The Flyers ended the homestand with their sixth loss in seven games, this time a 5-0 thumping to the talented, playoff-bound Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center.
The basics
First period: 8:21 – Sebastian Aho (Jackson Blake, Seth Jarvis), 15:46 – Mark Jankowski (Eric Robinson, Tyson Jost)
Second period: 0:19 – Taylor Hall (Sebastian Aho, Shayne Gostisbehere) (PPG), 13:15 – Mark Jankowski (Eric Robinson, Shayne Gostisbehere)
Third period: 19:28 – Scott Morrow (Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall)
SOG: 26 (PHI) – 31 (CAR)
Some takeaways
Menacing Michkov
Matvei Michkov and Logan Stankoven got into each other’s face midway in the first, with Michkov being the only one sent to the box for an unsportsmanlike conduct minor. Neither one dropped the gloves but it marked the second time Michkov was in the box (the other for the Flyers’ delay of game on a failed challenge for goaltender interference).
For most of the night the forward was trying to create but not much was going right.
Ersson fighting
Hours after having his coach admit he’s not the goalie for the Flyers but possibly part of a tandem, Sam Ersson wasn’t dialed in but kept fighting to make saves. He made a few stops on the Canes’ opening power play. Ersson made a glove stop on the Canes during their second power play but didn’t make the catch, instead getting enough to keep it out.
The Canes’ second goal looked bad for the starter. Fourth-liner Mark Jankowski got a redirection from Ersson trying to clear the puck. The puck was there for Jankowski who beat Ersson for a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately, two golden Flyers chances shortly thereafter were nixed by great saves from Pyotr Kochetkov. After scoring up a power play goal early in the second, Carolina looked like they had their fourth goal. But the Flyers challenged this one for offsides. They were successful on that one, keeping it a 3-0 contest. Jankowski scored his second of the game (and his fourth since the trade deadline, on four shots) when he beat Ersson high on the short side, putting a bow on this one with a lot of time left.
ANOTHER TWO-GOAL GAME!
Mark Jankowski has his fourth goal with the @Canes! pic.twitter.com/OOiuB5ngh7
— NHL (@NHL) March 16, 2025
Tortorella stayed with Ersson in the third period, refusing to pull him for Ivan Fedotov.
More like a road test
Carolina entered the game winning seven consecutive games at Wells Fargo Center. So it almost seemed like the Flyers needed to play a “road game” to see if they could have any success. The Flyers were hemmed in early in the first as Sean Couturier’s line couldn’t do much to make clears and the defensive pair of Emil Andrae and Egor Zamula didn’t fare much better. Eventually a Jakob Pelletier attempt on the rush was Philadelphia’s first decent chance. But it appeared that if the Flyers could survive the opening 10 minutes (despite having the last change), they may have a chance.
The Flyers almost survived it but some offensive zone time resulted in the Canes taking the opening lead. Sebastian Aho scored after Jackson Blake just beat Travis Konecny to the puck, putting it by Ersson on the blocker side. Philadelphia challenged the call for goalie interference. The goal was a good goal, leaving the Flyers short-handed afterwards. Carolina’s power play is not hot, the lone saving grace being ranked 26th heading into the contest.
Konecny, Tippett close but no cigars
If hitting two posts and a crossbar on a shootout attempt isn’t the definition of snakebit, then Konecny doesn’t know what is. Konecny nearly got the monkey off his back down a man when Ryan Poehling fed him a pass on a two-on-one. Unfortunately Konecny didn’t get enough of it to put it home. Meanwhile, Owen Tippett had a strong first period with three shots on goal. But again, nothing to show for it.
Tippett took a shot off the hand late in the second and headed down the hallway to the locker room, seconds before Rodrigo Abols and Jankowski (who had a pair of goals) were tussling. The referees took just one of them, with Jankowski serving two minutes. Fortunately Tippett was on the bench to start the third period.
Getting the call right
The Flyers got the benefit of an officials huddle a few minutes into the first, resulting in a Cam York high-sticking penalty being negated after realizing York’s stick didn’t hit Taylor Hall in the face. Hall sold the non-infraction well but the stick simply hit him in the chest. It was strange seeing York in the box and then explained what happened, leaving York to head back to the bench and continue playing five-on-five. A nice break for a struggling outfit.
Hall made up for the quasi-embellishment early in period two when he capitalized 19 seconds in following a Poehling minor penalty. Not the best way to try to cut a 2-0 deficit in half. The goal was a backbreaker with so much game left to play.
Half a game of garbage time?
The Flyers were involved in a laugher with 25 minutes left to go. Given how futile the offense has been, and how snakebit a few forwards are currently, it seemed like the Flyers would’ve been happy to run out the clock as quickly as possible. A power play by Philadelphia had a few chances but Jakob Pelletier and Poehling couldn’t get the puck beyond Kochetkov (who tossed Poehling’s twig) and Canes player Tyson Jost.
After two periods only the fourth line and Ryan Poehling were over 50 percent in chances for. That said, when you let the opposing fourth line score two on you, it’s not a good night. The result after the halfway point was rarely in doubt, more damning given Carolina played the night before in Detroit while the Flyers awaited them. The only part that remained in doubt was whether Kochetkov would end up with the shutout or not. Konecny looked like he hit the postt with just under a minute left. But instead the Canes went up ice and put their fifth in, this one from Scott Morrow for his first NHL goal.
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You couldn’t fault the effort, but the talent-seeking Philadelphia Flyers came up on the short end of a 2-0 loss to Tampa Bay on Monday night. This despite the game being a surprise in terms of excitement and chances.
The basics
First period: 18:31 – Nikita Kucherov (Unassisted)
Second period: No scoring
Third period: 18:30 – Jake Guentzel (Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point) (PPG) (ENG)
SOG: 21 (PHI) – 23 (TBL)
Some takeaways
Line blender
The Flyers started the game juggling a few lines, including Olle Lycksell and Matvei Michkov on either side of Sean Couturier. And Owen Tippett, Ryan Poehling and Travis Konecny were a trio as well. Philadelphia, looking to sweep the season series (you can’t say that often this year), got off to a slow start with Bobby Brink getting crushed on a clean, heavy hit by Lightning blueliner Emil Lilleberg. Minutes later Tippett avoided what could’ve been a bad leg injury going skates first into the boards. Fortunately he wasn’t speeding down the wing and didn’t end up on a stretcher.
A functional unit
The Flyers’ power play might have found a little bit of mojo, and it only took 69 games to do it. The first unit which included Jamie Drysdale, Michkov, and Konecny looked like they had some speed, decisiveness with what to do with the puck and a far better look than most attempts. This was especially true during a four-minute power play in the second where they traded chances with Tampa and was run-and-gun. But they did look like they had some chemistry. Of course no goal was scored. But right now, something that looks good or even marginally competent is almost a moral victory.
Drysdale making things work
After getting loads of ice time against Carolina, Jamie Drysdale was back at it looking good and doing things he might not have done to start the year. Drysdale tossed a Tampa player off the puck easily, sending him down on his backside before moving the puck up ice. Drysdale also made a great move to break up a play in the neutral zone by Brayden Point.
Drysdale’s speed will be his saving grace in the league if he’s able to develop. Even on the awful power play, seeing him use his speed as the quarterback on the first unit is a breath of fresh air. The two minutes actually were enjoyable to watch with some passes that worked, some quality chances, and seeing Michkov and Konecny on for the entire power play.
Late in the first Drysdale used his speed to break up a chance by Nikita Kucherov who looked like he walked away with a Best Supporting Actor award as he collapsed to the ice. Remarkably, neither smelling salts were needed nor were the last rites performed on the gifted Lightning forward. Both Drysdale and coach John Tortorella weren’t happy with the call and a make-up call seconds later on Tampa evened things up.
Pinching D
Both Drysdale and Travis Sanheim were giving themselves the green light numerous times in the game. In the third, a Sanheim wraparound nearly tied things up. But the Lightning had their own chance when Brandon Hagel was stoned by Fedotov on a breakaway. The amount of pinching made for a rather entertaining if low-scoring game as both teams seemed to excel on the counter-rush whenever there was a turnover.
The Flyers held their own most of the game, with Sean Couturier having a strong attempt midway through the third that Andrei Vasilevskiy again turned aside. It was continuous action for a chunk of the final frame with both sides tightening up a little bit more.
Konecny not getting much luck
During some four-on-four time in the first, Konecny lost the puck in his skates and Kucherov scored on a breakaway. It wasn’t a miscue that saw the struggling forward benched.
Nikita Kucherov makes no mistake on the breakaway!️ pic.twitter.com/naT54kmhgH
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 18, 2025
In the second, it looked like Konecny tried to break his drought on his own goalie when, short-handed, Konecny rifled a shot back down to Fedotov who thankfully blocked the pass to kill some more time. Sadly, in the third period, Konecny and Tippett bore down on a two-on-one. It was a prime chance to tie things 1-1 but Konecny at best got his shot tipped or at worst missed way wide. He’s in his own head more than probably any critic or fan is, not a great way to go down the stretch.
Not getting much but not giving up too much
Philadelphia only had two shots in the first 10 minutes but they had a good chance by Olle Lycksell which Vasilevskiy got with top of his stick. Later, Travis Sanheim didn’t get as much wood as he wanted on his attempt but unlike Nick Seeler’s high wrister earlier, it did get on the net. The Flyers didn’t give up a whole lot and were rarely running around in their own end. But with the talent level not great, the effort level has to be at its maximum in order to give Philadelphia a boxer’s chance at two points. With a 14-11 shot advantage halfway through the game, the plan to stick around against a strong team was working as best as it could.
In the second period, on another power play, Michkov looked like he beat the Tampa keeper but the whistle blew before the puck crossed the line. Coincidental minors resulted from the scrum around the Tampa net.
Bad time, bad penalty
The Flyers probably deserved a better fate on this night. With the goalie pulled, Couturier was off balance following a check on Erik Cernak in the Lightning’s end. Couturier’s stick caught Cernak, drawing a double minor with just under two minutes to go. It was almost a given the Flyers would pull Fedotov to at least be at even strength. However, the Flyers botched the play, leading to Jake Guentzel scoring the insurance goal in an empty net.
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The Philadelphia Flyers only came away with one point in their weekend back-to-back but it was the play of a few key forwards that really stood out.
John Tortorella has been tinkering with the Flyers lines since the trade deadline. Travis Konecny and Matvei Michkov are both typically more comfortable on the right side, but the head coach put his two most-talented players back on a line with Sean Couturier this weekend.
Tortorella gave that line a brief look earlier in the season before splitting up Konecny and Michkov. But with the Flyers out of contention and the focus on the future (while also not completely giving up on the season), building some chemistry between the Flyers’ top wingers seems like a great choice.
And it paid immediate dividends.
Konecny broke his 13-game goal drought by scoring in both games while also picking up an assist on Sunday. He had just two goals in his previous 29 games.
Michkov also got off the schneid after going pointless in his previous six games. He had a nice primary assist on Saturday in Dallas before adding two helpers on Sunday.
The feed from Mich. The patience from Poehls.#PHIvsDAL | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/HjpT0fzBi5
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 22, 2025
It makes sense to put a team’s best players together on one line and it sounds like Tortorella is going to keep rolling with that trio for the Flyers.
“I think TK’s settled in that he’s going to play left wing. I think him and Mich are dangerous when they play together. I think they’re even talking more on the bench and I think are more comfortable playing with one another,” Tortorella said after Sunday’s game. “So I’m going to keep that together. I think it’s helped Mich and I certainly think it’s helped TK. And Coots has been playing pretty well.”
The trio of Konecny, Couturier, and Michkov has now played 104 minutes together at 5-on-5, according to MoneyPuck, with an Expected Goal differential of 6-4.8 (55.6%). They’ve outscored the opposition 8-7 in those minutes.
The Flyers don’t exactly have a wealth of options up front since trading away a few roster players ahead of the deadline. With the Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink line locked in, getting a longer look at Michkov and Konecny together on a line can hopefully go a long way heading into next season.
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