PHILADELPHIA —The Flyers laid their bodies on the line with game-saving shot blocks to squeeze out a 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings despite a third-period push Sunday.
The Flyers controlled the pace for the majority of the first period yet walked out of it trailing by one. Led by the Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee line, the Flyers created numerous scoring chances, but goalie Ville Husso kept coming up big for the Red Wings.
Meanwhile, the Red Wings had significantly less quality shots, but they were able to capitalize on a miscommunication between Frost and Ivan Provorov, and David Perron beat Carter Hart on the breakaway five minutes into the game.
It wasn't until the Flyers were at a disadvantage that they were able to tie it. The Red Wings had caught up to the pace of the game, and then they were awarded a power play. Down a man, the Flyers finally got one past Husso when Nicolas Deslauriers scored on a short-handed breakaway seven minutes into the second.
Six minutes later, Noah Cates deflected Nick Seeler's shot from the point to give the Flyers the lead heading into the final period.
The Red Wings had a chance to tie it with a third-period power play, but the Flyers easily killed it off, helped by big shot blocks by Tippett and Justin Braun. Noah Cates then saved the lead with five minutes left by diving to block the open goal.
Scott Laughton sealed the game with an empty-net goal with less than two minutes left.
First games
It was Tanner Laczynski's first game back from injury and Brendan Lemieux's first game as a Flyer.
Laczynski (lower body) was noticeable for both good and bad. He showed jump, stealing the puck and creating a breakaway opportunity. He also showed rust, making a bad turnover at the blue line with no one behind him. Hart bailed him out. Laczynski finished with one shot on goal, one rush attempt, 8 minutes, 38 seconds of ice time.
Lemieux was unnoticeable at first, but when the whistle blew after his first offensive opportunity, he was sharing words and shoves with the Red Wings. Things got heated again in the second between Lemieux and the Red Wings, but it only resulted in extra shoving. Lemieux finished with one shot on goal, five hits and 13 minutes, 46 seconds of ice time.
Coach John Tortorella also gave both Laczynski and Lemieux special teams time on the penalty kill.
Short-handed force
With Travis Konecny hurt and Patrick Brown traded, the Flyers were down two penalty killers. But the special teams unit continued to produce even without two of its staples.
The Flyers' overall kill percentage is nothing special. It sits in the lower half of the league's standings at 24th with a kill rate of 75.6 percent. However, they were third in the league in shorthanded goals (10).
An unlikely name pushed the Flyers into second, along with the Vancouver Canucks (11). Nicolas Deslauriers blocked a shot by the blue line and turned around for a breakaway short-handed goal. Deslauriers, who is more known for his forceful, hard-hitting play than his speed, now has five goals.
The Flyers then scored their third goal down six skaters to five after the Red Wings pulled their goalie.
Put me in, Coach
One of the positive moments for Tortorella in the Flyers' 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday was when he noticed Tippett looking at him for more ice time. Tippett is at his best when he's confident, and his confidence that game showed through in his dominance.
Tortorella granted Tippett the extra time in the Flyers' next game. Against the Red Wings, he went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, creating an opportunity to play Tippett more than his line. Tippett was moving with speed, creating multiple rushes. He set up scoring chances for himself and his teammates. And he played the second-most minutes with 24 minutes, 9 seconds of ice time, the most among forwards.
What's next
The Flyers head to Tampa, Fla., to play the Lightning at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
