Konecny and Drysdale Flip the Game in the Third as Flyers Beat Bruins 3-1

The Flyers brought the emotion of that New York win back home and turned it into something that matters in the standings, beating the Bruins 3-1 in a matinee that felt like a playoff game for two periods before Travis Konecny finally cracked Jeremy Swayman in the third and Jamie Drysdale piled on an insurance blast that gave Philly just enough breathing room to survive Boston’s late push and make the wild card chase feel real again.

After an emotional win in New York, the Flyers took that boost home with them to take on the team that is holding hard to the final playoff spot in the East, the Boston Bruins. With the Flyers 8 points behind them, today’s matinee is a huge opportunity for them to gain some ground on the team holding the spot they covet.

Knowing what was on the line for both teams, the first two periods were played at such a fast pace that it started to feel like this game would turn on one huge play, and it was just a question of who would get that play. We’d have to wait until the middle of the third period for that huge play to take place tonight, when Konecny banged his first goal home past Jeremy Swayman to break the tie. It didn’t stay 1-0 for long with Drysdale playing the perfect give-and-go to open up a slap shot down the middle, which went by the Swayman for a second goal, which felt insurmountable when it happened, and would ultimately be needed. Charlie McAvoy for a change-up shot by Daniel Vladar to make the game 2-1. The playoff pace lasted until the last 2 minutes, when Sean Couturier sniped the empty net for his first goal in 32 games. This cemented a critical 3-1 win over the Bruins.

Top Tier Goaltending on Display Today

Today, two Olympic goaltenders, Swayman and Vladar, put on an absolute clinic through 2 periods, trading incredible saves between the pipes. Both offenses seemed to throw incredible scoring opportunities, all of which were turned away. Because of how both goalies played, it felt like it was going to take an errant shot or a blown assignment to get one past either of these guys. The pace of the first 2 periods couldn’t hold up, though.

In the third period, both goalies played incredibly well, and the thought of overtime was starting to creep in until a streaking Travis Konecny blasted a shot past Swayman to break the tie. Jamie Drysdale got another goal past Swayman in a huge insurance goal because Charlie McAvoy got a dribbler past Vladar to make the last 4 minutes tense. Both goalies played an incredible game today. This game had a playoff feel, and that feels fitting given the stakes of the game.

Grit Has Made a Comeback in the Flyers Locker Room

The game against the Rangers has seemed to awaken something in the Flyers that we haven’t seen since they beat the Avalanche in December. We can see them playing with the fire and intensity that they need to get back into this playoff picture. The Flyers were pestering the Bruins all game, and it made a difference. From the beginning of the game, this started early with Nicolas Deslauriers and Tanner Jeannot getting into a fight that appeared to have been something that was orchestrated when the teams were stretching pre-game. Rick Tocchet started Deslauriers in place of the more offensively minded Denver Barkey, and that proved to be the right choice.

Today, in the third period, this grit really took off. The Flyers played with urgency all game, but when the third period started, the Flyers kicked it into another gear. The ice was tilted towards Swayman, and by the time Konecny’s goal slipped through, it felt a bit like a catharsis, like the goal was coming; it just needed that moment that Konecny provided. One thing that truly showed in the goals by both Konecny and Drysdale was that the Flyers took control of everything between the dots. That was a huge reason the Flyers finally broke through and got those two huge goals in the third.

The Flyers’ Penalty Kill Led The Way

If there is something that is very true in high-level hockey, the team that leans on discipline tends to win. We have to look no further than the USA Hockey team winning the gold medal for proof of this. On the way to winning the gold medal game, they went 18 for 18 in penalty kills, and that set them up for success.

After today’s game, the Flyers have gone 8 games without giving up a power play goal, and this shows the hard work that assistant coach Todd Reirden and the Flyers’ special teams unit have put in. It truly masks the lack of power play punch that the Flyers have had all season. The Flyers currently have the 6th most penalty minutes in the NHL this season, so this was born a bit out of necessity, but it’s one of the places that the Flyers have truly excelled this season. It’s certainly a building block for the future, regardless of how the rest of the season plays out.

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