TURNING POINT
The second period was a relatively low-event stanza for the Flyers, especially after Vancouver threatened on their first full power play of the game. That changed in a major way in the final five minutes of the frame. Zamula's seeing-eye goal through traffic resulted in transition play goals by Walker and Farabee. Later, Vancouver seemed poised for a major push in the third period, but it was short-circuited by Hathaway's shorthanded goal and a clutch save by Hart.
POSTGAME 5
1) Konecny had a point-blank chance on the game's opening shift after a defensive miscue deep in Vancouver end zone by the Canucks. The Flyers went on the power play at 8:21 as Nils Höglander tripped up Nick Seeler in the Flyers' defensive zone. Frost and York put routine shots on goals. With 33 seconds left on the power play, a Farabee holding minor behind the Vancouver net negated the rest of the power play.
Vancouver then went on the power play for 1:27 after the Höglander minor expired. The Flyers killed off the abbreviated penalty. Elias Pettersson missed the net from the left slot. Through 6:09, shots on goal were 4-0 Flyers.
Atkinson coughed up the puck up high in the defensive zone but erased it at the other end with a strong defensive play. Two shifts later, Brink made a dangerous pass up up in the defensive zone that was picked off, but Sanheim intercepted the puck just inside the Philly blueline.
At 10:21, Ersson denied a deflected shot and covered the rebound. Shots on goal were 5-2 in Philly's favor. Ilya Mikheyev then had a Grade A chance from the left slot.
The Laughton line got hemmed in their own zone for an extended shift, but Laughton had a counterattack chance at 12:27 after stealing the puck in the D zone. The net came off its moorings and the whistle blew at 12:38.
Laughton was denied on a wraparound chance at the 16:00 mark. Later in the shift, Deslauriers deflected a puck on net. With 1:28 left in the period after Quinn Hughes wiped out on the Philly zone and Frost triggered a 2-on-1 rush the other way. Puck carrier Atkinson was denied on a slap shot from the right circle. Subsequently, at 18:44, Couturier cleanly won an offensive left circle draw and Tippett wristed a shot on net from high in the zone.
In the waning seconds of the opening period, Atkinson took the puck away from a Canuck in the neutral zone. Nothing meaningful developed from it in the remaining time.
2) First period shots on goal were 13-7 in the Flyers' favor. Shot attempts were 21-14 Flyers. Scoring chances were 10-4 Flyers. High danger chances were 5-2 Flyers. Faceoffs were 15-2 Flyers, led by Couturier going 8-for-9.
3) Through the first four minutes of the second period, the lone shot on goal belonged to Sanheim in the opening shift.
Around the 5:00 mark, Poehling jarred a puck loose with a hit along the defensive boards. Farabee generated a shot at the other end.
At 6:06, Farabee was called for interference on Sam Lafferty in a play where the Canucks iced the puck. Vancouver went to their second power play. Brock Boeser missed a half-open net from the right slot. Ersson then made stops on JT Miller and Quinn Hughes. The Flyers PK took care of the rest.
Through the first 11:28 of the second period, shots on goal were 5-3 Vancouver, The Canucks got away with playing a puck with a high-stick in the attack zone. No damage resulted.
Owen Tippett was blantanty interfered with going in on the forecheck. Tyler Myers went to the box at 14:18. The second PP unit went right to the attack. Zamula cashed it in at 15:03.
The quick followup goals at 5-on-5 by Walker and Farabee put the Flyers firmly in the driver's seat. With the period ticking down near the final minute, Ersson made an excellent save on Boeser to send Philly to the second intermission with a three-goal lead.
4) Second period shots on goal were 10-7 in Vancouver's favor (20-17 Flyers through two periods). Shot attempts were 22-12 Canucks (36-33 Vancouver overall). Scoring chances were 10-7 Canucks (17-13 Flyers overall). High danger chances were 4-4 (9-6 Flyers through the first two periods). Faceoffs were 11-10 Flyers (26-12 Flyers over the opening 40 minutes with Couturier going 13-for-18 overall).
5) Twenty five seconds into the third period, the Flyers paid the price for a turnover in the offensive zone, opening the door for Vancouver to get on the scoreboard. The Canucks then hemmed Philly in on the next shift.
Ersson, nursing what looked to be a lower-body injury but turned out to be cramping from dehydration, had to leave the game at 2:36 of the third period. Hart came in and finished the match. Konecny (ill) left the game after his second shift of the third period. He went up the tunnel at 3:04 and did not return.
Farabee was on the receiving end of a heavy but clean hit by Noah Juulsen. At 4:51, after making a beeline for the Vancouver defenseman and grappling him to the ice, Atkinson received a double minor for roughing, Juulsen received two for roughing.
The hustling play by Poehling and second-effort shorthanded goal by Hathaway was a big lift for the Flyers. So, too, was an excellent save by Hart on Mikheyev on the first shot on net faced by the Philly goaltender after replacing Ersson.
Later, Hart had to stop a deflected Hughes shot. Through 10 minutes, third period shots were 4-2 Vancouver. Nils Åman had a point-blank scoring chance at 10:36. Hart made the save.
The Flyers went back to the power play at 11:21. Boeser tripped Sanheim behind the Flyers' net. The second unit started the power play. Tippett had a point blank chance set up by Frost from the left board to the winger at the doorstep, DeSmith made an excellent save.
With 3:54 left in regulation, after Brink was stripped of the puck in the D zone, Hart made a save on Pius Suter from the left slot. With 3:01 on the clock, Joshua narrowly missed the net from 20 feet. Frost and Tippett nearly connected on a play at the other end.
Third period shots on goal were 10-5 in Vancouver's favor (27-25 Vancouver overall). Shot attempts were 20-13 Vancouver (56-48 Canucks overall). Scoring chances were 12-6 Canucks (25-24 Vancouver overall). High danger chances were 5-4 Vancouver (14-12 Flyers overall). Faceoffs were 11-6 Flyers (37-18 Flyers overall, led by Couturier's 20-for-27). The Flyers blocked 18 shots, led by four from Seeler and three from Sanheim.
