Playing the latter half of the 2024-25 season's first back-to-back set of the season, the Philadelphia Flyers dropped a 6-3 game on Saturday to the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Philly got the start they needed, compiling five of the game's first six shots on goal. Unfortunately, due a combination of penalty trouble, iffy goaltending and mounting fatigue from chasing the game and playing a significant portion short two of their top six forwards (Morgan Frost and Tyson Foerster), a territorial edge for the majority of the net went for naught.
In a losing cause, Travis Konecny collected shorthanded and power play goals for Philadelphia. The Flyers also got a tally from Joel Farabee. Matvei Michkov assisted on the latter Konecny goal, earning his first career NHL point. The Flyers also got one assist apiece from Scott Laughton (shorthanded), Erik Johnson (shorthanded), Bobby Brink, Sean Couturier and Frost (power play).
For the second straight game, the Flyers got themselves into penalty trouble. After the penalty kill went 5-for-5 against Vancouver on Friday, they were unable to escape from 4-on-3 and 5-on-3 predicaments against the Flames in killing just three of five penalties. The Flyers power play, as with Friday's game, went 1-for-4 in Calgary. Ultimately, with two special teams goals scored and two yielded, the net result was a wash on the scoreboard.
Twice, the Flyers narrowed two-goal deficits (2-0 and 3-1) to a single goal but never drew even. However, even at 2-0 and especially at 2-1, the game felt manageable. Subsequently, two pivotal sequences forced the Flyers play down two important forwards on the bench.
Midway through the second period, Frost got twisted in awkward collision along the side boards in the offensive zone. He went right up the tunnel, albeit without assistance. Frost missed the next four shift rotations, even after returning to the bench. He did subsequently skate one additional shift in the middle period but was clearly laboring. However, he skated a normal array of shifts in the third period and seemed to be feeling a little better.
At 12:48 of the second period, Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale was freight trained at center ice by Calgary's Martin Pospisil. Coming to Drysdale's defense, Tyson Foerster (first NHL fight, albeit mostly a grappling contest) made a beeline for the Calgary player and dropped the gloves. As a result, Foerster was tagged with 17 minutes of penalties (instigation minor with an automatic 10-minute misconduct plus the fighting major). He was unavailable for the final 7:12 of the second period and the first half of the third period.
Jonathan Huberdeau had a monster night for Calgary, racking up a four-point game (2g, 2a). Nazem Kadri netted two goals, and Andrei Kuzmenko collected three assists. Team captain Mikael Backlund and defenseman Mackenzie Weegar (1g, 1a) rounded out the goal scoring.
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39 Matvei Michkov - 48 Morgan Frost - 11 Travis Konecny
74 Owen Tippett - 14 Sean Couturier - 71 Tyson Foerster
86 Joel Farabee - 25 Ryan Poehling - 10 Bobby Brink
21 Scott Laughton - 27 Noah Cates - 19 Garnet Hathaway
82 Ivan Fedotov
[33 Samuel Ersson]
PP1: Drysdale, Tippett, Frost, Konecny, Michkov
PP2: Zamula, Foerster, Poehling, Farabee, Brink
Scratches: 17 Jett Luchanko (healthy), 44 Nicolas Deslauriers (healthy), 36 Emil Andrae (healthy), 24 Nick Seeler (IR, knee).
*****
Phantoms Defeat Wolf Pack via Shootout, 4-3 (2-1)
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms opened their 2023-24 regular season schedule with a 4-3 (2-1) shootout win over the Hartford Wolf Pack at the PPL Center in Allentown on Saturday evening.
The Phantoms power play (3-for-8) garnered the club one point. The shootout prowess of J.R. Avon (4-for-6 last season, 1-for-1 now this season) and Olle Lycksell (shootout winner) helped secure the second point. His game statistics may not reflect it, but goaltender Aleksei Kolosov (22 saves on 25 shots) made various high end saves in regulation and overtime (three stops) before going 2-for-3 in the shootout.
Free agent acquisition Anthony Richard and second-year pro Samu Tuomaala each had a power play goal apiece and primary assists on either other's tallies. Additionally, Jacob Gaucher scored on a power play deflection of a Louie Belpedio shot to knot the game at 1-1 in the second period. Avon, Lycksell and Rodrigo Abols (Phantoms debut) also had a power play helper apiece.
Avon and Elliot Desnoyers have switched positions this season. Avon is now a full-time center in his second pro season. Third-year pro Desnoyers, formerly a center for the majority of his pro career, is now a full-time winger.
The Phantoms held a 2-1 lead in the second period and a 3-2 edge in the third. However, Hartford notched a pair of power play goals of their own in the game and took the game to OT. A late 6-on-4 power play marker by Casey Fitzgerald (brother of former Phantoms forward Ryan) at 18:55 of the third period forced overtime.
The Phantoms peppered veteran goalie Louis Domingue with 48 shots in regulation and OT. The goalie had little chance of stopping any of the three Lehigh Valley goals. The Tuomaala goal, especially, was a scorcher from prime shooting range. The Gaucher tally, as noted, was a redirect.
Phantoms starting lineup
90 Anthony Richard - 18 Rodrigo Abols - 15 Olle Lycksell
13 Brendan Furry - 22 Rhett Gardner - 27 Samu Tuomaala
43 Oscar Eklind - 16 J.R. Avon - 91 Elliot Desnoyers
17 Garrett Wilson - 56 Jacob Gaucher - 74 Zayde Wisdom
19 Hunter McDonald - 7 Louie Belpedio
37 Adam Ginning - 5 Ethan Samson
3 Helge Grans - 12 Ronnie Attard
35 Aleksei Kolosov
[40 Cal Petersen]
Scratches (healthy and injured): 10 Matt Brown, 20 Cooper Marody (injured), 32 Eetu Makiniemi,
36 Sawyer Boulton, 55 Xavier Bernard, 57 Mason Primeau, 72 Alexis Gendron, 73 Massimo Rizzo.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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