4. Ersson in goal

The Flyers' netminder was in a tough situation in this game. He was unable to come up with a couple of needed saves, but the game turned into an uphill climb for everyone in Orange & Black.