The hardest part of winning a game a team is supposed to win is, well, winning it.
That was the case on Monday night at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. The Canucks entered the game with only one win in their last 16 games but were considered a somewhat dangerous underdog.
The Flyers, battling a three-game winless streak including the first two of a five-game road trip, knew the Canucks were hungry for a win, so they stuck to a conservative game plan.
Meanwhile, Michael Bunting and Travis Konecny scored goals and the Flyers left town with a 3-1 victory. Travis Sanheim scored into an empty net from 170 feet away after the Flyers were a man short due to a penalty plus Vancouver left its net empty in the final minute. That was the first Flyers’ first shot of the last period.
Joseph Woll picked up just his second win in goal for the Flyers. He had to face only six Vancouver shots through the first two periods but saw more action in a busy third period.
“It was a good two points, the guys played hard,” coach Rick Tocchet said in a televised interview. “The whole team played well tonight. It was a good game for everybody.”
Tocchet had been critical of the Flyers’ recent play in the middle and in the neutral zone. He saw improvement in this game.
“It was like last year,” he said. “We committed to checking. And then we got our breaks. So that was nice to see. We were good in all facets of the game.”
Limiting Vancouver to six shots for the first 40 minutes backed up Tocchet’s assessment.
“Just a lot of continued hard work,” Sanheim said. “Playing the right way, getting in on the forecheck. I thought for the most part the compete was there for a back-to-back for our guys.
“With the back-to-back, it’s tough to come out with the energy we did the first two periods. You could tell the guys were eager to get going. Wanted to get back on track and it was a nice effort tonight.”
The Flyers made some changes in their lineup and one of them paid off just a couple minutes into the game.
Bunting, who had not played for five games, picked up the game’s first goal when he moved down the slot and finished off an entry from Christian Dvorak with a shot past goaltender Leevi Merilainen at 2:02. It was Bunting’s first goal as a Flyer.
In a televised first intermission interview, Bunting said he was pleased to contribute.
“No one’s ever happy to be out of the lineup,” he said. “Just got to stay patient, be a good pro, get ready for an opportunity. Been in this league a long time now, been able to produce. That one felt good to get.”
The Flyers made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 3:05 of the second period. While operating on a power play, Matvei Michkov found Travis Konecny open at the bottom of the left circle.
The Flyers also made a switch on their defense, bringing back David Jiricek and sitting out Simon Benoit. Jiricek skated with Nick Seeler. In a second intermission, Dvorak discussed the Flyers’ strategy for this game.
“We’re just playing simple, playing the right way,” Dvorak said. “Rolling the lines, quick shifts, winning battles, going to the net. We’ve done a great job not giving them much.”
Vancouver scored with 7:15 to play on a goal by Jonathan Lekkerimaki to spoil Woll’s shutout bid.
>Verbal exchange
During the game, defenseman Nick Seeler and Michkov had a significant verbal confrontation on the bench and eventually had to be separated. This went on for about a minute before Porter Martone stepped in between the two men.
>Short shots
The Flyers head to Edmonton for a Wednesday night game, the fourth on the Flyers’ five-game road trip. . .Bunting played on a line with Zegras and Owen Tippett. The other top lines: Tyson Foerster with Dvorak and Konecny; Noah Cates centering Michkov and Porter Martone. . .Sean Couturier’s two assists in Sunday night’s loss at Calgary was his first multi-point game of the season. Couturier’s multi-assist game career total hit 54, just three off alltime leader Gary Dornhoefer. .With Bunting in the lineup, Cole Knuble didn’t dress for this game. . .Foerster had a goal early in the third period wiped off the scoreboard after Travis Sanheim was whistled for offside. . .Sanheim’s goal was the 67th of his career, tying him with Tom Bladon for third place on the Flyers’ alltime scoring list for defensemen.
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