Flyers end long scoring slump but lose to Utah in OT

Travis Sanheim

Given the circumstances, just getting a goal early in Tuesday night’s game at Utah was a pretty big deal for the Flyers.
But by night’s end, the Flyers couldn’t keep the momentum going and lost in the last second of overtime, 3-2, at the Delta Center.
Dylan Guenther scored with just one second left in the overtime session.
Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson was at his best in this game and helped the Flyers earn a valuable point. He faced 42 shots, tying the most shots the Flyers have allowed this season.
Philadelphia went into the game having not scored a goal in 180 minutes, 15 seconds, a stretch that included a franchise-record three consecutive shutout defeats.
The scoreless streak, the second-longest in franchise history, finally came to an end just two minutes, two seconds after the opening whistle.
With Nick Deslauriers setting a screen, Rodrigo Abols guided a shot past Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka for the first goal of his NHL career. That ended the Flyers’ goal drought at 182 minutes, 17 seconds.
Although the overall effort was somewhat encouraging, the Flyers lamented they turned the puck over way too many times and had to rely on Ersson to prevent Utah from opening a wide margin.
“That’s the best I’ve seen him play since I met Sam,” coach John Tortorella said. “He was just incredible. If you don’t make them come 200 (feet), you’re in trouble.”
Travis Sanheim was encouraged by the effort put forth.
“It wasn’t pretty,” he said. “We continued to battle. We take it to overtime. It’s unfortunate how it ends. We needed to create more offense and push the other way. I was happy we continued to battle.”
The Flyers took the 1-0 lead to the first intermission, then traded goals with Utah just 57 seconds apart in the second period.
First, Utah tied it on a goal by defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, whose shot from the top of the left circle through a screen tied the score at 3:32. The Flyers countered quickly, with Tyson Foerster tipping in Sean Couturier’s entry from the slot.
Foerster has now posted 14 goals and is just about on pace to match or top his rookie season total of 20 set last year.
“We got on the forecheck,” Foerster explained. “We got them tired a bit. They made what I think was a tough (line) change. We had a fast break, we were lucky, ‘Coots’ made a great play. And so did Bobby (Brink).”
Guenther also scored in the third period to tie the score 2-2 and ultimately sent the game to overtime. He also had an assist for a three-point night.
Abols was happy to get that first goal out of the way. He might stick with the roster when some reinforcements arrive but at least he has this positive experience.
“It’s special, obviously,” he said. “It (playing in the NHL) is a privilege I don’t take for granted.”

>Lineup in flux

The Flyers were hoping to have their recent trade acquisitions from Calgary, Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, in the lineup but the two players were not able to clear U.S. customs in time.
Meanwhile, with Deslauriers back in the lineup for the first time since November, coach John Tortorella created a new fourth line with Abols, Jacob Gaucher and Deslauriers on it.
As for that line, the three players seemed to be having fun and looked energized.
“We talked a little bit before the game,” Deslauriers said. “Just keep it simple. The team was struggling to score goals. We saw some video that when you do the forecheck and having three get to the net, you have a scoring chance there, that’s pretty much what happened.”

>Deslauriers throws weight around

After helping out with the Abols goal, Deslauriers didn’t waste any time throwing his weight around. In a mid-period brawl with Liam O’Brien, the Flyer heavyweight was a decisive winner.
“I had a little bit of butterflies, I hadn’t played in a while,” Deslauriers said in a televised first intermission interview. “First shift, I get Rodrigo his first NHL goal. Kind of smoothed everything out.”
It didn’t take long for him to drop the gloves. O’Brien gave Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim a shove and that’s all it took to set off Deslauriers.
“I told him I was here,” Deslauriers said with a grin. “No problem.”

>Short shots

The Flyers return home to play the Washington Capitals on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center. . .The longest scoreless streak in Flyers’ history is 199 minutes, set in the 2003-04 season. . .Travis Konecny had a goal disallowed at 8:46 of the second period. Utah won a challenge as both Couturier and Matvei Michkov were ruled offside.

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About Wayne Fish 2701 Articles
Wayne Fish has been covering the Flyers since 1976, a stint which includes 18 Stanley Cup Finals, four Winter Olympics and numerous other international events.