5 Takeaways: Flyers Rally in 3rd, But Skid Hits 4 in Loss to Blues

Despite an outstanding third period, the Philadelphia Flyers’ losing streak grew to four games as they dropped a 4-2 decision Tuesday in St. Louis.

The first two periods killed them. So did a disallowed goal.

After a listless first 40 minutes, the Flyers dominated the final period — they had an 18-10 shots advantage — but fell short.

St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington (32 saves) made two spectacular  stops while the Flyers were shorthanded with a little less than six minutes left.

He denied Scott Laughton from in close, and, while sprawled on the ice, somehow stopped Travis Sanheim’s blast to keep the Blues ahead, 3-2.

The Blues secured the win on Alexey Toropchenko’s empty-net goal.

Here are five quick observations:

1. Ronnie Attard performed well in his first NHL game this season.

The 24-year-old Attard, one of seven defensemen in the lineup, got time on the power play and nearly scored on a man-advantage shot from the left circle early in the game.

Recalled Monday from the Phantoms, Attard was noticeable from the start. In the first period, he blocked two shots and had two hits. He finished with a team-high four shots, three hits, and an “even” rating in 14:30.

Late in the game, Attard made a crunching hit on Brayden Schenn to start a Flyers rush down the other end.

He played 15 games with the Flyers last season.

2. Two words: Say what?

Noah Cates had his own rebound deflect off his body and into the net with 15:54 left in regulation.

It was ruled no goal because the refs thought he punched it in. The replay showed he tried to swat it in with his hand and missed it.

Yet, the no-goal call somehow stood after it was reviewed.

Again: Say what?

The call became more critical when James van Riemsdyk (11h goal, 299th of his career) deflected home Nick Seeler’s point drive to cut the deficit to 3-1 with 14:09 to go.

Morgan Frost (19th goal) then made it 3-2 by scoring on a rebound with 8:17 left. It gave him a career-high five-game point streak, during which he has five goals and seven points.

“We were really flat and had little energy,” Frost said of the first two periods. “Tough to dig out of that big of a hole.”

Stay hot, Jordan Kyrou. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/z1pm3VYHY8

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 5, 2023

3. A rare Noah Cates defensive miscue led to the game’s first goal.

Cates has been so strong defensively that some have suggested that the rookie center is a future Selke Trophy candidate.

Early in the game, however, his pass for Tony DeAngelo in front of the net was slightly deflected by Brandon Saad and went to Jordan Kyrou, who deposited his 37th goal. That gave the Blues a 1-0 lead with 14:07 left in the first.

4. Blues take control in second period.

While the Blues were on a power play late in the first, Sam Ersson kept the Philadelphia Flyers within 1-0 with a great diving glove save on Jakub Vrana from in close.

But the Blues took control by scoring two goals in a 3:22 span in the second period.

St. Louis made it 2-0 with 14:56 left in the second as former Flyer Tyler Pitlick scored from the right circle while on a two-on-one rush.

The Blues increased the lead to 3-0 just after their power play expired as defenseman Justin Faulk scored from the high slot.

The Flyers rarely tested Binnington in the first two periods, managing just 16 shots in 40 minutes.

5. The matchup bore little resemblance to the teams’ first meeting.

Back on Nov. 8, the Flyers were one of the league’s most surprising teams.

Remember?

They had just trounced St. Louis, 5-1, and were off to a stunning 7-3-2 start despite having several of their top players injured.

As it turned out, that 7-3-2 record was their high-water mark of the season.

Unlike Tuesday’s game, the Flyers dominated that second period in that November contest, outscoring the Blues in the stanza, 3-0, and getting goals from Wade Allison, Travis Konecny, and Cates.

They shot blanks in Tuesday’s second period and were outscored, 2-0.

By the way, since that 7-3-2 start, the Flyers are 22-32-11 — 43 losses in their last 65 games.

Breakaways

Assistant coach Rocky Thompson, the power-play coach, was behind the Flyers’ bench as John Tortorella watched from press level. … The Flyers set a franchise record by boosting their season total to 1,324 blocked shots.  The old record: 1,317 in 2010-11. … Rasmus Ristolainen returned after missing a game with an undisclosed injury. … St. Louis’ Kasperi Kapanen put a shot off the crossbar late in the first period. … The Flyers play Thursday in Dallas, their third stop on a four-game road trip. Goalie Carter Hart, who has missed the last five games because of an injury, could return. He blanked Detroit, 3-0, in his last appearance.

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