It didn’t take long for the Flyers to make that Utah nightmare a distant memory.
Two days, to be exact.
On Friday night, the Flyers knocked off the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche, 7-3, on their home ice at Ball Arena in Denver.
The seven goals are a season-high for the Flyers.
The Avalanche entered the game with a home record of 20-1-4, tops in the league. And the Flyers scored four goals in the third period against a team that had been plus-20 in the third period.
Owen Tippett’s second career hat trick led the way for the Flyers. He capped it off with a shorthanded breakaway goal at 10:24 of the third period to put the game away.
Goaltender Sam Ersson bounced back from a mammoth disappointment in the Utah game, one in which they blew a two-goal lead in the third period and lost in overtime, to pick up the win.
Unlike the Utah game, the Flyers showed much better poise after taking another two-goal lead late in the contest.Jus
A goal by Tippett, his second of the game, just 56 seconds into the third period broke a 3-3 tie and 1:04 later, Matvei Michkov, who scored twice in this game, connected for a shot past goalie Mackenzie Blackwood for a two-goal lead.
Philadelphia completed the three-game road trip with a 2-0-1 mark. Five of a possible six points helped their position in the standings.
“Just the resilience,” Tippett said in response to a question about the rebound after the Utah debacle. “The ability to take the last game and throw it out the window. We all knew without saying that wasn’t acceptable. We wanted to have a bounce-back game.”
Coach Rick Tocchet was quick to rattle off praise for Tippett, Ersson and the Flyers’ resilience from the Utah game.
“I just think the last month he (Tippett) has been one of our best forwards,” Tocchet said. “His ability to transport the puck, we need, and he’s one of those guys who can do it. He looked really good tonight.”
Ersson was a big part of this three-game road trip success.
“ ‘Ers’ was really good for us,” the coach said. “He was down in the dumps (after Utah). He wanted to get his game going. He spent a lot of time with video. He had a lot of demons in him and he had to face those. I think he did. He was solid in the net.”
Ersson was all smiles after the game.
“A huge win to bounce back after the last game,” he said. “We get a lead (vs. Colorado) and they come back. You get kind of those flashbacks from the Utah game. I think it says a lot we were able to get that third period. A huge road trip and a good feeling going home.”
As for rebounding from the Utah game, Tocchet sounded impressed.
“Yeah, we scratched and clawed,” he said. “We had to kill a bunch of penalties tonight. I really thought they grinded it out, killing those.”
Why did Friday night’s third period turn out better than Wednesday night’s?
“We had a meeting about it,” Tocchet said. “Tonight there were about four or five guys who stood on the bench and said some key things. The guys that were talking usually don’t say much. It was inspiring for me to hear them say that. We have to enjoy these pressure games. You don’t want to hide from it.”
The Flyers held a 2-0 lead at the first intermission but the Avalanche quickly got it in gear in the second.
The Avs scored two unanswered goals from Parker Kelly at 7:17 and Victor Olafsson. Bobby Brink answered for the Flyers at 11:01 but Colorado came back to tie it again on a goal from defenseman Cale Makar from close range.
Despite getting outshot, 17-7, in the first period, the Flyers jumped to that two-goal lead on goals by Tippett and Denver Barkey.
Tippett used a Barkey feed for the opening goal at 15:02. Tippett’s first shot was blocked but he followed up the rebound with a rip past Blackwood.
Then Tippett helped return the favor. He fed Michkov who, in turn, found Barkey in front. He made no mistake from the right hash marks.
“We did a good job killing off those two penalties at the start,” Tippett said in a televised interview at the first intermission. ‘Barks’ made a great play coming out of our zone. He kind of suckered the D-man so he wasn’t right up on me.”
Barkey is finding the scoring range again (five points in five games) after a brief slump.
Was Denver thinking he was destined to score in Denver?
“I don’t know, I was thinking about that,” Barkey said in the second intermission. “Obviously super cool. I think we got stuck on our heels a little bit (in the second). We have to get back on our toes, get back to our game.”
With Dan Vladar still sidelined by injury, Ersson started his third straight game.
Coach Rick Tocchet apparently wasn’t fazed by Ersson allowing three goals over the last period and overtime at Utah.
“Him playing a couple games in a row hopefully can spur his confidence,” Tocchet said.
Mistakes were costly in the Mammoth game.
“This group is a real unselfish group,” Tocchet said. “But sometimes we do selfish things. We have to cut that out. You just cannot turn pucks over. You can learn from mistakes. That’s how you get better.”
Michkov hit an empty net in the third period for the final score.
>Short shots
The Flyers return home to play the New York Islanders on Monday night, weather permitting. . .Nic Deslauriers and Nikita Grebenkin were among the scratches. . .Tippett’s four points tied a career high. . .Blackwood entered the game with a career mark of 11-2-2 vs. the Flyers.
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