The Flyers slowly but surely went downhill, losing 4-1 to visiting Seattle Saturday afternoon.
Mar 8, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Owen Tippett (74) in action against the Seattle Kraken in the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Some fresh faces, some new blood. But the power play and questionable goaltending remains the same. The result was a 4-1 Seattle victory over the Flyers, reducing their tragic number while possibly sliding a few spots down for lottery balls in the draft.
The basics
First period: 19:28- Owen Tippett (Matvei Michkov, Sean Couturier)
Second period: 10:11- Tye Kartye (Vince Dunn), 18:57- Matty Beniers (Ryker Evans, Adam Larsson), 19:38- Chandler Stephenson (Unassisted) (SHG)
Third period: 3:55- Brandon Montour (Matty Beniers)
SOG: 24 (PHI) – 33 (SEA)
Some takeaways
Some of the gang’s not here
The Flyers entered the game without Scott Laughton and Andrei Kuzmenko but with a few interesting line combinations. Olle Lycksell, Ryan Poehling and Travis Konecny was one as Konecny was without his two linemates from Thursday’s loss to Winnipeg. On top of that, the back end welcomed Emil Andrae back as Cam York was not in the lineup. The Flyers had two complete lines with Noah Cates and Sean Couturier having their wingers unchanged. The other two lines were patched together. And it showed.
Penalty kill fares better than Sam Ersson
The Flyers penalty killing unit will take some adjustment, particularly for Konecny as his longtime partner in Laughton is now a Leaf. Konecny was paired with Ryan Poehling for the first half of the kill as Seattle was foiled.
Philadelphia looked okay for parts of the second but defensively they were quite loose, with some horrible defensive errors the Kraken couldn’t capitalize on. Seattle finally were rewarded for their one-on-one puck battles wheen Tye Kartye rifled a shot that Ersson didn’t move on. It was a bad look even if screened as Ersson only knew where the puck was when it went by him.
Ersson was just awful on the Kraken’s go-ahead goal late in the second as Matty Beniers eluded Andrae and beat Ersson from a horrible angle, being very tight to the net but somehow getting the puck in.
Shortly after that Couturier coughed up the puck which resulted in Chandler Stephenson a short-handned goal. Ersson looked hopeless and helpess as Seattle’s insurance goal was a dagger. And one defender momentarily went from looking like “playoff Risto” to “Buffalo Risto” as Stephenson got behind him.
Andrae was…what’s “awful” in Swedish?
Emil Andrae wasn’t flashy in his return from Lehigh Valley. Initially paired with Rasmus Ristolainen, Andrae was hemmed in his own end early and often, with him being buried 1-8 in terms of chances for (a paltry 11.11 per cent). He ended the period a little better for a 4-10 (28.57 per cent) record after the first period. But he was clearly out of his league (no pun intended) Saturday afternoon with an abysmal 8-28 (22.22 per cent) after two periods. A bad, forgettable return. But hopefully he can prove something down the stretch to keep his name in the running for a spot next season.
Late in the game Andrae, who avoided being sandwiched in the corner in the final meaningless moments, took a shot off his leg or somewhere on his person. Hopefully it was just a stinger that left him hobbling.
Paging Rodrigo Abols
Aside from Andrae and Lycksell, the Flyers also recalled Rodrigo Abols. It wasn’t much to see in the first as Abols took a 43-second shift and sat on the bench the rest of the opening frame. Abols was also on the ice in the second during a ridiculously long shift in the Flyers end where it became a shooting range for Seattle, leaving Ersson on his own to keep things tied. He made a key save and swallowed it up for a whistle as the five Philadelphia skaters headed for oxygen masks and the evil eye from Tortorella.
TCM, TCM
The Flyers got a few bounces late in the first period. Sean Couturier won a battle at center ice. From there Michkov picked up the puck in the neutral zone and shoveled it to Owen Tippett. Tippett shifted gears, coming in off the wing and drove the net. The puck was touched by Seattle defender Ryker Evans but bounced off Tippett and found its way behind Kraken keeper Philipp Grubauer.
After killing a penalty early in the second, a rush by Jamie Drysdale almost led to another goal by Michkov as Tippett fed him a cross-ice pass. Late in the second, with some open ice being four-on-four, Tippett took a shot on Grubauer but didn’t handle the rebound. Michkov’s backhand was grabbed by Grubauer to keep it tied.
Power play and passion to start
An early power play almost paid off when Konecny gathered speed over the blueline and fed Cates whose shot hit the iron. The Flyers had a few great chances with Michkov the playmaker. Just as that minor ended the Kraken also hit iron. What might have been obvious early was that the Flyers weren’t rolling over after the deadline. Although clearly not as talented as they were a month ago, Philadelphia started the game playing with a lot of oomph. In short, they weren’t sleepwalking through the game, which was a good sign.
The other noteworthy aspect of the first two power plays was how there was no tired “slingshot” start. Instead, the speed created in the neutral zone pushed the Kraken off the blueline a little bit, letting the Flyers set up a bit easier. Another failed power play concluded with a Kraken rush which, you guessed it, resulted in another shot off the post. The third chance of the period was all about using the “slingshot” and it was pitiful. Philadelphia ended the game 0-for-5.
Boo birds to end it
Following the fourth Seattle goal, the Flyers were probably content to keep the clock running and put this one behind them. The crowd at Wells Fargo Center started booing throughout the third and it was pretty evident they were not happy with the product the ice. It marked the third straight home loss in what is a seven-game homestand.
Poehling takes another to the head
Ryan Poehling and getting hit in the head is becoming a bad run of luck. After returning Feb. 22 after a dirty head shot by the Isles’ Maxim Tsyplakov, Poehling inadvertently ran into an official and looked like he might have been hurt again. In the second, Poehling was whacked in the back of the neck and appeared hurt. No penalty was called which pissed off John Tortorella and, after a brief trip down the hallway, Poehling returned to the bench.
