Postgame RAV4: Konecny nets hat trick in 5-3 loss to Blue Jackets

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-3, at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday night. A Travis Konecny hat trick went to waste.

Goals in the first and last minutes of the first period sent the Blue Jackets to intermission with a 2-1 lead. Just 38 seconds after the game's opening faceoff, Charlie Coyle (12th goal of the season) opened the scoring. In the middle stages of the frame, Konecny (18th) knotted the score. In the final minute, Zach Werenski set up Kirill Marchenko (19th) for a 4-on-4 goal.

Erik Gudbranson (1st) built a 3-1 lead for the Blue Jackets early in the second period.

In the third period, Konecny (19th) scored his second goal of the game to bring the Flyers within 3-2. Konecny (20th) completed a hat trick to forge a 3-3 tie. However, Sean Monahan (9th) restored the lead before Matieu Olivier (ENG, 5th) added insurance.

Dan Vladar returned to the Flyers' lineup after a two-week injury absence. Against Columbus, he made 26 saves on 30 shots. Winning netminder Elvis Merzlikins stopped 22 of 25 shots from Philadelphia.

FIRST PERIOD SYNOPSIS

The Flyers got pinned in the defensive zone on the game's first shift. Trevor Zegras turned over the puck. Moments later, Mathieu Olivier fed Coyle for a goal at the 38-second mark. The secondary assist went to Zach Werenski.

Philly had another failed clearing opportunity two shifts later. Nikita Grebenkin broke up a pass in front. The Sean Couturier line had a promising rush at the other end as Denver Barkey and Owen Tippett were unable to connect on a pass.

Rasmus Ristolainen exited the game at 2:20. He did not return due to a lower-body injury.

The Flyers defense turned the puck over again on a retrieval. Vladar held a point shot for a stoppage. Shots on goal were 3-0 Columbus. Matvei Michkov had a breakaway chance and a followup for the Flyers' first chance of the game.

Philadelphia drew even at 9:03. Scoring his 18th career goal against Columbus, Konecny shook free from Mathieu Olivier and beat Merzlikins to the far side. The assists went to Cam York and Noah Juulsen. With the goal, Konecny tied Trevor Zegras for the Flyers' team scoring lead.

Columbus had a 2-on-1 rush. Travis Sanheim took a hooking minor on Charlie Coyle at 14:50 for the game's first penalty. Mason Marchment had a dangerous-looking power play scoring chance over the middle. Philly killed the remainder of the penalty.

The Flyers went to their first power play at 18:20 after Cole Sillinger slashed Jamie Drysdale behind the net. Zegras fired a shot off the post during a flurry. The power play ended at 19:12 when the Flyers were caught with too many men on the ice during a sloppy line change.

During the ensuing 4-on-4, the Blue Jackets reclaimed the lead at 19:40. Werenski fed Marchenko, who finished off the east-to-west play. Owen Tippett was playing without a stick, effectively making it a 4-on-3. Adam Fantilli got the secondary assist.

Shots: Flyers 7 - Blue Jackets 7
Faceoffs: Flyers 4 - Blue Jackets 8

SECOND PERIOD SYNOPSIS

Tippett had the Flyers' first chance of the period. Juulsen made a tape-to-tape pass to send Tippett in the attack zone with speed.

At 1:57, Columbus took a 3-1 lead. With traffic in front, Gudbranson scored for the first time since April 2024 on a point shot through traffic. The assists went to Sillinger and Coyle.

Denver Barkey made a slick entry into the offensive zone. On the next shift, Merzlikins made an old-school pad stack on Sean Couturier. Through 6:33, shots on goal were 3-3.

Vladar made a tough save on a Marchenko backhander to keep the deficit within two goals. A few shifts later, Vladar made a stop on Ivan Provorov.

Yet another failed opportunity to get out of the defensive zone resulted in a Werenski shot. Vladar got enough of his glove on it to keep the puck out. Shots were 9-5 Columbus.

A stick-holding penalty on Dmitry Voronkov gave the Flyers their second power play of the game. Zegras set up a dangerous chance for Konecny. Drysdale fired a point shot wide. Dvorak tried to set up a screen in front but the shot went off his leg and out of play.

Before the period ended, Konecny hobbled off after blocking a shot. He went under his own power but the puck clearly stung.

Shots: Flyers 6 (13 overall) - Blue Jackets 16 (23 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 8 (12 overall) - Blue Jackets 14 (22 overall)

THIRD PERIOD SYNOPSIS

Grebenkin started the third period on a line with Zegras and Dvorak. At 42 seconds, moving down the boards, Dvorak tripped Coyle.

On the ensuing Columbus 5-on-4, Vladar made a 10-bell glove save on Kent Johnson. The play was replayed to see if the puck crossed the line. It did not. At 1:57, Tippett's hard work on the wall produced a hooking penalty on Marchment.

During the Flyers' power play, Merzlikins denied a Barkey backhand shot after moving in close. As the power play wound down, Brink made a move to the front of the net.

With play back at 5-on-5, Dvorak found Konecny, who scored high to the blocker side at 4:08. The assists went to Dvorak and Drysdale.

Fantilli turnstiled Tippett and very nearly scored. Vladar made the stop. Through 7:03 shots were 5-3 Columbus. Two shifts later, the Flyers' fourth line hemmed Columbus in their own end.

Vladar stoned Boone Jenner with the glove to keep the Flyers within one goal. At 10:32, the Blue Jackets iced the puck.

Johnson took a high-sticking minor at 12:04. The Flyers went to a virtual must-score power play. Konecny had an early scoring chance. Zegras attacked over the middle and later had a close-range scoring chance. Later, York had a nice keep and the Flyers applied some pressure. Philadelphia did not score.

Konency finished off his third career hat trick at 15:14 to tie the game. The Flyers got the puck in deep. Dvorak got there first. Subsequently, Sanheim fired a dart to TK for a point-blank goal. The assists went to Sanheim and Dvorak.

With 3:56 left in regulation, Merzlikins made one of his best saves of the game. He denied Matvei Michkov with the glove.

Columbus went back ahead at 16:32 as Monahan scored a slam-dunk backdoor goal off a cross-crease pass from Severson. Johnson had the second assist.

The Flyers pulled Vladar for a 6-on-5 with 2:38 left on the clock. Zegras turned the puck over. Brink blocked a shot in front. Columbus won a battle in the corner and Olivier scored at 18:54. Sillinger had the lone assist.

Philadelphia pulled Vladar again. They attacked 6-on-4 after Columbus' Gudbranson took an interference penalty at 19:49. Tippett fired an immediate shot off a faceoff win but Tippett hit the post.

Shots: Flyers 12 (25 overall) - Blue Jackets 8 (31 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 8 (20 overall) - Blue Jackets 15 (37 overall)

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Travis Konecny
Denver Barkey -- Sean Couturier -- Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Carl Grundstrom – Lane Pederson – Nikita Grebenkin

Travis Sanheim - Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York-- Jamie Drydale
Nick Seeler-- Noah Juulsen

Dan Vladar

[Samuel Ersson]

Postgame RAV4 (RAV4 Things Revisited)

1. Between the pipes

In his first game in two weeks, Dan Vladar settled in during the second period. He made an especially nice lateral save late in the second period and then a highlight reel save on Fantilli on a third period penalty kill.

2. Attack the middle

For much of the first two periods, the Flyers had trouble breaking out of their own zone and navigating the neutral zone. In comeback mode in the third period, the Flyers did start to generate some plays through the middle and get pucks toward the net.

3. Bounceback game for Dvorak

The Flyers center found Konecny for the winger's second goal of the game. He partially atoned for his earlier penalty in the third period. He later got to the puck first on the sequence that ended up in Konecny's third goal.

4. Special teams

The Flyers went 0-for-5 on the power play. The Philadelphia penalty kill was 3-for-3. Columbus scored a 4-on-4 goal.