POSTGAME 5: Flyers Fight for One Point in Minnesota
The Philadelphia Flyers overcame a late deficit but fell to the Wild in overtime, 3-2
A deflection goal by Noah Cates (7th goal of the season) gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 5:14 of the first period. In the second period, Matt Boldy (15th of the season) forged a 1-1 deadlock at 3:39. At 4:48 of the third period, Boldy scored again (16th) -- this time on the power play -- to give the Wild a 2-1 lead.
Late in regulation, the Flyers attacked on a 6-on-5 with an empty net behind them. A perfectly placed Tony DeAngelo shot (8th goal of the season) off a Kevin Hayes feed (30th assist) forced overtime. In overtime, Mats Zuccarello (19th) won the game for Minnesota.
Carter Hart stopped 20 of 23 shots in a losing cause. The relatively low quantity of shots masked some of the quality he faced. Marc-Andre Fleury claimed the win with 28 saves on 30 shots.
The game was a costly one for the Flyers in the injury department. Zack MacEwen sustained an apparent upper-body injury in a first period fight with Marcus Foligno. Wade Allison was injured on a second period blocked shot. Neither player was able to continue.
The Flyers, who moved around their power play personnel, went 0-for-3 on the man advantage. The Wild were 1-for-3.
FLYERS STARTING LINEUP
86 Joel Farabee - 49 Noah Cates - 11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk - 48 Morgan Frost - 74 Owen Tippett
13 Kevin Hayes - 21 Scott Laughton - 57 Wade Allison
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 38 Patrick Brown - 17 Zack MacEwen
9 Ivan Provorov - 45 Cam York
6 Travis Sanheim - 77 Tony DeAngelo
24 Nick Seeler - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
79 Carter Hart
[32 Felix Sandström]
TURNING POINT
In overtime, Konecny tried to wait out Fleury on a 2-on-1 rush with Sanheim. Finally electing to shoot, Konecny was stopped at 1:38. At 2:08, a spectacular solo rush by Zuccarello ended the game. He went east-west around Konecny, and was the first to the net, beating Hart with a shot to end the game on an unassisted goal.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) In the opening minute of the game, Cates fired a shot from the right side boards on net. After a takeaway by Jonas Brodin, Sam Steel was denied by Hart. Through four minutes, shots were 2-1 Flyers.
At 5:14, Cates tipped a Ristolainen point shot and the puck trickled over the goal line. Moments earlier, Cates sent the puck low to high out to Ristolainen, who was credited with the lone assist. Shot on goal at this point were 4-1 Flyers.
Hart stopped a Matt Dumba one-timer at 7:02. The Flyers were subsequently hemmed in but kept everything to the perimeter. At 8:17, Aillson took the puck hard to the net at the other end of the ice.
The next scoring chance belonged to the Wild.Steel very narrowly missed a back door tip-in on a Calen Addison shot after some effective stickhandling by Kaprisov.
As the opening period reached the midway point, there were three fights in rapid succession: a lengthy bout between veteran heavyweights Deslauriers and Reaves at 9:56, a fight deep in the Minnesota zone between Allison and Mason Shaw at 10:11, and then as soon as the puck hit the ice for the next faceoff, MacEwen had a bout with Marcus Foligno. MacEwen, who got the worse of the fight, left the game and did not return.
The Frost line got hemmed in on a long shift but everything was contained to the perimeter and no dangerous scoring chances resulted despite Kaprizov and his linemates bobbing and weaving. The middle of the ice stayed largely sealed off despite the lengthy possession time for Minnesota.
The Wild had a Grade A chance at 12:55. Hart robbed Matt Boldy in the slot.
At 16:16, Tippett stripped Matt Dumba of the puck high in the Minnesota zone and went in one-on-one with Fleury. The veteran netminder made the save to keep the Wild's deficit at 1-0.
Fleury made another good save; this time on Allison. Jared Spurgeon blocked a subsequent attempt by Sanheim.
Farabee iced the puck with 14.8 seconds left in the first period as he missed connections on a 15-foot pass intended for Konecny. Cates won the ensuing faceoff against Steel but the Wild quickly got possession. Before the buzzer, Ristolainen erased a scoring chance with a block on Spurgeon.
2) The first period, overall, was pretty tight checking. There were the two aforementioned shifts where Minnesota spent extended time in the Flyers' zone but it was well defended. Hart's best save was the one on Boldy. Fleury made a vital stop on the Tippett mini-breakaway.
First period shots on goal were 9-7 in the Flyers' favor although shot attempts were 24-14 Minnesota. Scoring chances were 13-6 Wild (per Natural Stat Trick) with an even 4-4 split in high danger chances. The Flyers won 11 faceoffs to six won by the Wild. Frost led in going 4-for-5 in the period. The Flyers blocked 12 shots led by three from Provorov. Minnesota blocked three. Credited hits were 9-7 Flyers. Multiple players had two apiece.
3) Allison painfully blocked a shot early in the second period and hobbled off the ice at 2:20. He later skated one very brief shift (7:03 to 7:13) but did not play thereafter. That left the Flyers with only 10 forwards for the rest of the game.
Hayes ran out of room in tight on a 2-on-1, He over-handled the puck and the threat was over.
At 2:45, Patrick Brown and Brandon Duhaime dropped the gloves: the fourth fight of the game.
The Wild knotted the score at 1-1 at the 3:39 mark. It started with a low to high play then back down low: Spurgeon to Foligno out to Boldy in front for the goal in prime scoring range.
A few shifts later, Frost tipped a point shot on net. Fleury stopped it. At 6:29 Frost drop pass to Tippett for a quick snapshot on net. Fleury tracked it all the way for the save.
At 7:30, Kaprizov followed up in close after an initial shot attempt was blocked. On the next shift, Steel maneuvered past DeAngelo and beat him to the net, crashing into Hart at 7:54.
Two shifts later, Tippett set up a chance for Laughton. Hayes was hooked by Addison in front and the Flyers went to the game's first power play at 8:33 of the second period.
The Flyers changed around their personnel on the power play. PP1 consisted of Laughton, Hayes, Konecny, van Riemsdyk and DeAngelo. PP2 had Frost, Cates, Tippett, Farabee and York. The Laughton unit started, The Flyers generated strong puck movement by both units but were unable to score. As the penalty expired, Laughton tested Fleury with a shot attempt that rang off the crossbar.
Kaprizov was called for an offensive zone interference penalty at 11:25. The Flyers generated no high quality chances of note during the 5-on-4.
Hart made an excellent stop on Boldy at 14:15 to maintain the 1-1 tie, Shortly thereafter, Frederick Gaudreau came within a hair of a spectacular goal. Provorov broke it up at the last split second.
At 17:07, Brown was called for slashing in the defensive zone. Boldy was stopped on one shot by Hart and missed the net on another.
4) Second period shots on goal were 11-9 Flyers. Second period shot attempts were 22-16 Flyers. Scoring chances were 11-7 Minnesota, however, with a 7-3 high-danger edge to the Wild. Minnesota won 12 second period faceoffs to seven by the Flyers (even at 18-18 through two periods). Through two periods, Frost led the Flyers at 7-for-10 while Boldy was 6-for-10.
Philly blocked three shots in the second period and 15 through 40 minutes. Sanheim led with four, followed by Provorov's three blocks (from the first period). The Wild blocked nine Flyers shot attempts in the second period and 12 through 40 minutes. Dumba led with four blocks, followed by Brodin with three.
Credited hits in the second period were 5-5 (14-12 Flyers through 40 minutes). Brown and Duhaime led their respective clubs with three apiece.
5) In the third period, Frost created an early scoring chance for Brown. Steel took a hooking penalty at 1:53.
On the Philadelphia power play, JVR hit the post at 3:03. Dewar and Fleury stepped up to prevent what looked like a sure goal for Hayes in an ensuing scramble. Pushing and shoving ensued. Somehow, the lone penalty was called on Laughton. That created 44 seconds of 4-on-4 time, followed by a Minnesota power play.
During the 4-on-4, Eriksson Ek had a fine scoring chance off a Zuccarello pass. The Wild subsequently scored on the power play at 4:48 to take a 2-1 lead. Boldy went to the net and finished off a cross-slot touch pass from Kaprizov, Zuccarello drew the secondary assist.
Spurgeon ripped a shot from three-quarters ice in on Hart. Eriksson Ek won the ensuing offensive zone faceoff against Cates. Ristolainen broke up a play and the Flyers cleared the zone.
At 8:37, Hayes had a chance in close as he tipped the puck on net. Fleury made the save. Zuccarello deflected a shot on net from the low slot at 11:02. Hart was equal to it.
At 12:11, Konecny fired a shot from outside the dot. Following the puck to the net, Konecny ran into Merrill, dumping him on top of Fleury at the whistle. A major scrum ensued, with the Wild going after Konecny. TK received a double minor penalty (interference and roughing) as did Foligno (roughing).
On the power play, Minnesota had three excellent scoring chances. Provorov broke up a cross-slot pass attempt. Bold fired high from point blank range. The Flyers survived the kill.
This proved crucial for the Flyers. Two minutes ticked off the clock but Philly was still only down 2-1. Tippett made an excellent play and found Hayes with a cross-ice pass, but the puck went off Hayes' skate and wide.
The Flyers pulled Hart for a 6-on-5. Provorov made a good pass to Hayes, just on the ice as the sixth skater, up high in the zone. Skating in a long stride or two, Hayes made a tape-to-tape pass to DeAngelo on the right side. DeAngelo fired off a picturesque one-timer that beat Fleury bar down to the short side: a perfect shot with barely any open space. Hayes and Provorov drew the assists at 18:32.
In the final minute of regulation, York took a puck to the net. It was a nice play but Minnesota handled it. The game went to overtime.
Third period shots on goal were 8-6 Flyers. Shot attempts were 19-15 Wild. Scoring chances were 2-1 Wild in the tight-checking period with just one high-danger chance awarded apiece. Minnesota won 10 faceoffs in the third period to five won by the Flyers (28-23 edge to Minnesota through regulation). Overall, Frost led the Flyers at 9-for-13 while Eriksson Ek was 10 for 16 and Steel was 9-for-15. The Flyers' Laughton was just 5-for-18 through regulation.
The Flyers blocked five shots in the third period and 20 through regulation. Sanheim had five and both Provorov and York were credited with four. Minnesota blocked three shots in the third period and 15 through regulation. Dumba (4) and Brodin (3) still led the Wild in that category through regulation.
Credited hits in the third period were 7-5 Wild (19-19 through regulation). Brown led the Flyers with three and Duhaime led the Wild with four.
