Thursday night was a measuring stick type of game for the Philadelphia Flyers. They returned to the ice after a four-day break with a 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games and a five-game point streak. They seemed in a prime position to give the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers their best effort, especially with Florida dealing with some inconsistency.
In the last three and a half weeks, the Panthers dominated a home-and-home with the Carolina Hurricanes, outscoring the Canes by a combined 12-3 margin. A 5-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs preceded that, but before, the Panthers had lost six of their previous seven after picking up a shootout win against the Flyers in Sunrise on Nov. 9. And they entered the Wells Fargo Center coming off a disappointing loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
It looked like Florida would cruise early, taking a 2-0 lead less than halfway through the first and extending it early in the second. From 3-0 down, the Flyers were in the difficult position of needing to push significantly for offense — a challenge for any team, especially one tied for 22nd in scoring entering tonight. The Flyers did just that, scoring four goals in the second and taking the lead early in the third. But Florida showed why they’re one of the most battle-tested teams in the league, scoring three goals in the final 5:17 to escape with a 7-5 victory.
Game Recap
The Panthers didn’t mess around out of the gates. Evan Rodrigues won a tenacious battle for a loose puck that rolled back into the Flyers’ zone and then quickly swept it through Ivan Fedotov’s five-hole just 2:36 in. Then, a Niko Mikkola wrister from the left circle found the top shelf, doubling Florida’s lead within the game’s opening seven minutes.
Those were the only two goals Fedotov allowed, but that’s because he was pulled after the first period for Aleksei Kolosov. With Sam Ersson nearing a return from injury and John Tortorella openly saying he doesn’t want to carry three goalies long-term, Kolosov had a great chance to make a statement that he should be the team’s No. 2 goalie.
Things didn’t start well, though. While Carter Verhaeghe’s rebound goal early in the period was called off due to interference, all that led to was an absolute beauty by Aleksander Barkov later on the Panthers’ power play to ensure Florida a 3-0 lead. But the Flyers’ power play had an answer, doing its best to leave an 11.1% success rate in November behind them courtesy of a rebound goal by Tyson Foerster. Foerster, Matvei Michkov (who got the puck to the net) and Travis Konecny now have 12 power-play goals, while the rest of the team has one (scored by Jamie Drysdale on Oct. 17).
Just 2:17 later, the Flyers potted their first 5-on-5 goal of the night, scored solely thanks to Nick Seeler. The usually defensive defenseman jumped a Florida breakout pass at the left circle and immediately ripped the puck past Spencer Knight to turn the momentum. But despite a bundle of chances, the Panthers not only held their lead but added to it before intermission on a deft net-front goal by Verhaeghe, marking just the third time this season the Flyers’ penalty kill has allowed multiple goals in a game.
But former Panther Owen Tippett wouldn’t let the Flyers stay down. It’s been a rough season for Tippett, who had one goal in his last 10 games entering Philadelphia’s previous game on Saturday. But he scored the opener that night on a beautiful Michkov feed, and sure enough, the same thing played out and was then put on repeat late in the second. Two Tippett goals — the first a great pass by Michkov off an errant Florida turnover and the second more of a solo effort by Tippett but still assisted by Michkov — brought the Flyers even for the first time since the game’s opening minutes.
You’d expect Tippett to be able to turn a game around by himself, but less so Garnet Hathaway. But the Flyers’ fourth-liner was a difference-maker early in the third. After the Flyers failed to capitalize on the power play he created, Hathaway took matters into his own hands, jamming a loose puck into the Florida goal to give the Flyers an improbable 5-4 lead. It was his first goal since the last time the Flyers played the Panthers, and he also had a last-minute game-winner in Sunrise in March, continuing his success against one of the league’s best teams.
Garnet Hathaway
— Justin Giampietro (@justingiam) December 6, 2024
Inevitable against the Panthers https://t.co/7LUeFkAfzW
However, the Flyers weren’t able to bring it home. Their lead slipped away when Gustav Forsling beat Kolosov from distance, and the Panthers’ third power-play goal gave them the lead with 1:59 left, with the puck perfectly bouncing to an uncovered Sam Reinhart back post. Matthew Tkachuk put the game away with an empty netter, technically the Panthers’ fourth PPG after Tkachuk was tripped by Emil Andrae, who fell in front of the vacant cage with the puck. The goal was Tkachuk’s fifth point of the night, tying his career high.
