Flyers Game
Flyers Late Game Effort Lifts Them to OT Win vs. Wild
Thanks to a late-game effort, the Philadelphia Flyers improved to 2-2-1 this season after their 2-1 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild Saturday night.
Owen Tippett got the scoring started for the Flyers in the third period, followed by Noah Cates burying the game-winner.
The Flyers did not score early, and their opening burst wore off quickly, but the team found its energy when it mattered most. Dan Vladar stood tall in goal yet again, extending his fantastic start to the season, bolstered by great play defensively in front of him.
Here is how we got to the final score.
Read More: Flyers Game 5, Finding A Better Start; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Wild
1st Period
The Philadelphia Flyers were looking to start fast Saturday night. Right out of the gate, it was easy to see which team played the night prior and which team did not.
The Flyers were playing with some juice. Sean Couturier set Travis Konecny up with a grade-A chance early on. Konecny could not bury the shot, but they were playing well as a unit.
Nicolas Deslauriers dropped the gloves in his first game back in the lineup since the season opener.
Later in the period, the Foerster-Cates-Brink line put forward a fantastic shift, dominating puck possession and wearing out the Wild defense. They took their time, found their look, and took the shot, but could not make anything of it.
Then, everything fell off. Like the flip of a switch, you had two teams that looked tired and sloppy. No offense was generated, neither team was getting pucks toward the net, and offense seemed like a foreign concept.
The Flyers went flat. Despite having a chance on the power play late in the period, the Flyers only had six shots on goal. On the other side, they once again held their opponent to a low shot total, as Minnesota only tallied three.
Period 2
The slow play from both sides extended into the second period. The only offense from either side came less than two minutes into the period.
Vladimir Tarasenko sent a rocket to the top right, past the glove of Dan Vladar and into the back of the net. The Wild took the 1-0 lead 1:55 into the second period.
Flyers’ head coach Rick Tocchet did challenge, looking for an offside call before the goal. The refs could not find any conclusive evidence, so the Minnesota goal stood.
Minnesota had two power play opportunities in the period. One followed the failed challenge, the other came after an Owen Tippett tripping penalty. The Flyers’ penalty killers did their job, and Minnesota came up empty both times.
For the second straight period, the Flyers drew a penalty late, with time bleeding into the following period.
3rd Period
It took until the third period, but the Flyers finally got what they needed.
Unlike Thursday’s contest, where the Flyers entered a must-score third period lifeless, they came out with energy to start the third. They were still not shooting the puck as much as they needed to, but Owen Tippett still did what needed to be done.
Tippett (3) crashed the net, but his initial shot was stopped by Wallstedt. He was able to control the puck behind the net and bounce it off Minnesota’s netminder for the Flyers’ first score of the game. Trevor Zegras (4) and Christian Dvorak (1) each earned assists on the score.
The score injected life into the Flyers, but they were unable to tack on another score, and the game went to overtime.
It took just about half of the overtime period, but the Minnesota kid was able to win it for the Flyers.
Philadelphia has a couple of Minnesota natives on its roster, but it was Noah Cates (2) who ended the game, assisted by Tyson Foerster (3) and Jamie Dyrsdale (2).
The Fyers would win the game by a final score of 2-1.
Flyer of the Game
The Flyers had a couple of players worthy of being the player of the game. Owen Tippett was flying from start to finish. Noah Cates kept persisting, knowing he would find the scoring touch that would eventually win the game.
However, it was Dan Vladar who once again kept the Flyers in the game and kept the Wild off the board when it mattered most.
Vladar was excellent all game. Following Minnesota’s early second-period goal, he became lights out.
Vladar stopped 15 of 16 Minnesota shots, making big saves to keep the Flyers in position to win, despite the team only scoring twice. It’s still too early to tell what the rest of the season will look like between the pipes, but Vladar has undoubtedly been a bright spot to start the season.
Through three games, Vladar has a 1.65 GAA and a .934 SV%.
What’s Next for the Flyers
Philadelphia will conclude its homestand on Monday when the Seattle Kraken come to town. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
