POSTGAME 5: Jets Soar over Flyers, 4-0
In the final road goal of the 2021-22 season, the Philadelphia Flyers were blanked by the Winnipeg Jets, 4-0, at the Canada Life Centre on Wednesday night.
The Flyers, who were shut out for the seventh time this season, finished with an 11-25-5 away record.
A power play goal by Pierre-Luc Dubois (28th of the season) gave the Jets a quick 1-0 lead in the first period. A 5-on-3 power play goal by Nikolaj Ehlers (28th) made it 2-0 at 7:33 of the second period and Blake Wheeler (15th) established a 3-0 lead at 15:15. Kyle Connor (46th) added an empty-net goal at 19:22 of the open period.
Felix Sandström was not particularly sharp in goal for the Flyers. He stopped 23 of 26 shots in a losing cause. For Winnipeg Eric Comrie stopped all 34 shots he faced in notching his first career NHL shutout.
The Flyers went 0-for-4 on the power play. The Jets went 2-for-5.
TURNING POINT
For a Flyers team that is winless in games in which they've trailed by two goals at any point, the lengthy 5-on-3 power play for Winnipeg in the second period of a 1-0 game was a virtual "must kill" for the Flyers. The kill got off to a good start and the Flyers could almost see their way through it but then gave up a goal to Ehlers. Philly was down by two.
The Flyers are now 0-40-1 in games in which they've been behind by at least two goals.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) Most of the early first-period play consisted of perimeter play. Bobby Brink fired off a shot from the left hash marks. At 5:13, the Flyers were called for too many men on the ice. At 5:23, Dubois stepped in front of the goal line and squeaked a shot between Sandström's pads for a 1-0 lead.The assists went to Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey.
At 7:40, Sandström left out a fat rebound on a routine shot by Connor but erased it by knocking the puck to safety. Shots were 6-1 Winnipeg.
At the midpoint of the opening period, Brenden Dillon knocked Travis Konecny to the ice on a hit along the right side boards in the Winnipeg zone.
Nate Thompson generated a shot on net from some distance. The line of Noah Cates, Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett got a forecheck going but a Frost shot from between the circles was blocked by Nate Schmidt. Shots were 6-3 Winnipeg at a TV timeout with 6:10 remaining.
At 15:46, Zack MacEwen took a (two-minute) high stick to the face from Dylan Samberg. The Flyers went on their first power play. The Flyers gave up two separate shorthanded scoring chances.
With 1:35 left in the period, James van Riemsdyk attempted a between-the-legs shot just outside the crease on the rebound of a side-angle Keith Yandle shot.
2) The first period was listless and uninspired, especially for the Flyers. The Dubois power play goal was a leaky one that seemed stoppable. The Flyers' lone PPG was dreadful by both units. With a D zone faceoff and 18 second left, Mike Yeo sent out two-thirds of the 4th line (center Thompson and left wing Oskar Lindblom) for the remainder.
First period shots on goal were 8-8. Shot attempts were actually 20-11 Flyers (Winnipeg blocked nine andt Philly missed the net twice). High-danger chances were 3-2 Flyers.
3) The Jets had some extended puck possession on a shift early in the first period and Konecny took a hooking penalty on Morrissey at 1:28. Lindblom had a shorthanded bid but fired wide. Winnipeg had trouble setting up. In the final half-minute, Adam Lowry attempted a very similar play to the one that Dubois scored on early. Sandström stopped this one.
Noah Cates made a nice play as the Flyers exited the defensive zone. Frost broke free from the defense and fired off a shot from the right slot that Comrie stopped.
At 5:52, Ronnie Attard was called for hooking along the boards. Just eight seconds into the Winnipeg 5-on-4 power play, it became a 5-on-3 for 1:53 as Ivan Provorov high-sticked Neal Pionk. The Jets drew iron on one shot. Sandström stopped a Connor drive. Travis Sanheim made a good clear. But the Jets made it 2-0 as Ehlers fired a shot from between the dot and hash mark that went off Sandström's chest and under his right arm. Connor and Blake Wheeler got the helpers at 7:33. The Flyers got through the remaining 5-on-4.
After a turnover by Thompson up-ice, Wheeler had a scoring chance off a counterattack. Sandström kept the deficit at 2-0.
The Flyers went on their second power play at 12:09 on a Zach Sanford slashing penalty. The Hayes unit generated a quick chance and Konecny tried a between-the-legs shot near the left post. Later, Comrie gloved at Konecny shot from the slot. The second unit had trouble getting set up.
Winnipeg made it 3-0 at 15:15. Yandle fumbled a puck and got caught above it, Wheeler got to the net to take a pass from Ehlers and score. The Flyers fourth line and third defensive pair (Yandle and Egor Zamula) were out for the first even-strength goal of the game.
With 3:52 remaining in the second period, Morrissey fired a shot off the goal post.
In the final minute, some strong work wheeling around the offensive zone to find a shooting lane by Owen Tippett resulted in a good save by Comrie and ensuing right circle faceoff. Hayes lost the draw but the Flyers got a power play as Jansen Harkins tripped Farabee with 22.2 seconds on the second period clock. The Flyers took 1:38 of carryover power play time into the third period.
4) The Flyers have had second period issues all season, and this game was no exception as a manageable one-goal deficit became a three-goal crater. Shots on goal were 11-10 Jets. Shot attempts were 23-16 Jets. High-danger chances were 6-4 Winnipeg.
5) The Flyers generated no chances on the remaining power play time. After the play moved back to 5-on-5, Brink made a nice pass to Hayes. A hasty whistle canceled out a potential opportunity with the puck loose around the net.
Cates created a scoring chance and Tippett was stopped by Comrie with Provorov joining the play. On their next shift, Tippett took a drop pass from Frost and fired a right circle shot that Comrie gloved. Earlier in the shift, Ronnie Attard pinched up, seemed to contemplate "the Michigan" but centered out to Frost. The partially tipped pass was on its edge and was fired high and wide of the net from the bottom of the left circle.
Midway through the third period, shots were 6-3 Flyers. Philadelphia escaped some nervous moments after Wheeler took the puck away from Travis Sanheim near the Philadelphia blueline.
With 5:16 remaining, Thompson was called on a slashing penalty against Evgeny Svechnikov. Connor snapped a shot on net from the right circle early in the advantage. Ehlers had a good chance on a left slot shot by Paul Stastny. At 16:31, with 13 seconds left on the penalty, play was whistled down for a Winnipeg hand pass.
With play back at 5-on-5, Frost set up a chance for Cates moving down the slot. Again, Comrie had an answer.
Morrissey took a holding penalty at 17;20 to negate a scoring chance for Laughton. Farabee (right off a faceoff) and Yandle fired shots on net. The Flyers pulled Sandström for an extra attacker, to no avail.
When the penalty expired, Connor scored an empty-net goal in the final 38 seconds to make it a 4-0 final.
Wednesday's game aired on
NBC Sports Philadelphia.
