Flyers-Ducks game recap: Getting back on the right track

The Philadelphia Flyers managed to take care of business against an injury-riddled but still-dangerous Ducks team, winning in overtime 3-2.

The Philadelphia Flyers’ first two games were an exercise in inconsistency. In the season opener against the Sharks, the Flyers looked like an offensive force with an especially deadly PP unit. Then they were shut out against the Kings, piling up scoring chances but never putting one home. The question heading into game #3 against the Ducks, then, was which Flyers team would show up.

As it turned out, a little bit of both. Just like in the Kings game, the Flyers posted weak possession numbers through the first two periods before finishing strong in the third, and were (technically) unable to cash in with the man advantage. However, unlike the Kings game, the Orange and Black actually managed to tally some goals. And thanks to an overtime winner by Wayne Simmonds, the Flyers closed their West Coast trip with a solid 3-2 victory.

Game observations

Simmonds’ aforementioned OT goal was set up by an excellent pass from

Sean Couturier

, who had an all-around great game. He drove to the net hard, was strong on the puck, and played his trademark solid defense. Great to see him rewarded with two points on the night, a goal and an assist.

Philadelphia Flyers

Valtteri Filppula and Nolan Patrick swapped places on lines two and three, but the results were largely unchanged. I like the idea of putting Patrick with a skilled scorer like Travis Konecny, but not at the expense of giving Filppula extra playing time. Can’t have it all, I guess.

This fourth line, man. It’s pretty great. I might get tired of praising Taylor Leier, Scott Laughton, and Michael Raffl eventually, but if they keep up this level of play, it won’t be anytime soon.

Much better performance by Travis Sanheim in his second career game. He looked much more like the confident, aggressive Sanheim we’ve grown to love, and his Corsi For% of 64% was tops among Flyer defensemen.

Brian Elliott also looked more comfortable in his second appearance of the year. His positioning and rebound control were much improved, and the two goals he conceded were hardly his fault- one a pinpoint slapper from Cam Fowler, and the other by a Ducks player left wide open in front of the net.

While the Flyers’ powerplay officially went scoreless again, Patrick fed Ivan Provorov for a huge slapshot goal a mere second after the Flyers’ man advantage expired. In general, the two PP units looked pretty strong all night, a welcome sight after a disappointing performance against the Kings.

Most Fly

Sean Couturier. It’s early, but it’s hard to imagine him not putting up the big scoring numbers this year that critics have always sought out of him.

Least Fly

The defensive coverage failure that led to the Ducks’ first goal. You simply can’t leave an opposing forward unchecked in front of your own net and not expect bad things to happen.

One-Sentence Takeaway

All in all, leaving the West Coast with a 2-1 record after three difficult games to start the year isn’t too shabby.

Next: Flyers-Kings recap: Well, that could've gone better

(Stats via Natural Stat Trick)

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