Philadelphia Flyers: Sizing up the Florida Panthers
The Flyers faced off against the Panthers three times this season, finding their game as the series went on.
The Florida Panthers are a team that the Flyers don’t see that often in a season. But they do have a chance to face off in the postseason.
The Panthers come in as 10th seed. They’re facing off against the Islanders in the five game play-in series. So it would likely take an upset for them to make it to the next round. They were swept by the Isles in three games this season.
A matchup with Florida would mean that the Flyers either have the top or possibly second seed. The Rangers (11th) and Canadiens (12th) are the only two teams with a higher seeding. It is unlikely we will see multiple teams with higher seeding upset during the play-in round.
Anything is possible, of course. Which is why the Flyers and Panthers could meet in the playoffs. It’s hard to know what you’re going to get though.
The first game was very different from the final two.
November 19th: 5-2 Panthers
It was a rough stretch going into this game and didn’t get any better after for Philadelphia. The lone bright spot turned out to be Morgan Frost.
The young forward made his NHL debut and scored his first goal in the league. Unfortunately, that came when the Flyers were already down 4-1 in the second period.
Five different Panthers would score, two of them posting multi-point nights. It was Travis Sanheim that kicked off the scoring, though. His slap shot from the point beat Sergei Bobrovsky.
Colton Sceviour got a little luck to go his way on the tying goal. His shot from the corner below the goal line hit off the back of Carter Hart’s helmet and went it.
After gaining the lead for good midway though the first, the Panthers pulled away in the second. Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau made it 4-1 in the second.
Hart would end up being pulled after the fourth goal. While making seven saves in relief, Brian Elliott did give up one goal. Mike Hoffman put the icing on the cake in the third period with the empty-netter.
Despite the Flyers outshooting Florida 14-5 in the final frame, Bobrovsky didn’t let anything else pass him. It was a case of turning things on too late.
The Flyers would learn their lesson, though, making sure to not fall behind the Panthers for long during their next two matchups.
February 10th: 4-1 Flyers
It was the first game back for Hart after missing the previous nine with an abdominal strain. He made 30 saves in the contest and didn’t look any worse for wear throughout.
And despite the Panthers scoring on their first shot of the game, it would be the only one that Hart let in. Ivan Provorov would tie things up with his first goal in 18 games.
The Flyers pulled away for good in the second period, grabbing two goals. James van Riemsdyk was on the receiving up on a 2-on-0 chance with Jakub Voracek.
Travis Sanheim, up in the play, knocked in a loose puck to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead. The Panthers came close to bringing to within one goal late in the third.
While on the power play, Huberdeau nearly scored by the post. He couldn’t control the bouncing puck, however. Instead, Giroux grabbed the rolling puck and when in short handed. He easily pitted the empty netter for the Flyers.
Things got even better for Philadelphia a few days later when the teams met for the final time. It was a complete and dominant effort by the Flyers.
February 13th: 6-2 Flyers
There was no doubt who was in control of this game from the start. And don’t let the even shot totals fool you either. Philadelphia controlled this game from the jump.
Three goals on nine shots should tell you the story of how this game started. And yes, all of those goals were scored in the first period.
It wasn’t just a dominant effort for the skaters on the ice. The goalie in the crease was sharp as well. It was Hart’s first road win in over three months.
The Flyers depth carried things, scoring four of the six goals for the team. Van Riemsdyk, Tyler Pitlick and Nicolas Aube-Kubel grabbed the first period goals. Bobrovsky was chased from the game after that period.
Scott Laughton rounded out the depth scoring in the second. The Panthers did try to make a comeback in the third period. Down 4-0, Huberdeau scored 33 seconds into the final frame. Barkov grabbed another goal almost five minutes in.
Sean Couturier and Robert Hagg would put the game away. With the game out of reach, the Flyers rewarded a few players with power play time in the final minute of the game.
That is where Hagg grabbed his third goal of the season off the feed from Raffl and Justin Braun.
That gave the Flyers two wins in the last four nights against the Panthers. It also brought them to 5-2-0 in their last seven games.
Aside from the first game of the series, the Flyers played Florida well this season. Even if they couldn’t contain some of their star players, they did enough to pull out two victories in three games.
If they can play as dominant as they did in the final game of the season series, they should have no problem if they match up against Florida in the first round.