Postgame 5: Flyers Lose High-Scoring Game in Windy City

The Philadelphia Flyers were defeated by the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-4, at United Center on Sunday afternoon. The Blackhawks ended a seven-game winless streak. The Flyers are 1-9-1 over their last 11 games and 0-3-1 on their current five-game road trip.

The wild first period saw the two teams evenly divide six goals. The Flyers led by scores of 1-0 and 3-2, while Chicago grabbed a brief 2-1 edge before erasing Philly's 3-2 lead. The play was loose but also entertaining.

Owen Tippett started the game on the fourth line, after being moved down in-game on Saturday in Dallas. The Flyers generated the game's first scoring chance. The Flyers had each of the first three shots on net including the game's first tally.

The Flyers took a 1-0 lead at the 3:59 mark. The puck went off a defender into the net and was credited to Jami Drysdale (6th of the season) after being initially credited to Travis Konecny. Matvei Michkov and Nick Seeler collected the assists.

At 4:57, Chicago went to the game's first power play on an Egor Zamula interference minor at 4:57. With play back at 5-on-5, a defensive breakdown by the Flyers led to a backdoor goal by Pat Maroon (5th) off a feed from Nick Foligno at 7:14. The assists went to Foligno and Ilya Mikheyev.

Forty-seven seconds after play resumed, Chicago took a 2-1 lead. Defenseman Zamula pushed play to the outside but Joe Veleno (6th of the season, first as a Blackhawk) scored to the blocker side at 8:01. The assists were credited to Tyler Bertuzzi and Philipp Kurashev.

A mere 11 seconds after the Veleno goal, Philly re-tied the score on a set play. An unscreened Travis Sanheim shot (7th goal of the season, ending a 40-game drought) went off goalie Spencer Knight into the net. The apples on Knight's misplay went to Konecny and Michkov at 8:13.

Capping off an outstanding forechecking shift, Philly got the puck to the net and Bobby Brink (11th) scored in close for a 3-2 lead. Breaking a nine-game pointless drought, Noah Cates earned the primary assist at 11:59. Tyson Foerster and Noah Cates earned the helpers.

Moments after winning possession on an offensive zone faceoff, Connor Bedard (20th) wristed a knuckling shot past Ivan Fedotov for a 3-3 deadlock at 18:12. The puck may have gone off Nick Seeler.

A puck-on-stick backcheck by Cam York broke up a dangerous rush for Mikheyev in the final minute of the opening frame. First period shots on goal were 11-9 in the Flyers' favor.

Chicago had the better pressure to start the second period and re-took the lead at 2:37. Bertuzzi (19th) backhanded the puck upstairs on a rebound over Fedotov's glove for a 4-3 Blackhawks edge. The assists went to Kurashev and Veleno.

The Flyers went on a two-minute 5-on-3 disadvantage as both Michkov and Sean Couturier were called for tripping minors at 5:28. During the two-man advantage, the Blackhawks' Ryan Donato (PPG, 24th) scored a redirection goal at 6:43. The assists went to Teuvo Teravainen and Bedard. The Flyers got through the remaining 5-on-4 kill.

Chicago continued to press the attack. Flyers head coach John Tortorella called timeout to try to get his team refocused. Coincidentally or not, the Flyers cut the gap to 5-4 at 10:13.

Couturier lost an offensive zone draw but the Flyers regained the puck. Scoring a goal for the second straight game, Travis Koneny (24th) deflected a Drysdale point shot past Knight. The assists went to Drysdale and Couturier.

Philadelphia went back to the PK at 12:23 as Travis Sanheim committed a blatant stick hold. At 13:26, the Blackhawks re-established another two-goal lead on Donato's second PPG of the game (25th) on a back-door put-in to the upper part of the net for a 6-4 edge. The assists were credited to Teravainen and Bertuzzi.

The Flyers went to their first power play when Olle Lycksell was tripped by Bertuzzi at 14:26. Knight made a good save on Couturier off a feed from Michkov. The Flyers were unable to capitalize.

With 2:52 left, Fedotov made an acrobatic pad save. He gloved down a puck as play continued. Second period shots on goal were 16-10 in another wide-open frame (25-21 Blackhawks through 40 minutes).

At the start of the third period, Tippett was moved up from the fourth line to play with Ryan Poehling and Jakob Pelletier. Lycksell went to the fourth line.

Chicago extended their lead to 7-4 at 2:13 of the third period. Maroon won the puck off the boards and Lukas Reichel (7th) put it in the net with Fedotov scrambling for position. The assists were credited to Maroon and Alex Vlasic.

The Flyers received their second power play at 7:35 on an Ethan Del Mastro holding penalty. Philly was unable to score.

Chicago goalie Knight earned the win with 23 saves on 27 shots. In a losing cause, Fedotov stopped 21 of 28 shots.

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

71 Tyson Foerster -27 Noah Cates - 10 Bobby Brink
39 Matvei Michkov - 14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny
15 Olle Lycksell - 25 Ryan Poehling - 22 Jakob Pelletier
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 18 Rodrigo Abols - 74 Owen TIppett

8 Cam York - 6 Travis Sanheim
24 Nick Seeler - 9 Jamie Drysdale
36 Emil Andrae - 5 Egor Zamula

82 Ivan Fedotov
[32 Samuel Ersson]

Scratches: 55 Rasmus Ristolainen (upper bod), 19 Garnet Hathaway (upper body).

PP1: Drysdale, Konecny, Couturier, Michkov, Brink
PP2: Andrae, Tippett, Cates, Lycksell, Sanheim

TURNING POINT

The biggest difference in this loosely played hockey game came via the special team performances of the respective clubs. The two-minute 5-on-3 in the second period was a key juncture of the game.

POSTGAME 5 ("RAV4 THINGS" REVISITED)

1. Ryan Poehling embracing expanded role: The Flyers' center had three goals in his last five games heading into Sunday. Against Chicago, he did not get on the scoresheet in 15:49 of ice time.

2. Michkov on left wing: The Flyers' rookie was moved to left wing on Saturday in order to be deployed on the same line as leading scorer Travis Konecny. On Sunday, his two first-period assists brought Michkov to 50 points on the season.

3. Power play: Philly entered the game mired in an 0-for-28 drought on the power play through their first 11 games of March. On Sunday, the Flyers were 0-for-2 on the power play. The penalty kill was 2-for-4.

4. Between the pipes : Fedotov played only the first period on Saturday in Dallas, allowing two goals on three shots. On Sunday, he stopped six of nine shots in the first period. In the second stanza, Chicago scored three more times on 16 shots. In the third, Fedotov saw just three shots (two saves) as the Blackhawks focused on protecting their multi-goal lead.

5. X-factor -- Cates line: Noah Cates, playing head-to-head against Connor Bedard, generated the game's first scoring chance. Later, Cates (breaking a nine-game pointless drought) and Tyson Foerster assisted on Bobby Brink's hard-working goal.