The Philadelphia Flyers had one of the most bizarre games in their history early in their contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They played almost the entire first period and the first quarter of the second period with some lights out as there was a partial power outage in the stadium — the horn, PA system, and some other equipment were rendered useless for quite a while.
But the Flyers actually had to play a game, winning 6-2 over Tampa Bay and moving to a 31-22-7 record on the season to match their 2022-23 full-season win total. What were some takeaways from the game?
Brink Not Taking Lineup Spot for Granted
After being sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL) late in January, Bobby Brink was playing some good hockey with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, scoring six goals and five assists for 11 points in 11 games. With Travis Konecny out of the lineup due to injury and Cam Atkinson serving as a healthy scratch, he got the call-up and was able to get a huge opportunity to make an impact. And he took complete advantage.
Related: Flyers’ Demotion of Bobby Brink to the AHL Is a Mistake
Just minutes before the power went out, Brink got on the board. Firing one from pretty long range just over two minutes into the game, he sent a message to Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy pretty fast. He came to play, and he wasn’t planning on getting sent down. It would be hard to do so after his performance — he was all over the ice all night long.
If Konecny returns for the Flyers’ next game, though, who comes out of the lineup? It could always be Brink, but he was so good that it would be a hard decision to make. After a 6-2 win, it would be hard to take anyone out. That’s definitely a good problem to have, especially for a team like the Flyers that has run with seven defensemen and just 11 forwards for their games more than almost any team in the NHL.
Cates, Poehling, and Hathaway Line Is on Fire
The Flyers have found a new trio in Noah Cates, Ryan Poehling, and Garnet Hathaway. That line has been together for a little bit now, and it’s arguably been the team’s best. They had another fantastic game in this one, with the three scoring four combined points and Cates leading the way with a goal and a primary assist.
The great thing about the line is that its primary purpose is to play defense, yet the offense has been what has made it so strong. They’ve hunkered down against elite competition with a few shifts against Tampa Bay’s deadly trio of Brandon Hagel, who is on a 14-game point streak, Brayden Point, and NHL point leader Nikita Kucherov.
The three have what it takes to be a reliable line, and that is fantastic news for the Flyers. It has genuinely gotten them wins since it was put together earlier in February. It has been a huge energy booster, and that’s a big credit to head coach John Tortorella for seeing that it worked and not changing it at all even with some changes to the lineup through players leaving with injury, returning, etc.
Couturier Needed to Be on the Fourth Line
It wasn’t that much of a surprise when the lineups for this game were announced. Just a few games after being named the 20th captain of the Flyers, Sean Couturier was demoted to the fourth line for what seems to be the first time since he was a kid back in the early 2010s for the Orange and Black. It’s been a very long time since he’s seen the bottom line, but it was something he needed.
Couturier was due a little bit of a boost and actually had one of his better games in a while. His game was simplified by playing with Nicolas Deslauriers and Olle Lycksell. Sure, the offense wasn’t there, but he was solid defensively. Perhaps a low-event game is just what he needs to get back on track.
It has been a slow last few weeks for Couturier, even leading up to him being named captain. His offense has declined since the start of the season and his defensive results haven’t been much better. This game helped fix the latter.
There’s a reason why Couturier was named the captain. The Flyers are a better hockey team when he’s rolling. He’s been a huge part of their organization from when he was a teenager to today. They’ll need him to produce at some point soon.
Foerster Still Not Slowing Down
It’s getting a bit monotonous at this point mentioning it every single game, but Tyson Foerster is still playing exceptional hockey. He extended his goal-scoring streak to three games, scoring four since returning from injury on Feb. 24. Doing so on just nine shots on net, he is red hot and he hasn’t shown any signs that he’s going to stop.
Foerster helped open the floodgates for the Flyers in the third period, scoring the first of what would end up being five third-period goals for the Orange and Black, matching their highest-scoring game of the season with six total tallies. It was a nifty move for him that caught Vasilevskiy by surprise a bit, and it was a huge one to get the Flyers the momentum back. The whole game shifted after he scored.
During a season that many felt would have the Flyers regress, they will look to compile their highest win total since 2019-20 with their 32nd of this campaign on the road against the Washington Capitals on March 1 — exactly a week before the trade deadline. It’s going to be a very intriguing time between now and then. If the Flyers can win that one, they should be more confident entering the true final stretch of the season if they choose to sell at the deadline.