PHILADELPHIA – It took 17 games but rookie Tyson Foerster was finally rewarded for all the hard work he’s put in by getting his first goal of the season on Saturday.
Foerster scored just 59 seconds into the second period of a Flyers’ 4-3 overtime win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights at the Wells Fargo Center.
A lot of people on the Flyers’ bench were breathing a sigh of relief perhaps because Foerster wasn’t a sure thing to make the roster coming out of training camp.
But the young right wing has been working hard in other aspects of the game and actually was working on a “first” line with Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny in this game.
This should be a weight off his back and maybe the goals will start going in on a more regular basis.
“It’s huge,” Couturier said of the Foerster goal. “He’s coming into the league, he’s used to scoring a lot (at lower levels). It’s going to happen, some stretches like that. Even if he hadn’t scored, he’s played some good hockey. Doing all the little things right and still helping the team win so it’s nice to see him score and he’ll probably loosen up and I’m sure the goals will come in bunches soon.”
Foerster has kept things on an even keel and didn’t seem to let that scoreless streak get under his skin.
“It (the goal) is huge but I don’t think it’s necessarily all about the scoresheet,” he said. “I think we’ve been winning the last couple games because we’re playing hard and it’s great.”
That said, Foerster did allow himself a semi-big celebration after the puck went in the net. He scored a few last year so it wasn’t like this was the first of his NHL career.
Still, it had to relieve some pressure.
“Yeah, it felt good, finally,” he said with a smile.
The young guys on the team definitely weren’t intimidated by the defending champion Golden Knights. They attacked the third period and overtime like they really wanted that win.
“Coach came in (during the second intermission) and said, ‘take it to them, don’t sit back,’ ” Foerster said. “And that’s what I think we did, so that’s good.”
>Power-play skid over
After a power-play drought which lasted the better part of two weeks (0 for 28), the Flyers put a pair on the board against the Golden Knights.
The Flyers were dragging along at barely eight percent after finishing dead last in the NHL last season at around 15 percent.
In this game, the Flyers looked much more composed with the puck and made a decided effort to get shots on net.
“We had some good looks, I thought we finished plays,” Couturier said. “I thought we were a little hungrier than maybe the last couple games. We just have to have that hungry mentality and killer instinct.”
