Ivan Fedotov pulled as Flyers end road trip with a loss in Seattle

The Flyers did not get the end to the road trip that they hoped for in Seattle. After winning their season opener against Vancouver, Philadelphia dropped the next three games.

That includes the 6-4 loss to the Kraken. The Flyers had a 2-1 lead after the first period before surrendering four straight in the second. They fought back, scoring two of their own, but couldn’t make the comeback as the Kraken scored one last goal to finish things off.

The Flyers return home to face Vancouver in their home opener on Saturday night.

Ivan Fedotov pulled in loss

It wasn’t a shining performance for Ivan Fedotov. He gave up five goals and was pulled after the second period. He has a tendency to make impossible saves, but allows goals that should be easily stoppable.

The cause for concern shouldn’t be too high as of yet, but there’s a reason John Tortorella said the goaltending situation scared him entering the year. The uncertainty surrounding Fedotov plays a large role in that.

The Flyers didn’t do him any favors on the final two goals before he was pulled. However, there are a few before that where a save would’ve been nice. Fedotov has given up 10 goals in his two games this season which won’t endear him to Tortorella. It’s a similar problem that the team had with Felix Sandstrom. The tendency to let in at least one goal that he should be able to save.

Scott Laughton scores twice 

For some of the bad that happened during the game, there were some positives. The fourth line was one of the Flyers’ best the entire night. Ryan Poehling and Garnet Hathaway finished with two assists a piece. Scott Laughton scored both first period goals for the Flyers as he also had an assist to finish with the three points.

On the first goal, Hathaway waited right inside the line before spotting Poehling. The latter’s shot missed the net but Laughton followed it up and was able to wrap it around before Phillip Grubauer could get over.

The second goal started with a face off win in the defensive zone. After coming up the ice, Poehling got the puck over to Laughton who recognized that Grubauer had already gone down. He fired the shot over his shoulder to give the Flyers the lead once again heading into the second period.

If the Flyers can get contributions from their depth players, it will help take some of the weight off the shoulders of Philadelphia’s leaders. Sean Couturier, Morgan Frost, and Owen Tippett are still looking for their first of the season. Frost scored the shootout winner against Vancouver while Tippett has been a bit unlikely in hitting multiple posts. Couturier has been one of the Flyers best in the face off dot, sitting at 51%. 

Power play strikes again 

The Flyers power play, while missing on three attempts, did connect for a goal in the third period. It was Jamie Drysdale’s first of the season as Philadelphia is hoping he can provide another spark to that unit. Another hope from Tortorella has been for Drysdale to shoot the puck more and not become predictable with the pass.

The young defensemen proved his coach right as he fired a shot from the point almost immediately after a face off win. It gave Philadelphia hope as it cut the deficit to one with plenty of time remaining in the game.

Unfortunately Seattle scored what turned out to be the dagger a little over two minutes later. But the unit has now scored a goal in all four games this season. They are 5-for-19 to start the season.