The Philadelphia Flyers lost a low-event game to the Winnipeg Jets, 5-2, at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday evening. Neither team created or gave up much but the Jets played from ahead most of the night.
Ultimately, the difference was a couple mistakes by Flyers rookies plus one stoppable (but not easy) Winnipeg shot that went for a low-glove goal.
Vladislav Namestnikov (1st) got the Jets on the board first early in the opening period. In the middle frame, Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele (4th) and Morgan Barron (3rd), sandwiched goals around an Owen Tippett tally (2nd).
In the third period, Scheifele scored again (PPG, 5th) to open a three-goal edge for the Jets. Matvei Michkov (1st) drew the Flyers back within two goals before Tanner Pearson (ENG, 2nd) iced the game with an empty net goal.
Samuel Ersson saw 14 shots, stopping 10. Connor Hellebuyck made 15 saves on 17 shots.
The Flyers went 0-for-3 on the power play. They were 0-for-1 on the penalty kill.
First period synopsis
This was not an inspiring period from either team. However, the Flyers got out of it down one goal.
The Flyers generated a great chance down low at 1:56. Christian Dvorak wasn't able to elevate the puck in close against Hellebuyck.
Winnipeg's 3rd line scored against the Flyers' 4th line at 5:45. The sequence started with a Jett Luchanko turnover. Center Namestnikov found himself wide open near the post to Ersson's right. Claiming a rebound via Nino Niederreiter, Namestnikov had a slam dunk. Gustav Nyquist earned the second assist.
Shots were 4-2 Winnipeg through 15 minutes. The Flyers did a good job in particular of checking the Scheifele line. However, Philly couldn't get much attack of their own generated.
SHOTS: Flyers 3 - Jets 5
FACEOFFS: Flyers 9 - Jets 9
Notable:
* Making his return from Injured Reserve, Cam York skated 7:47 over 13 shifts (identical to partner Travis Sanheim).
* Sanheim blocked a pair of Winnipeg shot attempts.
* Noah Cates won four of five faceoffs.
*In the close checking period, the Flyers attempted just nine shots (three that were blocked, three that missed the net).
Second period synopsis
The middle frame was the Flyers' best of the game. However, they finished the frame down by more than when they entered.
The Flyers came out with a little more pressure. They also escaped a Winnipeg 2-on-1.
At 3:28, Philly went to the game's first power play. Dylan DeMelo went to the box for holding. Hellebuyck made two saves, including a tough stop on Konecny from the slot.
Sanheim cleared a puck around the boards that hopped over Nikita Grebenkin's stick and got held at the point. Gabe Vilardi passed across to Mark Scheifele. Skating downhill, Scheifele wristed a shot home low to the glove side for a 2-0 lead at 7:01. Vilardi drew the lone assist. The tally came on the Jets' seventh shot of the game.
Luchanko had two turnovers, but then made a good outlet pass that led to a Garnet Hathaway scoring chance at 10:16. It was the Flyers' eighth shot of the period.
The Flyers went back to the power play at 12:38. Jonathan Toews grabbed hold of Michkov. The Flyers showed some strong puck movement but were still unable to get a puck past reigning Vezina Trophy and Hart Trophy winner Hellebuyck.
Philly continued the pressure at 5-on-5. Finally, they broke through at 16:22. Tippett carried the puck into the offensive zone and fired a shot over Helleybuyck's glove to draw within 2-1. The assists went to Trevor Zegras and Travis Sanheim.
At 17:43, the Jets got the goal back. A Morgan Barron shot went off Adam Ginning's skate, pinballed off Noah Cates' backside and went into the net for a 3-1 lead just nine shots. The sole assist went to Kyle Connor.
SHOTS: Flyers 12 (15 overall) - Jets 5 (10 overall)
FACEOFFS: Flyers 9 (18 overall) - Jets 8 (17 overall)
Notable:
* The Flyers had they best period of the game from an overall process standpoint but ended up further behind on the scoreboard. Hellebuyck was the biggest difference in this frame.
* The second Winnipeg goal of the period was sheer bad puck luck. However, there was a failed clearing opportunity beforehand.
Third period synopsis
Neither team had a shot on goal through the first five minutes of the third period. Hathaway blocked a middle slot shot six-plus minutes into the period.
It took nine-plus minutes for either team (Winnipeg) to put a shot on net. At 9:16 Trevor Zegras took an interference penalty. At 9:40, the Jets turned the power play into a 4-1 lead on 15 shots. Scheifele took a cross-seam pass from Connor and wired home his second goal of the game. Alex Iafallo got the secondary assist.
Toews took an interference minor on Nick Seeler in the Jets' defensive zone at 10:38. The Flyers generated no meaningful pressure and remained without a shot on net for the period.
On a delayed Winnipeg penalty, the Flyers scored on their first shot on net of the period. From the right dot, Michkov fired home the puck at 17:39. The assists went to Noah Juulsen and Sean Couturier.
The Flyers pulled Ersson for a 6-on-5 attack. Pearson scored an unassisted goal from the red line for a 5-2 final at 18:47.
SHOTS: Flyers 2 (17 overall) - Jets 4 (14 overall)
FACEOFFS: Flyers 6 (24 overall) - Jets 4 (21 overall)
Notable:
* This period was a little bit like the first: low event. The Flyers really needed to generate a bit more while chasing the game.
* Philly needed a kill on their lone penalty of the game. It didn't happen.
Flyers Starting Lineup
Travis Konecny – Sean Couturier – Matvei Michkov
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak– Owen TIppett
Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Nikita Grebenkin – Jett Luchanko – Garnet Hathaway
Cam York– Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Adam Ginning – Noah Juulsen
Samuel Ersson
[Dan Vladar]
PP1: Drysdale, Tippett, Couturier, Konecny. Mickkov
PP2: Sanheim. Foerster, Cates, Brink, Zegras
Scratches: Rodrigo Abols (healthy), Nicolas Deslauriers (healthy), Egor Zamula (healthy)
Postgame RAV4 (RAV4 Things Revisited)
1. Discipline and special teams.
The Flyers took 15 minor penalties through the first four games of the season. On Thursday against Winnipeg, they only took one penalty, so that was a step forward. The Jets cashed in their lone power play.
2. Game management.
The Flyers were rather sloppy in the first period but the game remained manageable. The process was better in the second period but the result wasn't there. The Flyers needed a real push in the third period but weren't able to muster much.
3. Captain Coots.
Couturier entered Thursday's game coming off a four-point outburst (two goals, two assists) against the Florida Panthers on Monday. Against Winnipeg, He played okay in 19:51 against the Jets. He did chip in an assist.
4. Breakout game for Michkov?
The 20-year-old Russian winger struggled in the first three games of the season. He doubled down on his practice work over the course of this week. On Thursday, he scored the third period delayed penalty goal. Hopefully, that's something he can build from in upcoming games.
