Winning games on back-to-back nights might not seem like a big deal to some teams, but for the Flyers it’s enough to break out the party noise-makers.
After defeating the Blackhawks by a 3-1 score at the United Center in Chicago on Tuesday night, they made it victories on consecutive dates for the first time since Nov. 29-30, 2024.
With the two points, the Flyers managed to maintain their hold on second place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Flyers got out to a 2-0 lead early in the second period on a power-play goal by Noah Cates by way of a pass from Travis Konecny at 11:13. Konecny’s short shot eluded goaltender Spencer Knight.
Chicago got one back on a goal by Ryan Donato with 1:30 left in the period but Flyers goaltender Sam Ersson closed the door after that. Ersson broke a four-game winless (0-2-2) streak.
With the win, the Flyers are now 12-0-1 when leading after two periods.
Konecny said Zegras is fitting into the new system.
“I think coming in I was giving him a hard time,” said Konecny in a post-game interview on TNT network. “Playing hard and the right way. He’s done nothing but all the right things for us and he works hard every night. I think he’s just committed to playing hard hockey every night. I think in the locker room he’s such a big personality. The guys love him, the staff loves him. We’re really happy to have him.”
The only negative developments for the Flyers were the early departures of defenseman Travis Sanheim and Denver Barkey due to undisclosed injuries.
The Flyers opened the scoring on a goal by Konecny at 10:17 of the first period. The play was set up by a perfect lead pass from Trevor Zegras. With the assist, Zegras extended his career-best point streak to nine games.
Coach Rick Tocchet, interviewed by TNT network just after the Konecny goal, said he appreciated the way his team rebounded after killing off a penalty.
“The penalty killing’s been pretty good all year (13th in the NHL as of Monday),” Tocchet said. “Try to keep the puck in the middle of the ice. That was a hell of a goal by TK to get us in the game there. Trevor with a nice pass.”
As the clock ran down in the third period, the Blackhawks pulled Knight and Carl Grundstrom hit the empty net with 2:08 to play.
Konecny said he said Tocchet holds players accountable and that’s a big part of the team’s success.
“If you’re not, you’re not going to be put in certain situations,” Konecny said. “There’s just some offensive looks. It’s just given our guys a little bit of confidence. We’re just rolling with it and trying to get better every day.”
>Praise for Monday win
Tocchet said his team played one of its better structured games in Monday’s 5-2 win over Vancouver.
“I thought the ‘D’ played really well,” the coach said. “They stayed with the structure. And it’s nice to give ‘Vlady’ (goaltender Dan Vladar) those games, where it’s not a high-stress game. When goalies have to play high stress games, it’s tough. It was nice for him, he knew where the puck was at all times.”
>Barkey, Tippett connection excels
Barkey has been playing well since he was called up from Lehigh Valley and some of that magic seems to be rubbing off on Owen Tippett, who picked up a goal against the Canucks and looked much more creative on offense.
“Maybe this is the guy (Barkey) for him, I don’t know,” Tocchet said. “We don’t know if Denver is going to be up full time. The last couple games he’s a predictable kid. He makes the right play at the right time. He’s smart.
“I think for ‘Tip,’ he can read off him. When Tip plays with someone who’s not predictable, it’s a little harder for him. So I think maybe Barkey is the right kind of guy for him. Hopefully that connection can keep going.”
The coach likes what he’s seen of Barkey so far.
“If you watch him, it’s his body positioning,” Tocchet said. “If he doesn’t play smart, he’s probably going to get slapped around out there. If you watch him, he wins the wall battles with his technique. He gets the puck out and we get a rush chance.”
>Short shots
The Flyers have the next three days off for the Christmas break and return to game action on Sunday in Seattle. . .Tippett had a season-high 10 shots in the Vancouver game.
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