Philadelphia Flyers can’t complete comeback in shootout loss vs Kings

The Philadelphia Flyers hosted the Los Angeles Kings hoping to earn their 25th victory of the season.

Defeating the Vancouver Canucks in their last contest, the Philadelphia Flyers looked to extend their winning streak to nine games and sweep the season series with the Los Angeles Kings.

Anthony Stolarz received the start from Interim Head Coach Scott Gordon and opposed Jonathan Quick in-net. Quick had a 10-13-3 record coming in, with a 2.97 Goals-Against Average, and a .903 save percentage. The Flyers needed a strong performance out of their offense going against a solid defensive team in Los Angeles in order to get the win.

Philadelphia did a good job of applying pressure in the offensive zone, but Jonathan was Quick (see what I did there) to shut it down and keep the game scoreless early on. The longtime NHL veteran’s play between the pipes eventually paid off, as Austin Wagner scored on a give-and-go play to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead. The teams traded chances to end the period, with neither being able to find the back of the net. Stolarz bounced back from the early goal-against, saving 17 of the 18 shots he saw.

Both goaltenders continued to stand tall as the second period began, making big saves back-and-forth to keep it a 1-0 contest. The Flyers were struggling to get anything by Quick, even in the most dangerous areas on the ice.

All of that began to change thanks to the stick of Sean Couturier, as he scored his 22nd goal of the year to tie the game up for Philadelphia. Claude Giroux made a nice pass to set-up Couturier in front of the net and the rest was history. Los Angeles went on to regain the lead on a goal from Adrian Kempe, putting the Flyers back in a one goal deficit after 40 minutes of play. The once promising comeback was put to rest and Philadelphia needed a better defensive effort going into the third.

The Flyers couldn’t convert on two power-play opportunities at the start of the third and went zero-for-two on the man advantage for the evening. They battled throughout the entire stanza, and were finally rewarded in the form of a Jakub Voracek tally with 17 seconds remaining to send the game to extras tied at two. After three-on-three hockey drew inconclusive, the teams went to a shootout where Los Angeles eventually won on the sixth round. I’m still very happy with the way the Flyers battled back even though they lost and, as the old saying goes, At Least They Got a Point™.

Philadelphia now has a 24-24-6 record on the year. Next game is Saturday against the Anaheim Ducks.