Sometimes it can be an advantage to playing the same team twice in less than a week.
And sometimes it can’t.
The Flyers went into Wednesday night’s game at Detroit fully aware the home team was out to avenge a 4-1 loss last Thursday at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center.
When two games like that are scheduled so close together, the defenses on both teams don’t have to watch as much pre-game videotape. The players already have tendencies fresh in their memories.
The rematch game can be fun because, to use an old cliché, familiarity breeds contempt.
However, it wasn’t much fun for the Flyers, who saw a third-period rally come up short in a 6-4 loss at Little Caesars Arena.
Detroit picked up goals in the second period from Alex DeBrincat (10:15), Michael Rasmussen (16:05) and Joe Veleno (17:27) on shots past Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson to take a 4-2 lead.
And sometimes it can’t.
The Flyers went into Wednesday night’s game at Detroit fully aware the home team was out to avenge a 4-1 loss last Thursday at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center.
When two games like that are scheduled so close together, the defenses on both teams don’t have to watch as much pre-game videotape. The players already have tendencies fresh in their memories.
The rematch game can be fun because, to use an old cliché, familiarity breeds contempt.
However, it wasn’t much fun for the Flyers, who saw a third-period rally come up short in a 6-4 loss at Little Caesars Arena.
Detroit picked up goals in the second period from Alex DeBrincat (10:15), Michael Rasmussen (16:05) and Joe Veleno (17:27) on shots past Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson to take a 4-2 lead.
The Flyers did rally in the third period on goals from Noah Cates and Owen Tippett.
But Patrick Kane responded for Detroit, scoring a tie-breaking goal on a breakaway at 7:22 for the game-winner. Detroit added an empty-net goal with 1:12 to play.
It was the second straight loss for the Flyers, who saw their record fall to 14-14-4 on the season.
In the middle frame, DeBrincat scored off a sharp feed from Kane to give Detroit a 2-1 lead. After Cates gave the Flyers a tie just 25 seconds later, the Red Wings responded. Rasmussen one-timed a puck off a J.T. Compher faceoff win and then Veleno scored on a defensive breakdown.
A lively first period saw the Flyers take an early lead with a goal from Travis Konecny at the 1:06 mark. Sean Couturier intercepted a cross-ice pass and relayed to Joel Farabee. The left wing spotted Konecny racing down the middle. Konecny outwaited goaltender Alex Lyon, who left just a little opening in his pads and the right wing used his backhand to slide the puck through.
That lead held up until Tippett took a double-minor penalty.
On the second half of the power play, Dylan Larkin spotted J.T. Compher open at the right post for an easy tap-in with 1:41 left in the period.
In pre-game comments, Morgan Frost smiled when asked how he felt about playing a team in an emotionally charged setting at Little Caesars Arena.
“I don’t think the last game was too chippy,” Frost remarked. “But you remember how that game went. You remember some of the things they do, tendencies. So maybe there’s a little less to go over. That’s fun when you get to play that close together.”
Coach John Tortorella said there’s really no advantage to playing games against the same opponent in a tight timeframe.
“I just don’t overthink that,” he said recently. “Because I’m not spending too much time talking about the other team. It’s basically our execution.”
The Flyers may actually have played better in a loss at Minnesota on Saturday than they did in the initial win over Detroit.
“I thought we played really good against Minnesota,” the coach said. “Their guys scored, ours didn’t. That was the difference in the game. I just hope the result doesn’t affect our confidence.”
Frost said the Flyers seem to be on track with their overall game.
“I think maybe we’ve found some consistency,” Frost said of the last five games leading up to the game in Detroit. “We’ve kind of re-established our identity. I think everyone is kind of on the same page. I think you’ve seen a more consistent effort from us.
“And I think if we play this way we’re going to win a lot of games. Didn’t get the result in the last one (the 4-1 loss at Minnesota) but at the same time I don’t think anyone’s confidence is wavering.>Short shots
In the middle frame, DeBrincat scored off a sharp feed from Kane to give Detroit a 2-1 lead. After Cates gave the Flyers a tie just 25 seconds later, the Red Wings responded. Rasmussen one-timed a puck off a J.T. Compher faceoff win and then Veleno scored on a defensive breakdown.
A lively first period saw the Flyers take an early lead with a goal from Travis Konecny at the 1:06 mark. Sean Couturier intercepted a cross-ice pass and relayed to Joel Farabee. The left wing spotted Konecny racing down the middle. Konecny outwaited goaltender Alex Lyon, who left just a little opening in his pads and the right wing used his backhand to slide the puck through.
That lead held up until Tippett took a double-minor penalty.
On the second half of the power play, Dylan Larkin spotted J.T. Compher open at the right post for an easy tap-in with 1:41 left in the period.
In pre-game comments, Morgan Frost smiled when asked how he felt about playing a team in an emotionally charged setting at Little Caesars Arena.
“I don’t think the last game was too chippy,” Frost remarked. “But you remember how that game went. You remember some of the things they do, tendencies. So maybe there’s a little less to go over. That’s fun when you get to play that close together.”
Coach John Tortorella said there’s really no advantage to playing games against the same opponent in a tight timeframe.
“I just don’t overthink that,” he said recently. “Because I’m not spending too much time talking about the other team. It’s basically our execution.”
The Flyers may actually have played better in a loss at Minnesota on Saturday than they did in the initial win over Detroit.
“I thought we played really good against Minnesota,” the coach said. “Their guys scored, ours didn’t. That was the difference in the game. I just hope the result doesn’t affect our confidence.”
Frost said the Flyers seem to be on track with their overall game.
“I think maybe we’ve found some consistency,” Frost said of the last five games leading up to the game in Detroit. “We’ve kind of re-established our identity. I think everyone is kind of on the same page. I think you’ve seen a more consistent effort from us.
“And I think if we play this way we’re going to win a lot of games. Didn’t get the result in the last one (the 4-1 loss at Minnesota) but at the same time I don’t think anyone’s confidence is wavering.>Short shots
The Flyers get right back at it on Thursday night when they return home to face the Los Angeles Kings. Philadelphia is 1-4 in the second half of back-to-back situations. Aleksei Kolosov is likely to start in goal for the Flyers. . .TNT network announcer Kenny Albert, son of the great Marv Albert, called his 500th NHL game and Flyers president Keith Jones presented him with a special trophy. Albert recently called his 500th NFL game as well. . .Detroit defenseman Simon Edvinsson had to leave the game after suffering an upper-body injury in the first period and the Red Wings had to play the rest of the game with just five backliners. . .Kane’s goal was the 475th of his care
