PHILADELPHIA — The Flyers fell back under .500 on Thursday with a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, who have the league’s second-worst record.
The visiting Blackhawks, who have won five of their last six, came out with jump and pinned the Flyers to their own zone to kick off the game. Almost nine minutes in, Morgan Frost broke through the neutral zone and the 0-0 tie to put the Flyers on the board with the team’s fourth shot on goal.
With a 1-0 lead, the Flyers (19-20-7) matched their play to the Blackhawks, leading to a lot of back-and-forth. Both teams showed little offense and little defense. They gave away the puck and took away the puck in almost equal measure. Halfway through the second period, Jonathan Toews evened the score with a redirect goal to match the even play of the two teams.
The opponents continued to circle each other until a failed breakout by Rasmus Ristolainen and Owen Tippett led to Reese Johnson’s go-ahead goal late in the second period. Tippett was later demoted to the fourth line in place of Zack MacEwen.
The Blackhawks (13-26-4) were 5-2-1 when leading to start the third, and they quickly upped their chances of making that 6-2-1 with a Tyler Johnson goal, scored 32 seconds in off another turnover at the blue line, this one by Tony DeAngelo.
With a two-goal deficit, the Flyers woke up and started attacking the net. They gave up an empty-net goal, prompting DeAngelo to snap his stick. When the clock ran, the Flyers’ 17-game winning streak against the Chicago Blackhawks in regular-season home games ended.
Frosted up
From a four-point game to a three-game drought, Frost has had his ups and downs. But he’s now scored, and in stunning fashion, in two straight games.
Following his James van Riemsdyk-inspired, between-the-legs goal from Tuesday, Frost opened the scoring Thursday night. After defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Nick Seeler killed a play in their own zone, they got the puck to Frost. He carried it past both blue lines, stick handled around Seth Jones with two others on his heels, and then shot it off the crossbar into the net.
“I’m always kind of trying to find Reemer [van Riemsdyk] and Tip there, and I’ve been told to shoot the puck a little more, so that’s what I did there,” Frost said after the first period.
Frost placed four shots on goal and won 66.7% of his faceoffs. However, both of his linemates’ ice time suffered in this game.
Hard hitting
The biggest collision of the night was between Scott Laughton and the end boards. After going face-first into the boards behind the Blackhawks’ goal, Laughton had to be helped off the ice. Fortunately for the Flyers, Laughton returned quickly. He contributed on the first power play and showed jump as he generated rush attempts at even strength.
The rest of the hits were player on player, and the fourth line set the tone. Early in the game, Nicolas Deslauriers slammed Andreas Athanasiou into the benches with a hit that echoed around the arena. He finished with four hits. Patrick Brown added two more, and MacEwen provided the speed to help move the puck up the ice.
The fourth line’s physical play helped them kill plays and regain the puck. While they weren’t able to capitalize on their rushes, they created several chances. They also helped keep the Flyers in their own zone in a game that featured a lot of sprinting back-and-forth.
Tough breaks
With a few seconds left on the power play, Kevin Hayes wound up for a shot from above the right faceoff circle. He swung — and his stick shattered. It was just one of many stick issues the Flyers had. They had broken sticks, dropped sticks, and even a stick stuck in a jersey when Joel Farabee got tied up with a Blackhawks stick in his neckline.
The broken sticks were unlucky, and the Flyers’ luck was full of tough breaks. Multiple rush attempts were broken up or shots went wide. One of the unluckiest moments of the night came when Travis Konecny’s shot off a rush got deflected wide. Goalie Petr Mrazek slid wide of the goal, leaving the net empty. The Flyers tried to score twice, but Caleb Jones dived into the goal and made two huge saves.
The Flyers created even more good chances in the third, but they had little puck luck on their side. Konecny, the team’s leading scorer, took six shots on goal without scoring, and Hayes, the second-leading scorer, took nine.
What’s next
The Flyers head to Detroit to play the Red Wings for the first time this season at 7 p.m. Saturday.
