Postgame 5: Frost-bite in Philly

The Philadelphia Flyers wrapped up a seven-game homestand with a 3-2 against the Montreal Canadiens at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday evening. An outstanding all-around game by Morgan Frost, including a pair of goals, highlighted the victory.

Frost notched his second two-goal game of the 2022-23 season. He registered five shots on goal, two blocked shots (including one that led up directly to his second tally of the night) and won five of nine faceoffs in 20:40 of ice time.
The Flyers, who went 5-1-1 on the homestand, have won four straight games and have points in six straight matches (5-0-1).
Tuesday's first period was scoreless. Frost (15th goal of the season) gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 3:41 of the middle stanza. Brendan Gallagher (7th) answered at 9:39. The game went to the second intermission deadlocked at 1-1.
In the third period, Frost scored an artistic counterattacking goal (2nd goal of the game, 16th of the season) to put the Flyers ahead, 2-1, at 17:45. An Owen Tippett empty-net goal (22nd) proved to be the game-winner after Rafael Harvey-Pinard (13th) scored a 6-on-4 goal in the final minute to reduce the Flyers' margin from 3-1 to 3.2
Felix Sandström earned his second career NHL win. He stopped 27 of 29 shots.
Cayden Primeau, the son of Flyers' alum and former captain Keith Primeau, stopped 24 of 26 shots.
The Flyers went 0-for-2 on the power play. The Canadiens did not receive any power plays.
Carter Hart was a late scratch. The Flyers announced late in the afternoon that he isday-to-day with a lower body injury. Sam Ersson was recalled from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on an emergency basis to back up Sandström in this game.
FLYERS STARTING LINEUP
86 Joel Farabee - 49 Noah Cates - 74 Owen Tippett
22 Brendan Lemieux - 48 Morgan Frost - 57 Wade Allison
25 James van Riemsdyk - 13 Kevin Hayes - 20 Kieffer Bellows
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 21 Scott Laughton - xxxxxxxx
9 Ivan Provorov - 45 Cam York
6 Travis Sanheim - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
24 Nick Seeler - 77 Tony DeAngelo
61 Justin Braun
32 Felix Sandström
[33 Samuel Ersson]
TURNING POINT
In the first period of Saturday's game against Detroit, Frost had a defensive zone takeaway that led to a partial breakaway that he was unable to finish. In this game, Frost blocked a shot and then took a pass from Cam York to go off on a 2-on-1 opportunity. This time, the counterattack produced a vital goal with 2:15 left on the third period clock.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) The Cates line starting the game with a strong shift. That was followed by Frost making a pair of good plays on his first shift: a stick-on-puck forechecking play to force a Montreal turnover and, later, a a spin-o-rama move on a counterattack to put a backhander on net from the circle. At around 5:30, Hayes had a one-on-one chance on Primeau in transition off a nice feed from Bellows.
Through 8:07, the Canadiens led in shots, 7-4. Montreal's Brendan Gallagher hit the post at the 11:00 mark. With 6:33 left, Farabee was denied in close by Primeau. Allison was unable to find a Frost rebound that was loose in the crease.
2) First period shots on goal were 13-9 Montreal. Shot attempts were 17-17. Scoring chances were 10-5 Flyers. High-danger chances were even at 2-2. Faceoffs were 13-10 Montreal.
3) Frost created the game's first power play at 1:40 of the second period as he was tripped by Denis Gurianov as be cut across the Montreal zone. The Flyers generated a lot of crisp puck movement especially with Rafael Harvey-Pinard down on the ice hurting after blocking a shot.
Finally, Ristolainen worked the puck down low. From below the right side of the goal line, Hayes sent a tape-to-tape pass out to Frost in the left circle. Frost buried it to the blocker side at 3:41: one second after the Gurianov penalty expired. The assists went to Hayes and Ristolainen.
Bellows nearly scored on the next shift after the Frost goal. On an odd-man Flyers rush, Frost set up Sanheim, who had a chance in close. A couple shift later, after Seeler nearly scored, Sandström came up big on Jake Evans.
Shortly past the 9-minute mark, Sandström denied Michael Pezzetta. Two shifts later, Allison was one-on-one with Primeau but the goalie came up with the stop. Sandström stopped Mike Hoffman point-blank.
At 9:39, Montreal tied the game at 1-1. Laughton blocked a shot attempt and then didn't get much on a clearing attempt that both he and Braun went for. The puck went directly onto Gallagher's stick in the slot and he roofed a shot over Sandström. The goal was unassisted.
DeAngelo made a nice-looking pass to Bellows in the left slot. Bellows fumbled it and went in harmlessly on Primeau at 13:33. Shots on goal were 8-7 Flyers.
Sandström covered the puck in a scramble around the net at 16:57 after Joel Edmunsdson funneled it in front. Sanheim had a shot from the right circle at 17:39.
The Flyers went back to the power plat at 17:59. Bellows took the puck at the net and was tripped by Matheson. PP1 on generated more than a minute of offensive zone time. Frost had two separate slick entries with PP2 on the ice.
4) Second period shots on goal were 10-9 Flyers. Shot attempts were 24-14 Flyers. Scoring chances were 11-8 Flyers. High-danger chances were 5-5. Faceoffs were 12-8 Canadiens.
5) The Flyers started the third period with Farabee and Tippett centered by Frost. Provorov iced the puck on the second shift at the 1:29 mark. Cates won the ensuing faceoff and the Flyers eventually cleared but took an icing. Cates again won the draw and the Flyers cleared. Montreal iced it at 2:18.
Bellows snapped a shot on net from the left dot at 3:21. Primeau gloved it cleanly. Sandström stopped Harvey-Pinard from the right circle at 4:01 on a three-way passing sequence by Montreal.
Shots on goal were 4-1 Flyers through the first eight minutes and 5-2 through 11 minutes.
The Flyers iced the puck at 16;06. Hayes won the draw and the Flyers attacked -- but missed the net -- going the other way. The Habs went offside at 15:02.
Phily re-took the lead at 17:45. Frost blocked a shot in the defensive zone, took a pass from York and led Farabee on a 2-on-1. Cutting into the right circle, Frost finally elected to shoot and beat Primeau with a rising wrister. York drew the lone assist.
At 18:14, with Montreal attacking on a 6-on-4, Tippett stole the puck from Matheson along the right side boards and tapped an empty net goal into the cage. The goal was unassisted.
Still attacking 6-on-4, Montreal's Harvey-Pinard scored from the doorstep. Evans and Jesse Ylönen notched the assists at 19:37. The Flyers killed off the rest of the clock.
Third period shots were 8-6 Flyers. Shot attempts were 23-13 Habs. Scoring chances were 13-7 Montreal. High-danger chances were 4-3 Montreal. Final faceoffs were 33-25 Montreal.