PHILADELPHIA – After a somewhat controversial goaltender interference call in the third period that negated a goal which would have tied the score, the Flyers players squawked a bit about the injustice of it all.
Yet if the Flyers had played better than they did, the game might not have come down to an iffy situation like it did.
As a matter of fact, this was typical of the Flyers’ home-ice play this year, which sunk to a record of 6-8-1 with Sunday night’s 4-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club.
The Wells Fargo Center has not been kind to the Flyers this season and it’s a key reason why their season overall record is 12-12-4.
So maybe the players should not have complained too loudly about the aforementioned goal which was taken away from defenseman Jamie Drysdale at 2:21 of the final period.
Even their coach John Tortorella said the goal should not have counted.
“Should have been disallowed,” Tortorella said on the potential scoring play, which saw Travis Konecny bump shoulders with goaltender Jaxson Stauber while both players were clearly in the crease area. “If you skate into the blue (crease paint) on your own, it’s going to get called.”
So, after 28 games, the Flyers’ road record (6-4-3) is better than their home mark and that has to be disappointing. Especially to loyal fans.
Look at the other strong teams in the Metropolitan Division: The top four all have winning records in their own buildings.
Drysdale agreed his team has to play better in the friendly confines of the WFC.
“It’s definitely disappointing considering we have the best fans in the league,” Drysdale said. “You want to perform in front of them. You know it’s always nice to win on the road and we look to continue to do so but being at home and giving your fans something to look forward to and cheer for. . .that’s something we have to take pride in.”
Goaltender Samuel Ersson, who returned to action after missing a month due to injury, expressed similar comments.
“We need to keep playing (at home) the way we’ve done on the road,” he said. “Simple, hard and I think the big keys for us when we have success, we don’t overcomplicate it. I think if we keep pushing it, we’ll turn it around here.”
Utah, formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes, never trailed in this game and the Flyers looked like a team playing its third game in four nights.
The Flyers welcomed back Ersson, who had been dealing with a lower-body injury which had sidelined him since Nov. 11. Ersson was OK but the Flyers needed something more in the neighborhood of sensational to earn any points out of this one.
A Morgan Frost turnover with 4:17 to play in the game while the Flyers were on a power play led to Utah’s fourth goal which put the game away. Kevin Stenlund had clear sailing for a breakaway goal.
Philadelphia fell behind on three occasions in a wide-open second period after the two teams went scoreless in the first.
Utah took leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 as the Flyers had trouble at times in their defensive zone.
The visitors connected at 7:01 when Michael Carcone raced in from the left circle and sent a shot toward net. The initial entry was stopped but the puck then bounced off defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen’s leg and back into the net.
Joel Farabee tied the score at 7:20. He was stationed at the left post when Nick Seeler’s shot from the opposite side was slowed and left open for a quick putback. It was just Farabee’s fourth goal of the season.
Farabee wasn’t particularly thrilled with the interference call on Konecny which disallowed which would have been the tying goal.
“The call, in my opinion, was pretty bad,” he said. “Goalies in this league don’t have to fight anymore. They feel contact, they throw their head back. It (a goal) is waved off every time. It’s ridiculous. It changes the whole game.
The Flyer fell behind a second time when a Mikhail Sergachev point shot was deflected by Juuso Valimaki past Ersson at 9:42.
Owen Tippett tied the score a second time at 13:34. He dished to Seeler, took a return pass and beat goaltender Jaxson Stauber from near the top of the left circle.
Utah wasn’t finished. On a power play, the visitors scored Logan Cooley took a pass from Dylan Guenther and backhanded a shot past Ersson at 15:30.
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Drysdale was matched with Nick Seeler on a third defense pairing. . . The Flyers get Monday off, then travel to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
