First Period
So far this Flyers season I’d say most of the games have been … entertaining at the very least. Not too many overall boring hockey games outside of the Dallas game and probably the Flames game as well. Maybe that was on theirs and the Blue Jackets’ minds when this game started because oh boy, that was some boring hockey. Sloppy, penalty-ridden hockey that went on for about half of the period. Even then, not exactly a barn-burner we had on our hands.
It took up until just over five minutes remaining in the period before we’d see the game’s first goal with Jakub Voracek lighting the lamp. From a sharp angle, Voracek sold pass and fooled Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo, to put the Flyers up 1-0. With it looking like they’d take that advantage, Boone Jenner banked a shot off the back of Brian Elliott to tie the game.
Voracek opens the scoring! pic.twitter.com/rqLD0wvzVi
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) October 26, 2019
Boone Jenner just scored a goal from below the red line. pic.twitter.com/eo68oJ8LxP
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) October 26, 2019
By and large, the Flyers played a solid first period. They didn’t give up much defensively, looked good on the penalty kill, and won the territorial battles. If they had been just a little bit cleaner overall in the period, they probably come away with the lead.
Second Period
Well, we certainly got a bit more action that period, didn’t we! It started off with the Flyers getting in some penalty trouble, and Pierre-Luc Dubois scoring right after a power play ended to put the Jackets up 2-1. Another penalty left the team short-handed again but it would be the Flyers getting the best of the scoring chances.
First, it was Sean Couturier receiving a filthy pass from Oskar “The Swedish Stank” Lindblom for the breakaway but he was denied by Korpisalo. Then, directly after the penalty ended to Matt Niskanen, Scott Laughton spotted him for the breakaway but was stopped again by Korpisalo. The Flyers always seem to get breakaways from guys who aren’t great on breakaways, don’t they?
They would eventually tie the game however, as James van Riemsdyk tipped home a Voracek pass on the power play. The thought with JVR has been as soon as he gets the first one, the floodgates will open, and so far it looks like that is definitely the case. He gets his second of the year to tie the game at two.
James! van! Riemsdyk! pic.twitter.com/vNUejKVIED
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) October 27, 2019
And before you finished watching that highlight, Boone Jenner (God, that name) put home his second of the game to put Columbus back on top. A long shot was floated in on Elliott who just … yeah, I don’t know what the hell he was doing. He couldn’t corral the rebound, and the Jackets pounced on it resulted in a mad scramble which eventually lead to the goal.
That’s how the score would look heading into the third, despite the Flyers overall playing a much better period of hockey. They got the puck to the high percentage areas more so than they did in the first, and overall played well defensively. That Elliott blunder just really killed the momentum from the JVR goal.
Third Period
So as long as Brian Elliott doesn’t have another stinker like that last goal we should … oh come on man. A shot went wide and Elliott just ah, well, I’m not sure how to describe exactly what happened. He was caught moving on the shot, and then just never recovered. Josh Anderson buried it into basically the empty net — for of course his first of the year — to give the Jackets a 4-2 lead.
It would take until shortly after the halfway mark of the period, but Shayne Gostisbehere finally got his first of the year with a patented Ghost Bomb. It would be a one goal game for the matter of less than two minutes as Ivan Provorov skated down the wing from his point position, and found GUESS WHO, James van Riemsdyk for his second of the game to tie it up.
First 👻💣 of the season! pic.twitter.com/9Y3Is7FR5M
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) October 27, 2019
Provorov shoots the puck right off of JVR and in! We’re tied! pic.twitter.com/YbrRWdEQkF
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) October 27, 2019
Sean Couturier would go to the box however almost immediately after this goal, and the Flyers would go on a huge penalty kill late. A trend that I’ve noticed already with this team that is so different than last season is how aggressive the penalty kill now is, and how they’re a threat short-handed. That trend continued in a big way in this game. Kevin Hayes out there looking like god damn Mike Richards stealing a pass to the point, streaking in for the breakaway, and burying it to give the Flyers a 5-4 lead.
KEVIN HAYES, SHORTHANDED. pic.twitter.com/95lCwjpyY5
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) October 27, 2019
The Flyers would add an empty net goal from Michael Raffl, and a late power play goal from Travis Konecny, and that would be that. A massive 7-4 win for the boys who battled back and then shut the door the rest of the way. I think I can say in full confidence, last year’s Flyers team is losing this game. Oh, and how sweet was it the Blue Jackets were mad offline at the end of that game. I’ll answer that for you, it was sweet as that discounted Halloween candy, baby.
Konecny makes it 7-4, lol. pic.twitter.com/jFzhjGdz2Q
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) October 27, 2019
Answering the Bell
1. Can Moose keep it going in net?
Well, not exactly. He didn’t look good tonight but the Flyers bailed him out and picked up the win. That’s all that matters as we get Carter Hart tomorrow vs. the Islanders.
2. Will the Flyers keep the momentum rolling?
OH YEAH. I heard the broadcast mention Alain Vigneault saying these next few games would really show what kind of team this rendition of the Flyers are, and this is one hell of a good start.
