Coming off a five-game losing streak with all of those losses coming in regulation, the Philadelphia Flyers got a huge 2-1 win on the road against the 31-14-4 Florida Panthers, moving to 26-19-6 on the season themselves. What were some takeaways from the victory for Philadelphia?
An Uncharacteristically Ugly Start
Though the Flyers were on that big losing streak just mentioned, they had their absolute worst start of the season early in the first. They were beaten to every puck, failed to clear the zone at opportune times to do so, could not generate offense of their own, and let the Panthers have their way in the offensive zone. Even if it’s to a lesser extent than what occurred in this one, that’s typically the Flyers that do this to other teams. Instead, they got a taste of their own medicine and could have easily lost the game before it even started because of it.
It was definitely concerning to see the Flyers struggle early, not just because they were on a big losing streak, but because the Panthers are a very good team. They are one of the most well-rounded teams in the entire Eastern Conference when taking into account even-strength offense and defense, special teams play, and goaltending alike.
So with the Flyers inevitably giving up the first goal on a Carter Verhaeghe power-play snipe, it felt like another wash of a game. Things cooled off a bit after that tally, but their poor play wasn’t just post-All-Star Break jitters — Florida was coming off the same break, as well. Whatever was said in the locker room after that awful period apparently worked, though.
Konecny Back in the Scoring Column
Rather quietly, Travis Konecny hadn’t had his goal-scoring touch in a while. With just one goal since Jan. 7, he cooled off after having a seven-game point streak late in December and early on in January. It’s pretty well-documented that he tends to be a bit streaky, but we know that when he gets out of that rut, he’s out of it. With the game-tying goal in this one, perhaps sustained scoring might be in his future for his next few matches.
It was a pretty innocent play, but Konecny is a fiend on the rush. When he gets those opportunities, he almost always buries them (other than when he got stopped earlier on a breakaway chance, of course). Still, he’s got the speed and the shot to take advantage of those situations every time.
Getting on the board for Konecny is big, and if he can keep doing so the Flyers are in a good place. They have some terrific defensive teams up next on their schedule, so his production will be vital — the Panthers were one of those. If he can produce, they might find themselves on another run. If not, they could return to their losing ways. The Flyers are built so that they can win games without just him producing, but it won’t be easy.
Cates Gets the Offense Going
For the Flyers, forward Noah Cates was a defensive wizard last season with some offense showing up here and there, but that was in a bigger role with the team. Unfortunately, 2023-24 just hasn’t been the season for him. He’s battled injury and not been able to get a top-six spot, leading to any offense that he might’ve had falling even further. But with the game-winning goal in this one, all of that is forgotten.
Cates has again been an all-defense no-offense type of forward like he was in 2022-23, but that’s okay for the 25-year-old. At this stage, that’s all that’s really needed of him. It would obviously be nice for him to find a more consistent scoring touch, but if he can provide goals like the one he did in this game once in a while, he’ll be more than worthy of a roster spot. He was actually having a very good and noticeable game well before he buried just his second goal of this season, so it felt natural that he’d get it. Finally, he was rewarded.
Ersson Keeps the Flyers in the Game
As mentioned previously, the Flyers were in big-time trouble early on. One of the reasons they got out of that was because of goaltender Sam Ersson, keeping his team in the game when they were at their absolute worst, only surrendering a goal that he really didn’t have a chance on and that was perfectly placed.
While the Panthers did give him a few soft shots to deal with, many of those were high-danger chances, too. Ersson has to face a lot of these every game, but he was up for the challenge here and was perfect in the second and third periods. Holding down the fort and only allowing one goal, just anything offensively would’ve given the Flyers a win, and they delivered on that front.
Ersson was coming off a few rotten contests with the Flyers, so for him to have a great one here should help his confidence. His progress as he becomes more comfortable starting a high workload will have to be monitored unless backup Cal Petersen gets utilized more from now until the end of the season.
Ersson has already had many starts in a short span this season, so it’s not really anything new for him — the results just weren’t there for a while. Now that some of the contests where he was in the net and got pummelled with goals are behind him, he should be riding a wave of confidence after this effort he just had. Goaltenders can be very streaky, and he has been a big example of that. Hopefully, the streakiness is in a positive direction rather than a negative one for a little while.
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Next up, the Flyers will have to take on the 30-13-5 Winnipeg Jets but do get to return home to Wells Fargo Center. They already beat the Jets once this season, but they’re a team that’s going to be looking for some revenge. One of the best teams in NHL history at allowing nothing to go in their net, both Ersson and the Flyers’ defense will have to be sharp.
