Morgan Frost delivers shootout winner as Flyers win another season opener

The Flyers must enjoy playing in season opening games. With a shootout victory over the Canucks, Philadelphia became the fifth team in NHL history to have a point streak of 10 games in their first games of the season.

They have also won all three opening games of John Tortorella’s tenure with the Flyers. Talk about being ready to play after such grueling camps. Though, that is exactly why he skates them the way he does.

Dating back to last season, the Flyers have won three straight against the Canucks. The two will meet again in exactly a week back in Philadelphia.

In a game that was fairly even in a majority of categories, it was goaltending that stole the show on both sides.posting near identical stats, Sam Ersson and Kevin Lankinen played large roles in their teams taking a point from this game.

Sam Ersson stands tall

If this was an audition to be the top goaltender, Ersson would’ve passed with flying colors. It wasn’t, but the Flyers new number one goaltender shined nonetheless. Making a total of 24 saves on 26 shots, Ersson showed why the Flyers have put their trust in him since thrusting him into the starter’s position.

He was especially huge in the first period as Vancouver came out buzzing. He made 11 of 12 saves in the period and plenty of them were testers. A few of those came on two power plays for the Canucks as Ersson would end up helping kill off five total penalties. He made eight saves while at a disadvantage.

If Ersson is able to be this type of goaltender for the Flyers on a consistent basis during the season, they could steal plenty of games.

Flyers power play clicks

The Flyers are hoping that the addition of Matvei Michkov and a healthy Jamie Drysdale can help jumpstart their power play. They have four opportunities to click against the Canucks. And while most ended without the puck ending up in the net, it was their first chance that gave them a key goal.

It was a classic case of tic-tac-toe between Bobby Brink, Joel Farabee, and Tyson Foerster. After Egor Zamula led Brink into the zone, the young forward slid the puck across the ice to Farabee. The latter wasted no time and one-timed a pass to Foerster at the side of the net.

It took Foerster 16 games to get his first goal of the season last year. He didn’t even need a period to get it done. After woke up and down play regarding his scoring, that has to be a confidence boost to net one ought away.

Youth earns Flyers a victory

The Flyers entered Friday’s game with 12 players all 25 years of age or younger. And seven of those 12 played a role in the shootout victory.

Aside from Ersson and those who contributed to the first goal, it was Cam York who helped the Flyers tie the game a second time early in the third period. Ryan Poehling, who was partially at fault for the turnover that led to Vancouver’s first goal, made up for it with the primary assist.

It took a minute for York to get credited with the goal as it was originally ruled to have hit the crossbar. But it was a solid offensive drive from the Flyers, winning puck battles and showing off their cycle game. For York, he’s looking to take yet another step in his development. It will go a long at if he can turn into a number one, or even two, defenseman.

And to cap off the victory, it was Morgan Frost who had the deciding goal in the shootout. The two sides needed an extra round after Jake DeBrusk and Travis Konecny scored in the third round.

It’s been said plenty of time, but this could be the make or break year for Frost. Coming into the last year of his two year deal, he needs to have a strong and consistent year to show the Flyers that he can help be a part of their future. Playing in a top-six role, Frost will get his shot as long as he continues to earn it.

Other Observations

• Matvei Michkov made his NHL debut as a top-line winger. There may have been some nerves to start, but he settled in as the game went along. All four of his shots came in the third period and he showed once again that he gets better later in the game. No points, but he showed why the Flyers are excited to have him.
• Jett Luchanko became the youngest Flyers’ player to debut for the team, having turned 18 in August. He didn’t look completely out of place, though he was a tad late in coverage on the Canucks’ second goal. He finished with one shot in 14:36 of ice time.