On March 2, the Philadelphia Flyers achieved their highest win total since the 2019-20 season with their 32nd victory, a 4-2 defeat of the Ottawa Senators at Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers, now five points ahead of the New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division, needed the win badly. What were some takeaways?
Foerster Makes Some History
Tyson Foerster has been red hot since returning from injury for the Flyers, scoring six goals in his first five games. But that’s not exactly why he set history. It came with his goal on the penalty shot with under two seconds to go in the second period to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead, a tally that ended up being the game-winner. That one was the Flyers’ fifth penalty-shot goal this season, and they set the record for the most any team has ever recorded. And there’s still 20 games to go.
All by himself, Foerster changed the momentum of this game. It looked like a carbon copy of the Flyers’ loss against the Washington Capitals the night before. They had a great first period and a bad second and couldn’t mount a comeback in the third against their division rivals. But things changed this time. The Flyers had that great first frame and not-so-good second, but he struck with under a minute to go to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Not even a minute later, he got his next on the aforementioned penalty shot and gave Philadelphia a 3-1 lead.
It takes a special player to truly win a hockey game on their own. For Foerster, that was his reality in this game. The 22-year-old rookie hadn’t truly unlocked his offensive upside until recently — he had been more of a defensive specialist. Now sitting at 16 goals on the season, he is tied for third place among rookies and just one behind forwards Connor Bedard and Marco Rossi. Almost out of nowhere, he has put himself in Calder Trophy consideration.
Related: Flyers’ Foerster Ready for a Break Out in 2023-24
Since Travis Konecny came out of the lineup due to injury, ironically, at the same time Foerster came back, the youngster has been the Flyers’ best player ever since. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Now a first-line regular, the Flyers would be happy if he could provide even a fraction of what he has offensively recently. If he can, the Flyers’ chances at making the playoffs are looking solid.
Flyers Survive Senators’ Onslaughts
After looking pretty awful in the first period, the Senators came to play in the second. They increased their offensive chances and made it more difficult for the Flyers to dominate the puck. They got a goal out of it, but the Flyers lived to tell about it without ever trailing as a result of their bad period.
But it wasn’t just the second period where the Senators had a fierce offensive attack. In the third, Ottawa drew a double minor that gave them life down two goals. But the Flyers, specifically Nick Seeler, were up to the task. He blocked everything that came his way and the rest of the Flyers’ penalty killers came to play.
The Senators came to life again once they emptied their net late in the third period. They got chance after chance but kept missing them. Finally, though, they broke through with just under two minutes left in regulation. A contest that was no game at all became one quickly, and the Senators relentlessly tried to tie it up. They almost did several times. The Flyers could not clear their defensive zone for the rest of the game, but they survived and got the win with a Cam York goal with under a second left.
Sandstrom Provided a Spark in Goal
The Flyers’ goaltending has not been good recently. Felix Sandstrom, who had a .882 save percentage (SV%) in the American Hockey League (AHL) this season, was a last-resort call-up to help fix that. Starter Sam Ersson was coming off a .762 SV% performance against the Capitals, while Cal Petersen, the Flyers’ third and only other goaltender with NHL experience in the system, had a .781 SV% in his last game.
Thankfully, Sandstrom helped provide some stability in goal and had a very good contest for the Flyers. The Flyers might not have been so lucky if anyone else played in the net. This season, he was fantastic in his first game with the Orange and Black.
With a .923 SV% in this game and allowing just two goals, Sandstrom exceeded expectations against an Ottawa offense with lots of firepower, even though they were without captain Brady Tkachuk. He stood tall to give the Flyers a win in a game they really needed to have.
Next, the Flyers will take on the St. Louis Blues on March 4 in Philadelphia to wrap up their season series, one that the Orange and Black will be looking to sweep. It is their penultimate contest before the trade deadline and their third-last game against a Western Conference opponent this season. Their schedule is heavy in the Eastern Conference the rest of the way.