The Philadelphia Flyers are back on the losing side after losing a close game to the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2, in a shootout. The Flyers’ record moves to 19-20-6 on the season with the overtime loss.
Despite the loss, the Flyers got another great look at Ivan Fedotov, who has further cemented himself as the team’s number two goalie.
Bobby Brink and Owen Tippett scored for the Flyers.
The Flyers knew their number-one goalie was Sam Ersson at the beginning of the season. Still, Ersson has struggled with injury this season, making the position of number-two goalie very important.
Ivan Fedotov was the initial number-two on the Flyers roster this season, but early season struggles saw Aleksei Kolosov earn that position in goal. However, in his last three starts, Kolosov has allowed 15 goals (6 vs LAK, 5 @LAK, 4 @VGK). That left the door open for Fedotov, who has not looked back since getting the nod.
Prior to getting game time due to Ersson’s injury, Fedotov’s last start was December 5th against Florida. His next start would be January 5th against Toronto, followed by the Leafs again. I mentioned Fedotov’s performance in the pregame story, so I won’t get too deep into the past.
Fedotov has only allowed eight goals in his three starts as the number-two and has seemingly earned his spot as the number-two netminder moving forward.
The old cliche says, “Good things come to those who wait.” While that may not be the mentality Flyers fans want to have when it comes to Jamie Drysdale, the wait may finally be over.
Drysdale is more of a puck-moving offensive defenseman. That has been known for a while, but the production has not been there. Sure, the 22-year-old is still developing, so letting him develop before judging is crucial.
After Tuesday’s game in Columbus, Drysdale has earned a point in three straight games for the first time in a Flyers uniform. He had only done that once before, last season. He tallied a point in his last game with the Ducks and his first two games with the Flyers.
The young defenseman has four points in his last three games and is starting to look very comfortable. A streak is a positive sign for Flyers fans.
After Monday’s win over the Panthers, John Tortorella mentioned he wanted to “Get Bobby unstuck.” He added that he wanted to see Brink “score a goal or two.”
Well, the coach got his wish on that one. Brink scored the game’s opening goal off a great feed from Nick Seeler. Brink plays a big role in the success of the Foerster-Cates-Brink line; he just does not always get the goals/points to show it on the stat sheet. If Brink can build off of that goal and continue to find success offensively, that line will continue to be a focal point of the Flyers’ offense.
The Flyers will travel to Long Island on Thursday to take on the New York Islanders. Puck drop will be at 7:30 p.m. EST in UBS Arena.
