Postgame RAV4: Flyers Hold Off Vancouver

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Vancouver Canucks, 3-1, at Rogers Arena on Monday night. The Flyers controlled the first half of the game and then held on narrowly the rest of the way to survive a severe scare.

The Flyers started and finished strong in the first period. Scoring his first goal as a Flyer, Michael Bunting (1st of the season) gave the Flyers an early 1-0 lead. Late in the period, Philly had several excellent scoring chances but remained ahead, 1-0. In between, there was a long low-event stretch. Philly went without a shot on net for nearly a 10-minute stretch before they made their next push.

In the second period, Travis Konecny (PPG, 2nd) built a 2-0 lead off a Matvei Michkov setup. Philadelphia dominated puck possession and lacked nothing for quality looks at the net through 40 minutes. However, they missed the net on 14 shots and had 17 blocked.

The third period saw a quick Flyers goal by Tyson Foerster disallowed on an offside challenge. Vancouver gained a lot of momentum. A Jonathan Lekkerimaki goal (PPG, 7th) cut the gap to 2-1.

Finally, a Travis Sanheim goal (ENG, 2nd) gave Philly some vital insurance.

Joseph Woll stopped 18 of 19 shots to get the victory. Levi Merilainen turned away 14 of 16 shots.

1ST PERIOD

Matvei Michkov created a scoring chance on the game's first shift.

The Flyers worked the puck out of their defensive zone and Christian Dvorak kept taking the puck north in the Vancouver end. The puck went to Bunting, who beat Merilainen low to the glove side at 2:03. Dvorak initially earned the line helper. After the period, Nick Seeler was awarded a secondary assist.

Before a faceoff, Porter Martone jostled Linus Karlsson and received a stick to the face (called roughing) for his trouble at 4:02. Philly went to the game's first power play. The Flyers pressured immediately but Denver Barkey was called for a stick slashing penalty at 5:00.

Oliver Bonk turned over the puck and recovered as he rode his check off the play.

The game's first six shots on net were split evenly; 3-3. Michkov ripped a heavy shot on net as the period passed the halfway mark.

Woll made his best save of the period on Jonathan Lekkerimaki. At the other end, Travis Konecny made a fine play over the middle that became a dangerous scoring chance. His shot missed the net. At 16:24, after Merilainen mishandled a dump in, Noah Cates had a point blank shot. 

Merilainen made a strong save on Martone in the final minute of the period.

Shots: Flyers 9 -- Canucks 4
Faceoffs: Flyers 8 -- Canucks 6

2ND PERIOD
On a delayed holding penalty drawn by Michkov on Elias Pettersson, Cates hit the post and then had a rebound chance. Philly went to their second power play at 1:50. At 3:05, Konecny got open in the slot, Michkov centered it on the backhand from behind the net, and Konecny finished it to the short side. Dvorak earned the second assist for his second point of the game.

The Flyers had a 5-1 edge in shots through 5:30.

Vancouver went to their first power play at 8:06. Owen Tippett went off for tripping. The Flyers killed it off. Tyson Foerster ripped an errant shot at the net with play back to 5-on-5.

Woll denied Brendan Gallagher on a 2-on-1, protecting the two-goal lead with time ticking down to three minutes in the period. Michkov came within a whisker of a redirect goal at the other end.

In the final minute of the period, Barkey made two big plays in the defensive zone.

Shots: Flyers 6 (15 overall) - Canucks 2 (6 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 9 (17 overall) - Canucks 5 (11 overall)

3RD PERIOD

Twenty five seconds into the third period, Konecny and Zegras generated a rush up the ice. Foerster ripped a shot past Merilainen. The Canucks challenged the ruling for an offside entry by Travis Sanheim. Upon review, the goal was overturned.

A Flyers 2-on-1 did not result in a goal. A Sean Couturier shot was blocked by Guillaume Brisebois. At the other end, a Brock Boeser shot attempt was blocked out of play.

Vancouver, for the first time, hemmed the Flyers in their own end on a long shift. Several shot attempts were blocked or went wide. At 4:48, the Canucks finally generated their eighth shot on goal of the game.

The Canucks started to gain momentum. Max Sasson nearly scored on a backhander near the net. Shots were officially 5-0 Vancouver for the period.

At 10:50, Bunting was called for an elbowing minor on Karlsson. He argued vehemently to no avail. Woll made a clean glove save on Jake DeBrusk. Vancouver won a faceoff. Cates failed to clear a puck. Boeser hit the outside of the net.

Finally at 12:44, Lekkerimaki one-timed a Boeser feed into the net on the Canucks' 15th shot of the game. Elias Pettersson drew the other assist.

Vancouver went back to the power play at 13:10 when Konecny swung at the puck. He knocked the stick out of Pettersson's hands and was called for slashing. Lekkerimaki drew iron on a bid for his second power play goal.

The Flyers escaped the penalty. Vancouver continued to press. Philly remained without an official shot for the period (13-0 Canucks).

Woll's mask came loose, and he eventually ripped it off. He was called for a delay of game penalty at 17:11. The Canucks pulled Merilainen for a 6-on-4. Cam York blocked a shot out of play.

Acciari cleared the zone up the boards. Jamie Drysdale blocked a shot. Finally, with 58.3 seconds left, Sanheim scored into the empty net from long distance for a 3-1 lead.

Sanheim's goal was the Flyers' first shot on goal since about six minutes into the second period. Bunting added one final one.

Shots: Flyers 2 (17 overall) - Canucks 13 (19 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 7 (24 overall) - Canucks 13 (24 overall)

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Porter Martone – Noah Cates - Matvei Michkov
Tyson Foerster -- Trevor Zegras – Travis Konecny
Michael Bunting – Christian Dvorak – Owen Tippett
Denver Barkey – Sean Couturier — Noel Acciari

Travis Sanheim – Jamie Drysdale
Cam York – Oliver Bonk
Nick Seeler – David Jiricek

Joseph Woll
[Dan Vladar]

POSTGAME RAV4 (RAV 4 Things Revisited)

1. Rolling the Lines

The Flyers were able to get double-digit ice times for all of their forwards in the second game of the back-to-back. In the third period, however, the Flyers could only focus on escaping with a win. The legs got heavy. With an off day on Tuesday, the Edmonton Oilers lurk the next night.

2.  Special Teams

Philadelphia went 1-for-2 on the power play. They were 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.

3. Travis Konecny

TK cashed in on Michkov's power play feed. He lost a later would-be assist to the offside challenge. He also recorded three hits. Overall, he had a very active game. The slashing minor was a bit of a marginal call.

4.  Woll in Goal

Joseph Woll entered Monday's game with only one victory to his credit for the season. Against Vancouver, he nailed down his second. Woll more than deserved it through the hairy third period.