NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The one positive John Tortorella pointed out ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers’ Saturday contest against the Nashville Predators was the team’s resiliency. That was on full display as the Flyers bounced back from their first loss of the year with a 3-1 win over the Predators.
The Flyers not only rebounded from a rough loss to the Florida Panthers, they showed resiliency through the wild momentum swings of the game against the Predators.
For much of Saturday night, the Flyers looked like they were penalty killing despite being at even strength. The Flyers only spent six minutes actually on the penalty kill, which was more successful this game than it has been through the season. However, their inability to kill plays and get out of their own defensive zone made it seem like they were at a disadvantage longer.
However, with Carter Hart in net, the Flyers withstood the barrage. And, on one of the brief moments they had the puck in the offensive zone, they were able to take the lead with Kevin Hayes’ goal three minutes in.
That didn’t change the momentum much, and the Flyers continued to defend for long moments. Yet they extended their lead to two when Zack MacEwen found the back of the net with his wrist shot.
It wasn’t until the second period that the Flyers took control of the game. And when they did, they held it for so long they seemed to have an extra man. Somehow, they never converted the control to goals, and the energy dimmed following a scary moment as Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki was stretchered off the ice.
The game’s energy slowly returned, but the Flyers didn’t score again until the third period. Once again, they were dealing with a series of long defensive shifts when Hayes passed the puck up the ice in transition to Joel Farabee, who easily scored.
The game’s momentum evened from there, but the Predators pulled their goalie in the final three minutes. Matt Duchene scored with 2:18 left, ruining Hart’s chance at recording his first shutout of the season.
On his first shift of the game, Nicolas Deslauriers dropped the gloves. Typically that’s a move reserved for when the team’s energy starts to lag. Only two minutes in, there wasn’t much time for the Flyers to lag. Instead, they just didn’t come out with any energy.
Less than a minute later, the Flyers scored, giving them a lead despite their sloppy play. Tempers also ran hot from there. While Deslauriers’ fight was more calculated, the following scrums and fights were more reactionary.
A bunch of shoving ensued after Tanner Jeannot ran into Hart. Nick Seeler dropped the gloves after Cole Smith kept shoving him. The Flyers didn’t sit back and let the Predators shove them around but rather showed they’re a tougher team than the one that walked into Bridgestone Arena last March.
Toughness, however, doesn’t just mean the willingness to fight or hit, Tortorella has said repeatedly. The Flyers had trouble showing the other type of toughness Saturday, losing puck battles and spending too much time in their own zone.
A Flyers debut
As the Predators’ power play ran out, Lukas Sedlak skated hard toward the puck in the neutral zone, his stick jostling and his shoulder bumping the Predators, denying one last chance for a shot.
Besides the fun of reuniting with a former player, Tortorella was really looking forward to Sedlak’s help killing penalties. The Flyers came into the game with the 14th-worst penalty kill.
But Tortorella also was hoping to see some of the offense Sedlák had developed while playing three seasons in the KHL. Sedlák didn’t get much opportunity to display that until the second period. Then, he created a dangerous scoring opportunity. While it didn’t go in and rebounded toward the Predators, he didn’t give up. Instead, he went flying toward the puck and took it back to keep the Flyers in the offensive zone.
Sedlak played 9 minutes, 45 seconds and recorded three shots on goal.
Farabee finds his buzz
After earning his clearance earlier than expected, Farabee took the ice with his teammates to open the Flyers season. However, he remained quiet in his first game back — and he stayed quiet over the next three.
The young forward, known for his quickness and scoring ability, made it through four games without a single point or assist despite shooting the second-most on the team.
But he broke through in Game 5. Farabee earned the sole assist on Hayes’ goal for his first point of the season. He then doubled his season total with a secondary assist on MacEwen’s goal.
Farabee didn’t stop at two. He then added a goal as well, and it was scored in classic Farabee fashion with him beating the defenseman with speed and the goalie with his shot.
