ALLENTOWN – The important thing was not the final score but whether at least a handful of Flyers rookies showed some promise.
In the second game of the Rookie Series between the Flyers and the New York Rangers, it looked like a number of kids in the orange, black and white uniforms displayed flashes of upper-level talent.
After dropping the opening game on Friday night (4-3 in a shootout) at PPL Center, the Flyers played another close one on Saturday night.
This one ended in a 3-2 win for Philadelphia. The winning goal was scored by Samu Tuomaala at 33 seconds of overtime.
All of New York’s goals were scored against Flyers goaltender Sam Hillebrandt, who replaced starter Carson Bjarnason after one period.
Coach Ian Laperriere agreed his team played better on Friday night but somehow came away with a better result.
“We looked afraid tonight,” Laperriere said. “Our fourth line showed up physically but other guys need to realize that it’s pro hockey. Do they want to play for me (at Lehigh Valley) or do they want to play for the next guy above me (Flyers head coach John Tortorella)?
“They’re going to have to be a little braver, I guess.”
The second period started well for the Flyers but ended in near-disaster.
First, they increased a 1-0 lead by getting a goal from Sawyer Boulton at 9:40. The good fortune didn’t last long. New York broke through for its first goal at 10:57 with Matthew Robertson doing the honors.
Boulton is the son of former NHL player Eric Boulton.
“His dad put his fist in my face a couple times,” said Laperriere, drawing some laughter from the attending media. “I probably have a couple marks up there (gesturing to his forehead).”
The Flyers had a chance to increase that lead when New York’s Brett Berard received a five-minute major and a game misconduct penalty for sprearing.
Instead, the Rangers scored shorthanded at 15:31 when Adam Edstrom connected on a breakaway to tie the score at 2-2. For the rest of the power play the Flyers did very little in the way of generating offense.
The Flyers struck first in what amounted to a defensive struggle in the opening period.
Despite being outshot, 14-9, the Flyers came away with a 1-0 lead. During a Philadelphia power play, defenseman Matteo Mann fired from the right hash marks and the puck flew past goaltender Talyn Boyko at 3:05.
The Flyers’ rookie camp resumes Sunday and ends Tuesday.
Tuomaala brings a certain skill level and that was evident on the winning goal when he found a way to get open and take a nifty pass from Jett Luchanko.
“I had a couple chances in those two games and I finally got a goal,” he said. “It’s important for me to get the goals at the beginning of the season, get a great feeling for the season.”
As for his evaluation of his performance for the two games, he added: “I wasn’t happy with how I played. I wanted to play better but I got some good things at the end. I’m OK with those games. When I get the goals, everything feels lighter – the skating, when I get the chances.”
Defenseman Spencer Gill also has opened some eyes with his steady play.
“After the first period last night (Friday), I kind of got used to the faster, stronger guys,” he said.
Gill was paired with Hunter McDonald and that’s a pretty rough crew.
“He just told me to play my game,” Gill said. “And that I’m capable of playing at this level. Having his guidance out there helped me a lot.”
>Luchanko impresses
During his pre-game press talk, coach Ian Laperriere had more good things to say about Jett Luchanko in his first pro performance on Friday night.
“(Matvei) Michkov made all the plays,” the coach said. “He’s the ‘buzz’ of training camp. But Jett is not too far behind. I was very pleased and impressed by his game.
>Short shots
The Flyers’ rookie camp will resume on Sunday morning at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J. . . .Forwards Nick Capone and Ethan Samson were healthy scratches for the Flyers in Saturday’s game.
