PHILADELPHIA — The Flyers needed goalie Felix Sandström to give them one more save against the Winnipeg Jets, rising to the challenge coach John Tortorella issued pregame. Instead, he allowed another goal.
After the Flyers rallied back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game, 3-3, in the third period on Sunday night at the Wells Fargo Center, Jets center Karson Kuhlman scored five-hole on Sandström for the Jets’ game-winner. Jets center Kevin Stenlund later scored an empty-net goal for a 5-3 final score. Kuhlman lost the puck as he skated toward the crease, but it slipped between Sandström’s pads and crossed the goal line.
In his first NHL game in 40 days after a two-week conditioning stint with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Sandström finished the night with 25 saves on 29 shots.
The Jets scored three goals in the first period on six shots, which were mostly beyond Sandström’s control thanks to poor defense in front of him. But the Flyers responded, as defenseman Ivan Provorov scored at the end of the first and forward Kevin Hayes tallied two on power plays to draw even with the Jets. However, they didn’t have another equalizer in them.
Defensive disaster in the first
While Sandström allowed three goals on six shots in the first period, he didn’t receive much help in front of him to prevent the Jets from scoring. Less than five minutes into the opening frame, Jets winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby deflected defenseman Brendan Dillon’s shot from the point past Sandström to pull the Jets ahead, 1-0. The Jets struck roughly a minute later, cashing in on a winger Joel Farabee turnover in the Flyers’ offensive zone. The Flyers were slow to get back, creating a Jets 2-on-1, which ended in a winger Kyle Connor goal for the 2-0 Jets lead.
The Flyers defense looked out of sorts again just over two minutes later when the Jets gained possession in the offensive zone. Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers brought the puck in across the blue line, then carried it behind the net, setting up winger Blake Wheeler with a pass in the high slot. Wheeler found center Mark Scheifele wide open for a backdoor shot past Sandström to put the Jets up, 3-0.
Power to the net
While the Jets dominated in the first period, the Flyers tried to keep chipping away offensively in hopes of mounting a comeback. With a minute and a half remaining in the opening frame, winger Owen Tippett received a pass from defenseman Cam York along the defensive-zone boards. He rolled off of a Jets defender to protect the puck, then skated through the neutral zone with speed on a 2-on-1 with Provorov.
Tippett held the puck with patience as he approached the slot, then found Provorov crashing the net. Provorov tapped the puck past Jets goaltender David Rittich as the Flyers cut the Jets’ lead to two. Tippett now has nine points in his last 13 games (three goals, six assists).
Advantage, Hayes
Going into Sunday, the Jets boasted the second-ranked penalty kill in the league (84.85%). They were 35-for-37 (94.6%) on the kill in their last 12 games, going 18-for-18 in their last six. Meanwhile, the Flyers have floundered on the power play throughout the season, ranking 30th overall (15.97%).
While handing the Jets two power-play opportunities in the second period, the Flyers earned one of their own with roughly three minutes remaining when winger James van Riemsdyk drew an interference call. It took about a minute and a half for the Flyers’ power play to get going, but they finally found a rhythm in the final 30 seconds. Defenseman Tony DeAngelo passed the puck from the point to winger Noah Cates in the high slot. Cates found Hayes down the right wing on the goal line for a one-timer past Rittich to make it 3-2, Jets. Hayes scored a second power-play goal early in the third period, cleaning up a shot from center Morgan Frost that rebounded back to tie the game, 3-3.
Not only were Hayes’ power-play goals clutch, but they also came in his 600th career game. Hayes has 13 points in the last 11 games (six goals, seven assists). The Flyers ultimately went 2-for-4 on the power play.
What’s next
The Flyers continue their two-game homestand on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings at 7 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia).
