Flyers prevail over defending champion Avalanche, 5-3

Before the opening faceoff, John Tortorella said confidence is hard to teach. Hosting the reigning and defending Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche, the Philadelphia Flyers prevailed, 5-3. That helps build confidence.

“That’s hard to teach, confidence is hard to teach, offensively. So we’re gonna lock in on the other part and that’s encouraging to me because that’s the hardest part that I think we’re improving at.”

John Tortorella; 12/5/2022

Five different players (Travis Sanheim, Tony DeAngelo, Tanner Laczynski, Owen Tippett, and Travis Konecny) contributed to the scoresheet.

Sanheim stays hot

Sanheim tied the game in the first period. Scott Laughton found him at the point with space, then Sanheim sniped the back of the net on Alexandar Georgiev. Over the last ten games, Sanheim tallied nine points (3G, 6A.)

After signing his eight-year extension, Sanheim didn’t register a point during the first nine games. Last night, he began with a goal before adding an assist.

The Flyers were down, 1-0, before Sanheim sparked the comeback:

“Obviously a big goal. Anytime you get down early it’s nice to get it right back. Obviously good to respond, and I thought we handled it pretty well after that.”

Travis Sanheim; 12/5/2022

The PK recovers

Five times, the Flyers were on the penalty kill. They allowed one conversion, killing 4/5 penalties from the best powerplay unit in the NHL. Nathan MacKinnon left the game in the first period, then did not return. His absence put a damper on the powerplay.

With the 23rd ranked penalty kill (74.7%) in the NHL, the Flyers are still near the bottom of the league. The effort versus the Avalanche didn’t go unnoticed.

Hart saves

Following a tough tilt versus the New Jersey Devils, Carter Hart bounced back in this victory. Hart saved 29/32 shots, making pivotal saves on stellar playmakers despite the injured Avalanche lineup. Hart credited the special teams following last night’s win:

“Did a great job after their first powerplay there, they get a goal early. We did a great job on the special teams, on our PK the rest of the night, our powerplay got a big goal with Tony [DeAngelo]. So I think that was a lot better part of our game.”

Carter Hart; 12/5/2022

Tippett joins powerplay party

Tippett went on a seven-game point drought after beginning with ten points in his first thirteen games. Before last night, his last two points were goals in a shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens. He scored the game-winner on the powerplay, potting the rebound on a bank pass by Laughton.

Last night was the fewest amount of minutes (11:47) on the ice since the home-opener. His contribution was critical as the Avalanche tried to mount a comeback, increasing their total to three. Konecny added the empty-net goal for insurance.

Next Up

The Flyers end their homestand as they take on the Washington Capitals tomorrow at 7pm.

(AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)