The Philadelphia Flyers fell 3-2 to the Utah Hockey Club in overtime Tuesday. Utah’s Dylan Guenther had a three-point night in his return to the lineup, including two goals. One of which was the OT winner as time expired.
Philly picked up a point in the loss, but its record dropped to 23-25-7. Rodrigo Abols and Tyson Foerster scored for the Flyers.
The Flyers were without arguably their best defender Tuesday night, as Rasmus Ristolainen was out with an “upper-body injury.”
While one player cannot make or break a D-corps, the Flyers seemingly were lost without Ristolainen Tuesday night. They allowed 42 shots and gave up too many high-danger chances.
Offensively, the defensemen accounted for nine turnovers Tuesday night, with Erik Johnson and Jamie Drysdale being the only defensemen without a turnover.
Flyers’ netminder Sam Ersson added yet another spectacular performance in Tuesday’s loss against Utah.
Even though the Flyers fell short in overtime, Ersson continues to impress.
Ersson turned in a career-high 39 saves in the loss. He was a big reason why the Flyers kept themselves in this game despite a rather rough defensive game.
Tasked with stopping a number of odd-man rushes, Ersson stood tall and stunned many high-danger chances for Utah. Ersson has continued to shine since the holiday break and has certainly earned his spot with team Sweden in the Four Nations Face-Off.
Flyers’ 29-year-old rookie Rodrigo Abols potted his first career NHL goal in Tuesday’s loss. In six games prior, Abols had yet to tally a point. In his seventh game with the Flyers, he snapped the Flyers’ scoreless streak that lasted 182 minutes and 17 seconds with his first-period goal.
Since getting the call-up in January, Abols has kept up with the NHL game quite nicely. He has played very well on the Flyers’ fourth line. He has earned his time and now has a goal to show for it.
The Flyers will return home for their final two games before the Four Nations break when they host the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals on Thursday.
