Flyers Fall to Columbus in First Game of Road Trip

The Flyers fell today against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a game that went to shootouts. This was a game we’ve seen a lot from the Flyers this season, where they played tough, and for the most part, played very well, but were unable to come up with the win. Considering that the Flyers just played yesterday, you give the team a ton of credit for bringing the energy tonight, especially with a backup goalie, but still, you’d prefer to have two points instead of one.

Bobby Brink got the scoring started for the Flyers after quickly redirecting a pass from Nick Seeler into the net. This was Brink’s 20th point of the year but only his fifth goal, due mainly to the high number of assists he’s accrued as a member of the young line with Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster. Jamie Drysdale also picked up an assist on the Brink goal, moving his point streak up to three games.

The Blue Jackets would tie the game off the stick of Zach Werenski, who beat Flyers backup goalie Ivan Fedotov on a breakaway. This was Werenski’s 14th goal of the year, which leads all defensemen in the NHL. The rest of the first period would be a defensive battle where neither team would be able to score another goal.

This defensive battle would continue throughout the second period, where the score would still remain 1-1 once the period ended. Both Fedotov and Columbus goalie Daniil Tarasov made nine saves and killed off a penalty. This was a particularly impressive showing from Fedotov, who has only played in four games since the start of December due to the Flyers’ indecision over who the official backup will be. He seems to have officially claimed that spot over Aleksei Kolosov for the time being, but we have seen so many goalie changes in Philly this year that it’s almost impossible to say for sure.

Fedotov’s strong performance was bolstered as the third period got underway with a fantastic save on Damon Severson to keep the game tied. The offense returned the favor for Fedotov’s save by finally breaking the scoring drought. Owen Tippett snuck the puck under the pad of Sarasov to give the Flyers a 2-1. This was a great example of complimentary hockey that we have not seen much from Philly this year, but we have seen much more often in recent games.

With less than five minutes to go, Werenski took advantage of another breakaway, this time a two-on-one, tying the game back up for the Blue Jackets at 2-2. It was a sloppy sequence that allowed Columbus to be in this position, showing that even when this Flyers team is clicking they still have mistakes they need to iron out before taking that next step. Despite a late push in the waning seconds of regulation by the Blue Jackets where they were able to get two good shots up, Fedotov held strong and sent the game to overtime.

Overtime would not be enough to decide this one either, as both goalies again played lights out, making incredible saves to keep this game going.

This would be where Fedotov would finally show some cracks. After only allowing two goals all game he allowed two shootout goals in three attempts. The Flyers went 0/2 in their attempts, giving the Blue Jackets a 3-2 victory, but still giving Philly a point for their efforts, and given how well Columbus has been playing as of late, you’ll take that.

The Flyers’ next game will come on Thursday, the 16th at 7:30 pm EST, against the Islanders on Long Island. The game can be watched on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

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Bo Lynett

Bo has been a fan of Philly sports his whole life and has spent the entirety of his four years at Colgate University working to start a career in sports media. Double majoring in Economics and Film & Media Studies gave him the opportunity to study both the financial/ analytical and broadcasting/ production sides of the sports world. Outside of the classroom, he’s worked as a director and producer for Colgate’s athletic events streamed on ESPN+ and a writer for the Colgate Athletic Website. Through all of this, however, it was his love of Philly sports that drove him to this career.