News Flyers Team Notes

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Takeaways: Flyers get a point, lose a point in 3-2 overtime loss to Los Angeles

The Flyers earned a point but came up short on Saturday afternoon, losing to Los Angeles 3-2 in a rather low-event, excitement-free contest. The loss was Philadelphia’s fourth in a row.

The basics​

First period: 3:10 – Adrian Kempe (Alex Laferriere, Corey Perry), 7:20 – Adrian Kempe (Corey Perry)
Second period: 0:38 – Trevor Zegras (Bobby Brink, Travis Konecny) (PPG)
Third period: 0:25 – Travis Konecny (Rasmus Ristolainen, Nikita Grebenkin)
Overtime: 2:48 – Quinton Byfield (Adrian Kempe, Drew Doughty)
SOG: 21 (PHI) – 21 (LAK)

Some takeaways​

Another sluggish start

Philadelphia looked a bit lost in their own end just three minutes into the game and paid for it. Some terrible defensive zone coverage couldn’t prevent the Kings opening the scoring despite the five Flyers being within a few feet of each other in front of a sprawling and diving Dan Vladar. The goal was the 36th time in 54 games that Philadelphia allowed the first goal, playing from behind essentially from the get-go. Trailing two-thirds of the time to start a game isn’t a recipe for success, and certainly not a recipe for a playoff-chasing team.

Minutes later, the same Kings line played havoc with the Flyers in their own zone. Neither Trevor Zegras nor Denver Barkey picked up Kempe (who scored the first goal) as he buried a shot behind Vladar to make it 2-0.

Adrian Kempe AGAIN

He's got two in the first period! pic.twitter.com/U12SiuBoAw

— NHL (@NHL) January 31, 2026

The Flyers didn’t have many quality chances in the opening 10 minutes, squeezing a mere three shots in the first 11 minutes and change.

Konecny pipes up again

Travis Konecny, like all of us, isn’t getting any younger. After losing to Boston, Konecny said he was tired of missing post-season hockey. Considering he scored four consecutive goals for Philadelphia in the back-to-back against Columbus and the Bruins — and on a supposedly bad leg at that — Konecny kept trying to deliver. Out for the opening faceoff — against a line that featured retiring Kings legend Anze Kopitar — Konecny was later on the ice for the game’s first goal, looking as lost as his linemates in his own end.

And after a possible third Los Angeles goal 10 minutes in, Konecny could be seen banging his stick on the ice and telling his teammates to “wake the f–k up!” The goal was overturned for being offside, stopping the bleeding for the time being. In the third, the Flyers tied things up when Rasmus Ristolainen’s shot was clearly tipped by Konecny. The goal was originally credited to Ristolainen despite Konecny’s deflection. It was later credited deservedly to Konecny

Wasted no time.#PHIvsLAK | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/O3KavjWgh0

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 31, 2026

Konecny started the overtime along with Dvorak and Travis Sanheim. Konecny had a breakaway chance but rang the puck off the post. The horn sounded but the referee waved his arms indicating no goal. Moments later, Los Angeles — who held the puck nearly the entire overtime — got the winner when Quinton Byfield’s wrister beat Vladar high and clean to give the Kings the victory.

D-Lo blocks shot, takes dumb penalty

Nic Deslauriers sacrificed his body to block a shot early in the game. The shot hit him just above the knee and had the enforcer crumble to the ice. He got up and skated gingerly to the bench but avoided heading down to the locker room. He shook it off and didn’t miss a shift. Later in the first, when trying to goad defenseman Brandt Clarke into a fight, Deslauriers took his time getting back to the bench while Nikita Grebenkin hopped on. The bench minor for too many men on the ice was another undisciplined minor to take for a team having a hard time killing penalties.

Ziggy played center, then didn’t

Trevor Zegras centered Matvei Michkov and Bobby Brink again Saturday afternoon. The trio nearly opened the scoring when Zegras fed Brink who passed the puck cross-ice for an oncoming Michkov. Sadly, Michkov couldn’t get it by Kings’ keeper Darcy Kuemper. The Russian winger was crosschecked from behind but the referees let play continue. Later in the first, Michkov was crosschecked by Drew Doughty but this time it was called.

The power play carried over into the second period where the Flyers made a pretty tic-tac-toe goal. Konecny passed it cross-ice to Bobby Brink. Brink quickly made a cross-ice pass back to Zegras who had a wide open net and make it a 2-1 game. It was the type of power play goal you would love to see far more often in the first 53 games. But Philadelphia will take it where they can get it.

Zegras powerplay goal pic.twitter.com/JHNQLHZPNF

— Philly sports thruther (@phillysportruth) January 31, 2026

It appeared that Zegras was relegated to the wing in the second period as late in the frame he was on a line with Michkov but Couturier being the middleman. The Flyers captain was also seeing some double shifting while he remained on the fourth line with Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway. Zegras later saw time with Christian Dvorak and Konecny. So it appears for today the center test was pushed aside. At the end of the second Zegras avoided serious injury when he was tripped, colliding into Kuemper awkwardly and taking a while to get back on his feet. Fortunately he returned for the third showing no ill effects.

Tippett remains a bright spot

With all the problems emerging on the team, it’s good to see Owen Tippett still being visible on the ice. Tippett appears to be putting in the effort every game. During the Kings’ first power play, Tippett and Konecny started a rush up-ice that nearly cut the 2-0 deficit in half. Regardless, the winger has found different ways of becoming engaged, be it tossing his weight around or driving play. Although he had no points, Tippett had a pair of shots and some decent chances.

Afraid to shoot?

A few times in the first period, Philadelphia had decent chances to at least get a quality shot off. Each time the player decided to pass instead. It’s indicative of a team struggling when doing the most basic thing to be successful ends up being Plan B, C, or D. There’s rarely harm in shooting the puck in a slump. Yet somehow the Flyers remain averse to taking the easiest, most direct route to scoring.

If a message was delivered in the first intermission, the Flyers heard it loud and clear. Philadelphia looked quite different, generating more chances and pushing the pace far more than they did in the first. Rasmus Ristolainen had a shot hit the crossbar and Tippett had another shot earlier. All of that could’ve been squelched when Denver Barkey made an errant pass at the end of the Flyers’ second power play, resulting in a Kings breakaway for Cody Ceci. Vladar made the key stop at a crucial time.

Tightly checked third

Both Los Angeles and Philadelphia shut the door in the neutral zone in the last half of the third, rarely giving up any quality chances on either side. It’s as if they would’ve easily both agreed to let the clock run out without a whistle, both teams earning the regulation point, and see what happened in overtime. The best opportunity was with six minutes to go. Konecny found Cam York streaking in but Kuemper closed the door on him.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...-a-point-in-3-2-overtime-loss-to-los-angeles/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers in similar purgatory position one year after trading Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost

After spending the first several years of their NHL careers with the Philadelphia Flyers, Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost have now been with the Calgary Flames for just over a year. Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the Flyers trading the two forwards to Calgary in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, a second-round pick in 2025, and a seventh-round pick in 2028.

The trade was the first of a few by Danny Briere and Keith Jones that were meant to mark the final stages of the teardown portion of the rebuild.

Farabee was in the third year of a six-year, $30 million contract handed out by Chuck Fletcher in 2021. Morgan Frost was a pending restricted free agent, and the writing was on the wall that his time in Philadelphia was coming to an end. He was making $2.1 million, and that more than doubled when the Flames signed him to a two-year, $8.75 million contract in July.

Trading Farabee and Frost was a bit of a surprising move at the time. Farabee had become a focal point for the young players in the rebuild, and Frost was one of the few NHL-caliber centers that the Flyers had on the roster.

Dealing out two young players for a veteran like Kuzmenko and a project like Pelletier made some scratch their heads, but the Flyers did get a second-round pick and a seventh-round pick as well. Perhaps most importantly, the Flyers got out from under the $5 million owed to Farabee through 2028, and Frost’s time in Philadelphia had run out.

Flyers haven’t missed much from Farabee and Frost​

There was some risk with the deal, though. Farabee had recorded career highs in goals (22), assists (28), and points (50) the season prior, but had just 19 points (8 goals, 11 assists) in 50 games with the Flyers last season. A change of scenery could’ve sparked something for Farabee, but he finished with just six points (three goals, three assists) in 31 games with the Flames.

This season, Farabee has 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) through 54 games, so the Flyers aren’t missing out on much.

Frost appeared to have hit his ceiling as well. He had 46 points (19 goals, 27 assists) in 81 games during the 2022-23 season, buoyed by a much-talked-about second half. However, that went down to 41 points the next year, and he was around that pace again with 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 49 games with the Flyers before being traded.

He finished the season with 12 points (3 goals, 9 assists) in 32 games in Calgary, and has 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) through 54 games this year.

All in all, the two former first-round picks showed their ceilings in Philadelphia, and Briere made the decision to clear out some cap space as well as spots on the roster by dealing out Frost and Farabee.

What did Flyers get back for Farabee and Frost?​

Kuzmenko had an eventful but short-lived career in Orange and Black. He had five points (two goals, three assists) in seven games, but was flipped at the deadline to the Los Angeles Kings for a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. He found his game a bit in Los Angeles, putting up 17 points (5 goals, 12 assists) in 22 games, and he re-signed with the Kings in the offseason.

On the other hand, Pelletier never really got much of a chance in Philadelphia. He averaged just 10:31 of ice time per game, primarily on the fourth line, recording just eight points (three goals, five assists) in 25 games. The Flyers then elected not to extend a qualifying offer to the restricted free agent, losing the former first-round pick for nothing.

That appears to be the right decision, though, as Pelletier was picked up by the Lightning, where he’s played just two NHL games despite Tampa Bay’s injury issues. He does have 42 points (19 goals, 23 assists) in 37 AHL games, though, and perhaps he could’ve helped the Phantoms as a younger veteran.

The most important aspect of the return for Farabee and Frost has to be the second-round pick from Calgary. That was one of several second-round picks for Briere & Co. to use, and they selected Shane Vansaghi with the Flames’ pick.

Vansaghi may only have eight points (two goals, six assists) in 24 games on a very good Michigan State team, but the Spartans forward has the build for the NHL level. At just 19 years old, he stands at 6’2″ and 216 pounds. He could be a bottom-six power forward with power-play upside for the Flyers in a few years, and he could be here sooner than we think.

Where are Flyers one year after trade with Flames?​

Dealing away Farabee and Frost opened up some flexibility heading into the offseason. The Flyers were able to use the cap space and open spot on the roster to trade for Trevor Zegras and sign Christian Dvorak in free agency.

Perhaps those moves would’ve still been made if one of the two Flames forwards was still in Philadelphia, but moving two middling forwards cleared the way for the Zegras trade as well as more playing time for guys like Bobby Brink.

Unfortunately for the Flyers, they’re not exactly in a different position right now than they were a year ago. They’ve crumbled in the second half after finishing the first half with a bang, and many are wondering if there are any Farabee or Frost-type moves to make ahead of this year’s deadline.

Last year on February 1, the Flyers were 23-24-6 for 52 points in 53 games (.491 point percentage), but just six points out of a playoff spot. The season was lost at that point, with hopes for more deadline deals to come.

Now, they’re at 58 points in 54 games and nine points out of a playoff spot despite the fact that this season was supposed to be somewhat of a turning point. The playoffs were never an external goal, but the Flyers were in the hunt for a playoff spot — or in a spot — for the majority of the first half of the season.

However, a 2-8-3 stretch that’s seen the Flyers get outscored 58-33 in 13 games since beating the Ducks once again has them on the outside looking in. And this time around, there aren’t any real assets to sell at the deadline.

We’ll see if anything changes in the month leading up to the deadline, but the Flyers are once again in purgatory just one year after making a move in an attempt to change that.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...year-after-trading-joel-farabee-morgan-frost/