The first period was scoreless. Sean Monahan (PPG, 1st goal of the season) got Calgary on the board midway through the second period.
Matthew Tkachuk (PPG, 3rd) doubled the lead midway through the third period. Mikael Backlund (ENG, 2nd) and Johnny Gaudreau (2nd) tacked on added insurance.
Carter Hart gave his team a chance on this night, stopping 32 of 35 shots. He deserved a better fate.
Jacob Markström, who has been lights-out early this season, recorded a 20-save shutout. He was barely tested for much of the game.
TURNING POINT
The penalty kill, although put to work more times than they'd, had been a saving grace for the Flyers in the wins in Edmonton and Vancouver. On this night, Calgary went 2-for-5 on the power play and kept the Flyers at bay on all three Philadelphia power plays.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) The first period was quite low-event on both sides. The Flyers and Flames both seem heavy-legged at times. The Flames made a push near the end of the period. Shots on goal for the period were 8-4 in Calgary's favor.
2) The Flyers won 11 of 15 faceoffs in the first period, led by Sean Couturier going 3-for-4. Both teams killed off a penalty successfully.
3) Philadelphia remained largely stuck in neutral offensely (16-8 shot on goal disadvantage) in the second period. Monahan scored on a power play re-direct for the game's only goal through 40 minutes. Rasmus Andersson and Elias Lindholm got the assists at 9:07.
4) The last thing the Flyers needed at the end of a 3-in-4 on the road was to spend excessive time in the penalty box. The Flyers found themselves shorthanded four times in opening 40 minutes and three times in the second period alone.
5) Despite generating so little sustained attack, the Flyere were still in position to come away with at least one point from the game if they could dig deep in the third period.
Tkachuk's power play goal at 8:30 put a stranglehold on the game for the Flames. On the play, Tkachuk finished off a tic-tac-toe sequence started by Monahan and Lindholm.
At 16:11, after the Flyers were unable to hold the puck in the Calgary zone, ex-Flyer Tyler Pitlick set up Backlund for an ENG from the left circle. With Hart back in the net, Gaudreau scored on a counter-rush for the Flames. He had room through the neutral zone, scorched Nick Seeler one-on-one and then scored after cutting in the left hash marks.
