The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Boston Bruins, 6-3, at TD Garden on Thursday. The Flyers are 2-8-2 in their last 12 games.
In the first period, closely spaced mid period goals by Viktor Arvidsson (13th of the season) and Pavel Zacha (15th) gave Boston a 2-0 lead. A would-be Christian Dvorak tally was disallowed on a goaltender interference challenge. Scoring chances in the period favored Boston, 12-5 (6-2 high danger).
Early in the second period, Fraser Minten (14th) opened a 3-0 lead. Less than a minute later, however, Travis Konecny (21st) got the Flyers on the board. Recording his third point of the game, Casey Mittelstadt (11th) restored a three-goal lead late in the period. Shortly thereafter, a Tanner Jeannot deflection (6th) made it 5-1. Nikita Grebenkin (4th) potted a Konecny rebound to send the game to the second intermission at 5-2.
Marat Khusnutdinov tacked on an empty net (12th) goal in the latter stages of the third period. Matvei Michkov (PPG, 13th) scored with 1:41 remaining.
Samuel Ersson (15 saves on 20 shots) played the first two periods. Dan Vladar relieved him for the third period, stopping all six shots he faced. Jeremy Swayman made 33 saves to earn the win.
The Flyers went 1-for-3 on the power play. They were 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
FIRST PERIOD SYNOPSIS
Khusnutdinov had a scoring chance on the game's first shift. Two shifts later, Ersson knocked away a Sean Kuraly shot and then did it again on an attempted back door play.
Denver Barkey tripped Jonathan Aspirot in the defensive corner for a minor penalty at 4:54. Ersson stopped a Fraser Minten shot on Boston's lone shot on goal. At 6:54, as Barkey exited the penalty box, shots on goal were 5-2 Boston.
Arvidsson scored his 4th goal in the last eight games. He found soft ice and with Denver Barkey caught puck watching, received a pass from Casey Middelstadt and scored. The second assist went to Minten at 9:49.
Less than a minute later, at the 10:30 mark, Boston expanded the lead to two goals. The Flyers' coverage broke down as Zacha got open between the circles, transferred the puck from backhand to forehand and scored high to the short side. The assists went to Morgan Geekie and Aspirot.
The Flyers' fourth line generated the team's best shift of the period, generating a heavy forecheck. At 12:03, Philadelphia scored an apparent goal.
Dvorak collected a Boston turnover in the neutral zone, starting a 2-on-1 rush with Nikita Grebenkin. Swayman made the initial save and Dvorak sent the rebound between the pads.
Boston challenged the goal for goalie interference by Grebenkin. The goal came off the board.
At 18:31, the Flyers went on their first power play. Hampus Lindholm grabbed hold of Grebenkin as the Russian rookie attacked the net. On the ensuing 5-on-4, Tippett fired a shot off Swayman's glove. The Flyers took 31 seconds of carryover power play time into the second period.
Shots: Flyers 9 - Bruins 10
Faceoffs: Flyers 11 - Bruins 8
SECOND PERIOD SYNOPSIS
The remainder of the Lindholm penalty expired. With play back at 5-on-5, a Trevor Zegras shot nearly trickled past Swayman.
Boston scored their third goal at the 2:27 mark as Minten scored through the five-hole after a 3-on-2 entry. The lone assist went to Mittelstadt.
Forty-nine seconds after play resumed, Konecny reduced the deficit to 3-1. Grebenkin's work in the trenches was crucial to the goal at 3:16 but the lone assist went to Christian Dvorak. Sean Kuraly turned the puck over to Konecny.
