Flyers fall to Predators, 4-2 in last home game of 2023

In their final home game of 2023, the Philadelphia Flyers lost a close one to the Phil Tomasino and the Nashville Predators, 4-2 at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.

Flyers recap

Head coach John Tortorella has often spoken about the Philadelphia Flyers having to work for their bounces and earn their bounces. Their body of work in the month of December suggests they have, and they did just that against the Nashville Predators. Morgan Frost broke the ice 1:31 into the first period with… one of the stranger goals you’ll see this season. Frost gained the zone with a nice move past a Predators defenseman, but his pass across to Bobby Brink was just broken up on the way through. Brink would then wind the puck back behind the net for Frost, and then the puck hit Frost, went up over the net, and down into the goal. You’d have to see it to believe it:

MORGAN FROST GOAL OF THE YEAR!!!!!! #FLYERS pic.twitter.com/NGAAKUe4QG

— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) December 22, 2023

A pretty back-and-forth first period ended with a 1-0 Flyers lead, though the second period would be much more fun and eventful, just not for Philadelphia.

The Predators found themselves without Yakov Trenin about halfway through, after he was tossed for a major boarding penalty at 12:37 for smashing Frost headfirst into the boards.

Cole Smith burned the Flyers for a short-handed goal 1:05 into the second period, though Sean Couturier would answer three minutes later with an extremely rare power play goal. With the Flyers up 2-1, some sloppy neutral zone play allowed the Predators to answer back once again. Tommy Novak barreled into the offensive zone with Phil Tomasino with him, and Tomasino buried Novak’s feed on a 2-on-1 to tie the game at 2-2.

Although the Flyers had outshot their opponents 26-18 through the first two periods, the tables turned for the Predators in the final frame. Sam Ersson kept Philadelphia in it as much as he could, despite making his fifth straight start with Carter Hart still on the mend. The Preds were able to pour on 14 shots on goal compared to the Flyers’ six, and their uptick in play made all the difference.

Sean Walker turned the puck over to Tomasino at the Flyers’ offensive blueline, which allowed Nashville to take a 3-on-2 down the ice the other way. Colton Sissons was able to wait out Marc Staal and bait Cam Atkinson out of the way, which led to a slam dunk return pass to Tomasino. The 22-year-old was left untouched in the low slot to rip a shot past Ersson, who was left stranded by his teammates as the Preds took a 3-2 lead.

The Flyers pulled Ersson with around two minutes remaining, but Gustav Nyquist was able to casually stroll down the ice and deposit into the empty net as time expired.

With their point streak unceremoniously coming to an end, the Flyers will have an opportunity to wash the bad taste out of their mouths when they face the Detroit Red Wings on Friday at 7 p.m. in Detroit.

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