Flyers 2, Panthers 1: Go with the Flo

The Basics

First period: No scoring Second period: 0:10- Ryan Poehling (Cam York, Travis Sanheim), 7:12- Gustav Forsling (Aaron Ekblad, Anton Lundell) Third period: 19:38- Garnet Hathaway (Marc Staal, Noah Cates) SOG: 30 (FLA) - 26 (PHI)

Some takeaways

Flip of the switch

Travis Konecny\'s first game back after missing time with injury was a much needed addition to the lineup. After a slightly dopey start in the opening moments, Konecny\'s first shift drove the play down Florida ice and woke the team up with a few strong ensuing shifts. He also had a breakaway chance 11 minutes in but Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped him cold. Florida\'s best chance was thrawted late in the first when Sam Reinhart was stopped on a quasi-breakaway by Sam Ersson.

Making it work

The depleted Flyers blueline combined with Sean Walker\'s trade put the team in a bit of a hole defensively. And at times with some turnovers that showed. Yet the sextet did the job with Ronnie Attard (who stood up the newly acquired Vladimir Tarasenko at the blueline twice in the first two periods) and Adam Ginning (6:21 of ice time in the first and blew up Sam Reinhart beautifully in the third) bending but not breaking during a lengthy shift in their own zone about 13 minutes into the contest.

Chip free

The Panthers aren\'t afraid to stir the pot after the whistles but the Flyers managed to let sleeping dogs lie. Outside of Delauriers getting into a small scrum, the team played between the whistles as Konecny, Scott Laughton (who was reportedly questionable for the game Thursday afternoon) and particularly Garnet Hathaway all exuded Lady Byng like sportsmanship. Hathaway returned to his usual ways in the second period as three Panthers had conversations with him after the whistle.

Poehling prowess

Just as fans were returning to their seats in the second period the Flyers struck quick. Cam York worked his way over the blueline before feeding Ryan Poehling speeding down the wing. Poehling roofed the puck over Bobrovsky to give the Flyers an almost required lead against such a tough opponent.

https://twitter.com/BroadStHockey/status/1765907606348927265

Unfortunately the lead was gone minutes later after another listless power play. Noah Cates failed to get a necessary clear out of the zone and seconds later the Panthers had tied the game. Gustav Forsling celebrated his newly inked eight-year contract extension with a shot that beat Ersson cleanly.

https://twitter.com/FlaPanthers/status/1765910234827026620

Ersson excellent

If the Flyers had a chance in this game of getting one or two points, Ersson would have to be better than average. After a strong first, Ersson kept his side in the game with a tremendous save during a Panthers power play from a Marc Staal trip. What looked like a sure tic-tac-toe passing play for a goal by Aleksander Barkov saw Ersson stick his right toe out to keep things tied. The ice looked like it was tilted at times as the Panthers were outshooting the Flyers 20-11, an anamoly given how Philadelphia has consistently outshot their opponents.

Tippett off a bit

After blocking 21 shots through the first two periods, the Flyers approached the third like they did the first 40 minutes: keep it simple and keep the mistakes to a minimum. Although Owen Tippett should\'ve looked amped up to play against his former team, he seemed to be not himself at times, trying to throw his body against Dmitry Kulikov with less than spectacular results. Tippett had no shots through the first 40 but his teammates managed to pick up the slack. A prime scoring chance with six minutes to go had Tippett stopped by Bobrovsky.

Anybody\'s game

With some pressure in the third period and a few chances, the Flyers looked to have a possible power play when Sean Couturier was taken down. However it was not called. Cam York blocked a shot (his fifth of the night) off what looked like the knee and went down the hall to the locker room. Fortunately for the team and fan base York returned to the game. As the minutes dwindled, the Flyers had some great chances.

Sticks galore

Minutes before the end of regulation, Hathaway must have had a stick magnet near him as nearly every Panther on the ice lost their stick trying to do some damage on him. With a bevy of sticks around the crease, Hathaway picked up a rebound with under 25 seconds left and beat Bobrovsky for the go-ahead goal.

https://twitter.com/BroadStHockey/status/1765929138257281222

The Panthers had one last chance but the Flyers, like they did most of the night, blocked shots. A huge win despite being so depleted on the back end.

The Andrew MacDonald

The Meat (Matt) Read ($20 Sale Price)

The Eric Lindros

The Danny Syvret - Ad Free

Flyers 2, Panthers 1: Go with the Flo

Talking Points