Flyers burned by shorthanded goal as Panthers remain unbeaten
The Flyers came into tonight’s game with a 2-0-1 record. The Florida Panthers were 4-0-0. Someone was going to have their first regulation loss and it ended up being the home team.
A shorthanded goal in the third period burned Philadelphia as the Panthers continued their hot streak. It was the first goal the Flyers had given up in the final period of play, along with the empty netter Florida would also add in the final moments.
In a game that featured 11 combined penalties, there were only two power play goals scored. Florida opened up the scoring with their man advantage tally three minutes into the first period. Jonathan Huberdeau, who had two goals in the contest, scored his first with a power play tally. It came off a face off win from Aleksander Barkov. It only took them five seconds to find the back of the net.
The Flyers scored their only power play goal in the second period. Claude Giroux took matters into his own hands and unleashed his slap shot from below the circle. Sean Couturier, from the left boards, was able to locate Giroux on the far side. The captain took care of the rest, beating Sergei Bobrovsky high to the blocker side.
Before this goal, the Panthers had been perfect on the penalty kill. They showed off that tough unit on the Flyers’ first man advantage chance as they were barely able to get set up.
Cam Atkinson would make his mark again later on in the period and it would be on special teams. Always a player to look out for, he swiped the puck after Sam Reinhart turned it over at the line. No one was able to come anywhere close to Atkinson as he slid the puck underneath the pads of Bobrovksy to give the Flyers their first, and only, lead of the game.
That was Atkinson’s fifth point of the season as he’s recorded a point in all four games thus far. He is two games shy of the Flyers record which would tie him with Peter Forsberg (2005-06) and Greg Hawgood (1992-93).
The Flyers had a chance to enter the third period with the lead, but Florida continued to show why they have been a dangerous team. With a three-on-two advantage, Owen Tippett got his stick on a pass that went right by Travis Sanheim. There wasn’t much of a chance to Carter Hart after that. With 26.6 remaining in the period, it was a deflating goal for Philadelphia to give up. And it turned the momentum completely over to the Panthers.
The third period is where Florida was able to ice the game with special teams play. This time they grabbed their own short handed goal as Sam Bennett was able to grab the loose puck off an errant pass from Keith Yandle. Racing in, a diving Giroux wasn’t enough to shut things down as Huberdeau would end up with his second of the night, banking the rebound shot in off Hart.
Reinhart would ice the game with an empty netter as the Flyers weren’t able to apply enough pressure to get the equalizer.
While the penalty kill stood tall for most of the night, taking seven penalties took away any momentum Philadelphia tried to gain throughout the evening. And Bobrovsky was sharp for the Panthers and has turned in quite the early season performance a hat after he struggled mightily. He stopped 27 of 29 shots, the two goals coming on special teams play. Hart put in a strong performance as well as his play has also been a confidence builder for the young goaltender.
The Flyers finished up their four-game home-stand with a 2-1-1 record and will finally hit the road as they make their first trip to Canada since the 2019-20 season. They’ll have Connor McDavid waiting for them in Edmonton on Wednesday evening. With 13 points in only five games, he will certainly be the Flyers biggest point of focus.