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After the second period, I entered and asked, “Are you s—ting me?” stated John Tortorella. That’s how we play, I said. Do we realize how talented we are when we perform in that manner?
John Tortorella’s remarks at the first interval were effective.
His team’s performance before the lengthy break was no better than it was during a run of five straight losses, the worst start to the season.
At Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Tuesday night, the Flyers turned around their dismal first half and used a strong second half to defeat the Panthers, 2-1.
In the second quarter, Travis Konecny tied the score, and two minutes and thirty-six seconds into the third, Noah Cates gave the Flyers the lead. The Flyers gave up.
The Flyers (26-19-6) had to reflect on their five-game losing streak for nine days after being outscored 27-12 in those games. They did, however, benefit from a well-timed reset during the bye week and All-Star break.
The Flyers and the Panthers (31-15-4) have three meetings total. This was the first. The top four clubs in the Atlantic Division—the Bruins, Panthers, Lightning, and Maple Leafs—remain in Tortorella’s team’s nine remaining games.
The Flyers’ overall record versus Boston, Florida, and Tampa Bay is now 1-2-0. They haven’t yet played Toronto.
The Flyers’ opportunity to regain their footing was made possible by Samuel Ersson.
In the end, the 24-year-old stopped 20 of 21 shots.
He made five stops in the first four minutes of the game, which proved crucial. He was under attack from the Panthers, giving up just one goal in the opening frame on a Florida power play.
In the second period, Ersson offered the Flyers a great chance to answer, and they did. In the first two periods, he only needed to make 11 saves, compared to nine in the first.
For his mentality, this performance had to be monumental. Over the last four games before the break, Ersson had a 4.59 goals-against average and an.819 save % for the Flyers. Although such pieces were not entirely inspired by his play, he was aware that he might do better.
The Flyers are counting on rookie Ersson to carry them through the final stretch with Carter Hart out indefinitely due to a sexual assault case.Tuesday night, he certainly appeared trustworthy.
Anthony Stolarz, a former goalie prospect with the Flyers, turned away 23 shots for the Panthers.
After the NHL All-Star break, the Flyers defeated the Panthers 2-1 in a thrilling victory.
• Joel Farabee made a deft pass to Konecny, who just made his second All-Star appearance, for his goal (1–1).
Sean Walker set the play on fire.
Konecny and Farabee both had minus-4 ratings in the Flyers’ 6-2 loss against the Bruins before the break.
They performed like two of the top scorers on the ice against Florida.
• Nick Seeler was a plus-2 and had six of the Flyers’ 22 blocked shots.
Over the last two periods, the Flyers controlled the action, outshooting the Panthers 20–11.
Why Owen Tippett’s return was a major plus for the Flyers.
Due to a lower-body injury, the power forward has missed the last four games.
Ten days prior, Tortorella stated, “He’s a type of guy that can push offense himself without any help, so he’s a very important guy for us.”
Tippett played 17:52 minutes on Tuesday night, making three shots and seven attempts at a shot.
His offense is what the Flyers will need.
• Garnet Hathaway looked nicked up 3:18 into the second period while drawing a penalty.
With less than three minutes remaining in the middle stanza, he left the game and came back.
The Flyers would have had just 10 forwards if Hathaway had not been lost. Tortorella started with eleven forwards and seven defensemen, with Nicholas Deslauriers, Olle Lycksell, and Marc Staal being healthy scratches.
