PHILADELPHIA – Given the Los Angeles Kings’ spotless record on the road, the Flyers knew they were in for a tough time in Saturday night’s game.
However, this was a case of total domination. The Kings beat the Flyers in just about every phase of the game, including the scoreboard, and they skated to a 5-0 win at the Wells Fargo Center, improving their record away from home to 6-0-0.
The Kings raced to a 2-0 lead in the first period and never looked back.
Adrian Kempe kicked things off for Los Angeles, getting behind the Flyer defense and poking a shot past Cal Peterson at 14:32. Then just 18 seconds later, Anzi Kopitar was in position to deflect a Matt Roy point shot beyond Petersen’s reach.
Meanwhile, Kings goalie Cam Talbot was more than steady.
Los Angeles doubled its output in the second period. Goal No.3 came at 16:01. Arthur Kaliyev had plenty of room to shoot from a scramble.
Petersen was at fault on the fourth goal with 15.9 seconds left in the period. Trevor Moore shot from the far outer edge of the right circle and Petersen simply let it float by on the short side.
The Kings scored a final goal at 6:32 of the third period. Blake Lizzote received credit for that one.
The Flyers fell to 5-6-1 for the season.
Petersen had not played in the NHL for a while but didn’t use that as an excuse.
“It’s not a result I’m happy with,” he said. “Or any of us is satisfied with. I have a lot higher expectations for myself. I think we were on the wrong side of puck luck tonight. I want to give the guys a little bit better chance to win there.”
Cam Atkinson is a veteran pro and has been through something like this before. One negative stat: The Flyers were blanked on the power play (0 for 4) once again.
“First period, I thought we were playing OK and then a couple of situations cost us,” he said. “Two goals in the back of our net and then we’re trying to crawl back in it. We just have to be a lot better. On the power play, we’re getting some looks but ultimately we have to start scoring.”
Coach John Tortorella took the loss in stride. His team had played three games in four nights with a flight trip to Buffalo thrown in the middle.
“We almost made it 2-1 on the power play and then we have a little lack of concentration and it’s 4-0,” he said. “Those are the lessons we have to learn and figure out. That’s how quickly it can happen.”
>York benched
Flyers defenseman Cam York was benched for the third period and wound up playing just a little over 15 minutes. He usually plays closer to 20.
“Obviously not the game I wanted to have,” York said. “You have to have a quick memory in this league. It’s one of 82, so you have to bounce back for sure.”
York has been playing on a first pairing with Travis Sanheim. With York gone, Sanheim finished up playing over 29 minutes and was a minus-4. York was a minus-3.
“It’s a game of mistakes, a lot of things out there happen quick,” York said. “I’m aware of that. I’ve got tough skin. I’m confident I’ll bounce back from it and have a good next game. I don’t want to make excuses, just have to be sharper and found a way to be better. We’re all pros, we all have bad games.”
>Military Appreciation Game
Saturday night’s game was billed as the annual Military Appreciation Game. Plenty of military personnel were on hand for the special night.
As a part of the Flyers ongoing commitment to the Philadelphia community, the Flyers have worked closely with multiple organizations to honor and pay tribute to Philadelphia’s active-duty service members and veterans.
“The entire Flyers organization is proud to honor those who have sacrificed so much for not only the Philadelphia community, but for our country,” said Keith Jones, president of hockey operations. “From the work that Cam (Atkinson) and ‘Torts’ (coach John Tortorella) are doing with Team Foster to our community relations department’s efforts with local organizations, it is admirable.”
Spearheaded by Atkinson who is a proud advocate of military appreciation initiatives and a co-Founder of Force Network Fund, Flyers Charities, Flyers Alumni Association, Force Network Fund and The John and Christine Tortorella Family Foundation have teamed up and partnered with Philadelphia-based Team Foster to purchase a service dog for a member of the Flyers Warriors, a hockey team of U.S. military personnel sponsored by the Flyers.
>Short shots
The Flyers begin a four-game road trip on Tuesday in San Jose. They will fly out to the West Coast on Sunday and practice in California on Monday. . .This was a battle of goalies playing against their former teams. Petersen played four-plus seasons with the Kings and Talbot competed briefly (four games) for the Flyers during the 2018-19 season.
