Postgame RAV4: Flyers Soar Over Jets, 7-1

The Philadelphia Flyers stepped up to beat the Winnipeg Jets, 7-1, in a blowout victory at Canada Life Centre on Saturday. Philly struck early and often, building a commanding lead they did not relinquish.

Sean Couturier led the team offensively with two goals. Philadelphia got balanced overall scoring. Meanwhile, goatender Dan Vladar was rock solid in making 28 saves on 29 shots.

Less than 80 seconds after the opening faceoff, Porter Martone (3rd) gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead. Haydn Fleury (2nd) evened it up only for Matvei Michkov (18th) and Sean Couturier (11th) to open a two-goal edge.

The Flyers got outplayed in the majority of the second period. However, clutch goaltending and timely offense expanded the lead to four goals. Travis Sanheim (11th) scored at 5-on-5. Noah Cates (SHG, 18th) scored a 4-on-5 goal in the final minute.

In the third period, Philadelphia killed off a penalty. Shortly thereafter, Couturier scored his second goal of the game (12th of the season), creating a five-goal advantage. Nick Seeler (4th) added another goal.

Connor Hellebuyck played the first 40 minutes of the game for Winnipeg, allowing five goals on 20 shots. Eric Comrie (one save on three shots) entered in relief to start the third period.

Saturday's game was the final one on the road portion of Philadelphia's regular season schedule. They posted a 23-14-4 record in away games.

The Flyers (41-27-12) have two games remaining in the regular season: home on Monday against the Carolina Hurricanes and then host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Currently, the Flyers (94 points, 26 regulation wins) hold a two-point lead on the Columbus Blue Jackets (92 points, 28 RW) and three points on the New York Islanders (91 points, 29 RW).

The Flyers are idle on Sunday. They will root for the Boston Bruins against Columbus and Montreal Canadiens against the Islanders. If Columbus wins, they will at least temporarily overtake the Flyers (by points tiebreaker measure). However, Philly will hold one game in hand and have a higher points percentage.

The Flyers' magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to three.

FIRST PERIOD SYNOPSIS

The opening 20 minutes were fairly wide-open. However, the Flyers were the more opportunistic team.

The Flyers started the game with the fourth line. Philly escaped a turnover as Travis Sanheim erased the mistake.

On the next shift, Martone made a good backchecking play. The Flyers rushed the other way, with Martone joining the play to go to the net. Taking a feed from Travis Konecny, Martone finished it off at 1:17. Konecny drew the lone assist.

Michkov forced a turnover behind the Winnipeg net. Noah Cates had an excellent scoring chance.  Owen Tippett nearly found the net on a loose puck two shifts later as Dylan Samberg fell into Hellebuyck.

Vladar was handcuffed by a rebound and Fleury scored on the blocker side at 6:57. The assists went to Cole Koepke and Jonathan Toews.

Philly responded with two quick goals.  At 8:24, they scored off the rush. Michkov fired a shot off Helleybuyck's glove and into the net. The assists went to Cates and Denver Barkey.

Off a turnover in the corner, Couturier fired a puck off both posts and into the net. The goal, scored at 8:49 was unassisted.

Vladar was tested on subsequent shifts by a deflection in front by Alex Iafallo and a Vladislav Namestnikov shot that the goalie gloved cleanly. Jamie Drysdale broke up an odd-man rush after the puck bounced off Martone's stick to a Winnipeg player.

Vladar made a 10-bell save but Zegras took a cross-checking penalty at 14:08. The Flyers staged a solid kill, with Couturier making a pair of defensive stops.Later, Cole Koepke hit the post. Vladar poke-checked a dangerous play to safety. 

With play back at 5-on-5, Vladar robbed Kyle Connor. 

During a delayed Winnipeg penalty, Martone set up a chance for Christian Dvorak. Mark Scheifele went to the penalty box for holding at 16:56. Rasmus Ristolainen put a shot through traffic at the net. Philadelphia was unable to score during the 5-on-4.

Shots: Flyers 13 - Jets 10
Faceoffs: Flyers 14 - Jets 7

SECOND PERIOD SYNOPSIS

The Jets had a decided territorial advantage for most of the period. Vladar was the big difference maker. Once again the Flyers found a way to extend the lead.

Konecny set up a play that Martone re-directed on net. TK hit the post on the rebound, otherwise it would have been a 4-1 edge for Philly.

Vladar made a save in close on Vladislav Namestnikov after the ice opened up again for Winnipeg. At the other end, Luke Glendening came close after beating Hellebuyck to the puck. Toews prevented the potential goal.

The Flyers got caught in a slow line change. Vladar froze the puck for a stoppage. The Jets maintained possession on the next shift. Drysdale finally got the puck to safety. Through 8:15, shots were 4-3 Jets,

The Winnipeg top line hemmed the Flyers in deep. Vladar had to come up big on saves against John Morrissey and Scheifele. The Flyers had another "bend but don't break" shift, this time with the Cates line on the ice.

On the forecheck, Couturier created a turnover. Ristolainen faked a shot and passed to Sanheim. With traffic in front, Sanheim's shot found its way past Hellebuyck for a 4-1 lead at 11:41. The assists went to Ristolainen and Couturier.

Michkov got away with an unpenalized interference infraction. Moments later, at 18:16, Nick Seeler tripped a Winnipeg player. This set up a very important penalty kill opportunity for Philadelphia. 

The Flyers failed to clear the zone on their first opportunity. Vladar made a pad save on Scheifele. Iafallo broke his stick and the Flyers countered in transition. Dvorak kept the play onside, Cates attacked the net and finished off a huge shorthanded goal at 19:28. The assists went to Dvorak and Ristolainen.

Shots: Flyers 7 (20 overall)  - Jets 10 (20 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 7 (21 overall) - Jets 9 (16 overall)

THIRD PERIOD SYNOPSIS

Comrie came into the game to start the third period.

The remainder of the Seeler penalty was killed off. Winnipeg maintained possession until an errant pass went down the ice the other way. The Flyers were able to get a line change.

Zegras returned to the penalty box (hooking) at 2:45. Namestnikov ripped a shot that went off a body and hit the post. The Flyers killed off the remainder. Vladar stopped a back-door play intended for Scheifele. Philly iced the puck.

Team captain Couturier made it 6-1 at 6:23. Garnet Hathaway did the initial dirty work down low. Couturier finished it off on the backhand. The goal was officially unassisted.

The Jets had to be content with several unscreened shots from the perimeter. Vladar stopped them.

At 13:32, Seeler fired a shot that beat Comrie low. The assists went to Cates and Michkov.

Shots: Flyers 3 (23 overall)  - Jets 9 (29 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 12 (33 overall) - Jets 8 (24 overall)

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Tyson Foerster – Trevor Zegras – Owen Tippett
Travis Konecny – Christian Dvorak – Porter Martone
Denver Barkey– Noah Cates – Matvei Michkov 

Luke Glendening – Sean Couturier --  Garnet Hathaway

Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Emil Andrae

Dan Vladar
[Samuel Ersson]

Postgame RAV4 (RAV4 Things Revisited)

1. Disciplined play

The Flyers played a little looser than they may have liked until they built the 4-1 lead. The Cates shorthanded goal crushed Winnipeg's resolve.

2. Special teams

Philly won the special teams battle by going 3-for-3 on the penalty kill with a shorthanded goal. They were 0-for-2 on the power play.

3. The Hellebuyck Factor

The Flyers followed their scouting report on the star goaltender to the letter: get Hellebuyck moving, test him high to the glove side, create layered screens, and attack the net at the back post. These strategies prevented Hellebuyck from getting into a groove.

4. Konecny

Konecny's setup of the early Martone goal got the Flyers off and running. He added a point to his team-leading total (68). Konency and Zegras are tied for the team assist lead with 41 apiece.