Three Stars
1. Travis Konecny
Konecny was great yet again for the Flyers, assisting on the first goal of the game from Kevin Hayes, and scoring a goal of his own with a deflection. With his two point night, Konecny surpassed the 50 point plateau for the first time in his career, and reached the 20 goal mark for the third consecutive season. It’s been a breakout year for TK, and tonight was a huge game for him with a lot on the line.
2. Carter Hart
Hart wasn’t tested all that often in this game, but when he was, he made some big momentum saves that kept the Flyers ahead. We know how good he’s been at home, and he figured why bother changing that now? This wasn’t just a big game because it’s a divisional opponent, it was a big game because of where the Blue Jackets are in the standings. Hart was up to the task and then some tonight.
3. Phil Myers
Honestly, could have put the Myers and Travis Sanheim pairing here and it would have been justified. Those two were on fire tonight and have been over the past few weeks. Myers’ goal wasn’t the sexiest goal to watch, but it was a smart play from Phil who saw all the traffic in front, just put the puck into the crowd, and got the lucky bounce.
Answering the bell
1. Do the Flyers come out swinging?
In a truly shocking turn of events, yes! The Flyers scored the game’s first two goals within the first five minutes with Kevin Hayes and Sean Couturier getting on the board. Although the Blue Jackets would even up the possession game and start to get some dangerous chances as the period wore on, the Flyers didn’t allow a goal, and carried the two goal lead into the second.
2. Who wins the goaltending duel?
Our very best boy Carter, by a landslide. Hart didn’t have the most difficult night, but he made the saves when he needed to. The same could not be said for his counterpart Elvis Merzlikins. Elvis left the building after allowing four goals on 12 shots.
Play of the game
There was plenty to choose from in this game, but without a shadow of a doubt, this has to go to the captain. Tonight Claude Giroux broke the all-time Flyers record for most power play assists, which was previously held by the greatest Flyer ever, Bobby Clarke. He did it in style, making a pass to Konecny from his knees, who then fed Jakub Voracek for the goal. Congrats, Claude.
Giroux ➡️ Konecny ➡️ Voracek 🚨
Filthy. pic.twitter.com/MoNSZ0qQAe
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) February 19, 2020
