Flyers Game
Mistakes Haunt the Flyers in 5-2 Loss to the Jets
The Philadelphia Flyers suffer their first home loss of the season, 5-2, to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. Philly’s record fell to 1-2-1 with the loss.
Connor Hellebuyck made things hard on the Flyers, doing what he does best: keeping pucks out of the net. The Flyers did a great job at keeping the Jets’ attack to a minimum, forcing them to their perimeter and only allowing 15 shots – five each period.
Unfortunately for the Flyers, the Jets capitalized on their mistakes and made the most of the opportunities handed to them. Here is how we hit the final score on Thursday.
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Flyers Shoot Themselves in the Foot in Period 1
Matvei Michkov, who has been struggling, got off to a good start in the first period. It was the most he has stood out on the ice through this point of the season. The Flyers’ youngster made a nice play from behind the net to set up Sean Couturier in the slot, but the Captain could not corral the puck.
The Flyers actually had a few great chances in the first frame, but the team’s lack of shots hurt their own chances. Jett Luchanko was given a great setup from Nikita Grebenkin, but instead of driving the net or even just shooting, he made the short pass to Garnet Hathaway, who was immediately stopped.
Owen Tippett used his best skills – speed, strength, and stick skills – to create a great chance for himself. Instead of going forehand with a great look, he opted for the backhanded shot, which never even made it to the net.
The Flyers got in their own way during the first period, including just under six minutes into the game. Luchanko had multiple chances to advance the puck past the blueline, but could not do so, giving the Jets a great chance. Nino Niederreiter (2) could not stuff the puck, but Vladislave Namestnikov (1) buried the second-chance effort, giving Winnipeg the 1-0 lead they’d take into the first intermission.
Shot totals were low for both squads after 20 minutes, with the Jets outshooting the Flyers 5-3.
Flyers Get on the Board, Mistakes Still Haunt Them
The second period was better than the first, but the Flyers still found ways to shoot themselves in the foot.
For the second straight period, the Flyers held Winnipeg to just five shots in the period. Despite trailing, the Flyers did a relatively good job keeping an extremely dangerous offense at bay. It was mistakes that cost the Flyers once again.
Around seven minutes into the second, Travis Sanheim sent a puck around the boards, which Grebenkin was unable to control. Gabe Vilardi (4) took advantage of the loose puck, found Mark Scheifele (5) on the other end of the ice, who buried the shot with a clean look at Sam Ersson.
The Jets had a 2-0 lead, which was cut in half just under 10 minutes later. Trevor Zegras (3) made a clean pass to Tippett, who took it down the ice in a 2v1 with Christian Dvorak. Tippett (2) buried the shot and injected life into the Flyers.
That juice lasted just over a minute, as Morgan Barron (3) scored a weird goal that seemingly bounced off both Adam Ginning and Noah Cates before crossing the goal line, and extending the Jets’ lead back to two.
After a first period with minimal shots on goal, the Flyers outshot the Jets 12-5 in the second.
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Jets Power Play Nets the Dagger
Entering the third period trailing by two, the Flyers desperately needed to find some offense, and quickly.
Philly hung in there defensively, but was unable to develop any real offensive chances.
Needing to find anything, the Flyers got the opposite of what they were looking for. A Zegras interference penalty led to a chance for the ever-dangerous Jets’ power play. Scheifele (6) netted his second of the game with a one-timer. Though the Flyers would never score three goals, Scheifele’s goal was the dagger.
Matvei Michkov (1) would get his first point of the season with a goal at 6-on-5, assisted by Noah Juulsen (1) and Sean Couturier (3). The primary assist was Juulsen’s first point in 45 games.
Tanner Pearson hit the Flyers’ empty net, bringing the game to a final score of 5-2.
Flyer of the Game
The Flyers did not have a great game all around. Owen Tippett, who scored the team’s first goal, was skating with some extra juice on Thursday. While it was Foerster-Cates-Brink that looked best as a unit, Tippett himself had a good game.
He had made a questionable decision with his backhanded attempt in the first period, but aside from that, Tippett jumped off the page in the team’s loss.
What’s Next
The Flyers remain at home when they take on the Minnesota Wild on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Actually it was the Flyers second home game
Written as they lost at home for the first time this season, but I see the lack of clarity! Touched it up!
You could tell early on it would be one of those games where the Flyers wouldn’t get anything going offensively. Lack of offensive skill continues to be an issue especially against strong opponents. Underscores how far away they are.