Postgame RAV4: Flyers Prevail in Goalie Duel with Boston

Playing in front of a sellout crowd, the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins, 3-1, at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday afternoon. Outstanding performances by goalie Dan Vladar and winger Travis Konecny led the way.

The first period was scoreless. Philly knocked on the door multiple times but had 11 shots blocked. At the other end of the ice, the Flyers blocked seven shot attempts by Boston.

Boston dominated the second period, but stellar goaltending kept them at bay. The Flyers had a handful of fine scoring chances, too, but had another half-dozen shot attempts blocked.

Early in the third period, Boston had a potential goal disallowed for goaltender interference. The Christian Dvorak line then stepped up to break the scoreless deadline. First, Dvorak set up Travis Konecny (23rd goal of the season) for a 1-0 lead. Later, Konecny created a chance that Jamie Drysdale (6th) doubled the lead for Philadelphia.

Boston narrowed the deficit to 2-1 on a redirect by Charlie McAvoy (5th). Finally, Sean Couturier (ENG, 6th) iced the victory.

Dan Vladar was nothing short of phenomenal, especially in the second period. He carried a shutout bid for 53 minutes, finishing with 26 saves on 27 shots. Charlie Swayman (14 saves on 16 shots) excelled early but saw few shots until the Flyers went ahead in the third period. 

The Flyers went 0-for-3 on the power play. They were 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

FIRST PERIOD SYNOPSIS

Trevor Zegras and Owen Tippett both made good offensive plays during the game's first two shifts.

Nikita Zadorov tripped Sean Couturier at 2:08. The Flyers went to the game's first power play. Bobby Brink had a pair of excellent scoring chances. Swayman made two outstanding saves, including one off the handle of his stick.

Vladar made back-to-back tough saves on Michael Eyssimont before a television timeout at 7:24. Shots on goal at this point were officially 3-3.

At 8:32, Nicolas Deslauriers marked his return to the Flyers' lineup by dropping the gloves with Tanner Jeannot. On the next shift, Matvei Michkov created a stellar chance for Christian Dvorak, Swayman made another great save.

The Flyers went back to the power play at 11:11 on a holding minor by Mason Lohrei. Again, Philly was unable to capitalize.

At 19:44, Lohrei cut to the hash marks, and was tripped by Couturier. The Bruins took 1:44 of power play time into the second period.

Shots: Flyers 7 - Bruins 6
Faceoffs: Flyers 7 - Bruins 14

SECOND PERIOD SYNOPSIS

The Flyers killed off the carryover penalty. With play back at even strength, an Emil Andrae turnover created some nervous moments.

The Flyers generated a scramble near the Boston net but were unable to get a shot on goal. Two shifts later, Vladar robbed Morgan Geekie with his right pad. Shortly thereafter, Vladar took a shot off his collarbone area but hung on for a stoppage at 6:14. Shots on goal were officially 3-0 Boston.

Vladar robbed Geekie for a second time. At the other end Travis Konecny was stopped on a wraparound, but Swayman made a highlight reel glove save on Dvorak.

Deslauriers broke his stick in a battle with Charlie McAvoy. At 11:30, Deslauriers went back to the penalty box (unsportsmanlike conduct). Dating back from before the Olympic break, the Flyers staged their 15th straight successful penalty kill.

Sean Kuraly hustled up a breakaway opportunity. Vladar made yet another vital save to keep the game scoreless.

The Flyers tempted fate by taking another penalty: this time a Cam York tripping penalty along the boards at 15:36.Vladar came up huge once again by stoning Geekie on a rebound in the slot. Later, Vladar took away what looked like a sure goal for Hampus Lindholm.

Shots: Flyers 3 (10 overall) - Bruins 16 (22 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 8 (15 overall) - Bruins 8 (22 overall)

THIRD PERIOD SYNOPSIS

A would-be Boston goal by Lindholm was disallowed for goaltender interference by Eyssimont as Vladar attempted a glove save. The Bruins did not challenge.

The Flyers grabbed a 1-0 lead at 3:40. Dvorak got a lucky bounce off a dump-in. Receiving a pass from Dvorak, Konecny finished it off. Jamie Drysdale earned the secondary assist.

Noah Cates made a good read in the defensive zone and started a counterattack. Bobby Brink lost the handle with the Flyers applying pressure.

The Flyers tightened their checking again as the period neared the midpoint. Through 10:30, shots were 4-2 Flyers.

The Flyers extended the lead at 11:55. Konecny moved east to west and patiently waited for an open man. Drysdale got open and scored his third goal in his last five games. Dvorak got the second assist.

Boston narrowed the gap to 2-1 at 13:03. McAvoy redirected a shot pass from Lindholm over Vladar's glove. The second assist went to Pavel Zacha.

Konecny had a breakaway chance for his second goal of the game. With 5:34 left on the clock. Swayman made the save and held for a stoppage. 

Drysdale showed a quick defensive stick to deny a potential scoring chance for Zacha. 

The Bruins pulled Swayman for a 5-on-4 attack. Scoring his first goal in 32 games, Couturier found the empty net at 19:05. Cates got the play started by pulling the puck off the defensive wall and sending it ahead to the captain.

Shots: Flyers 7 (17 overall) - Bruins 5 (27 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 14 (29 overall) - Bruins 7 (29 overall)

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Trevor Zegras — Christian Dvorak — Travis Konecny
Matvei Michkov — Noah Cates — Bobby Brink
Nikita Grebenkin  — Sean Couturier — Owen Tippett
Nicolas Deslauriers — Carl Grundstrom — Garnet Hathaway

Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York — Jamie Drydale
Nick Seeler —  Emil Andrae

Dan Vladar

[Samuel Ersson]

Postgame RAV4 (RAV4 Things Revisited)

1. Followup game for Michkov

Coming off a two-goal performance in Thursday's win against the New York Rangers, Matvei Michkov entered this game on a roll. On Saturday, the sheer volume of penalties the Flyers took through two periods limited Michkov to 11:02 over 14 shifts. He finished with one shot on goal in 16:08 across 21 shifts.

2. The Cates Line

The trio with Michkov and Bobby Brink flanking Noah Cates was outpaced by the Dvorak line in this game. However, the line generated some extended pressure in the third period. Getting unblocked shots through was a bigger issue than creating looks. However, Cates' two-way game was very strong and he ultimately got rewarded by starting the Couturier empty net goal sequence.

3. Attention to detail

The Flyers didn't win every battle but had two big things working in their favor: First of all Vladar, erased nearly every chance for Boston. Secondly, the Flyers structure was strong, especially on the penalty kill.

4. The Pasta problem

Bruins sniper David Pastrnak was quiet in the first period. Early in the second period, he had Morgan Geekie perfectly set up for a potential power play goal. The Flyers caught a break when the play missed connections. Later in the period, Pastrnak had Geekie open at the back door, but Vladar made the save. Ultimately, the Flyers held both Pastrnak and Geekie off the scoresheet.