PHILADELPHIA | “At night, we didn’t have our fastball. We didn’t play a good match. Our third period was our best period, but we didn’t have the energy. Something was missing. Cayden Primeau helped us get a point.”
Martin St-Louis dissected this 3-2 shootout loss against the Philadelphia Flyers in the best possible way. The CH in no way deserved to leave the Wells Fargo Center with a point in the standings.
The Tricolor didn’t have its speed, nor its curve, nor its slipperiness.
The Flyers dominated this game from start to finish without however running away in the main column, that of the goals.
Sean Couturier scored the only goal in the shootout by beating Primeau with a shot between the pads. At the other end of the ice, Samuel Ersson made saves against Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Jesse Ylönen.
“To come out of this match with a point, I didn’t expect that,” admitted defender David Savard. Especially with the first period we played. But there are times when you end up with a little bonus. Primeau made some big saves. The Flyers also often hit the post.
The Flyers fired six shots at the post in this game. In terms of shots, they manhandled the visitors 39 to 19 and 79 to 47 in shots attempted.
Originally from the Philadelphia area, Primeau didn’t win, but he had nothing to reproach himself for. He was the best player on his team. And by a kilometer or two.
Kaiden Guhle wasn’t afraid to sacrifice his body with ten blocked shots. Savard and Mike Matheson blocked five each. These are good stats, but also another indication of the Flyers’ dominance.
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Suzuki in neutral
There aren’t a ton of secrets to slowing down the Habs. With only one trio threatening offensively, St-Louis does not have many cards in its game.
John Tortorella and the Flyers did a good job of containing the CH’s first trio, that of Suzuki, Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky. Of the three, only Caufield got a shot on goal. And it was just one.
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Winner of the Frank-Selke in 2020, Couturier did not simply frustrate the Suzuki trio, he found himself at the heart of his team’s attack with Travis Konecny and Joel Farabee.
Two shots, two goals
CH generated practically nothing offensively in this match. That was the case in the first period, but Martin St-Louis’ band found a way to hit the target twice on two shots. Sean Monahan and David Savard scored. Samuel Ersson therefore made no saves during the first third.
Unintentionally, he equaled an unenviable NHL mark by giving up a minimum of one goal without getting a save in the same period. Before him, Antero Niittymaki did it on November 17, 2007. Niittymaki also played for the Flyers and he also gave two goals on two shots.
Love for Drysdale
Acquired from the Ducks against Cutter Gauthier, who did not want to play for the Flyers, Jamie Drysdale donned the orange and white uniform for the first time. The young 22-year-old defenseman collected his first point with his new team, obtaining an assist on Morgan Frost’s goal on the power play.
The fans at Wells Fargo warmly applauded him when his name was announced by the house announcer. A few seconds later, the Flyers faithful began a poetic chant to taunt Cutter Gauthier. They chanted Cutter’s first name and then added two words that begin with the letters F and Y. In the City of Brotherly Love, snowballs were once thrown at Santa Claus during an Eagles game. The partisans do not have the reputation of being soft.