"It was an ugly win."
"It was an ugly win."
The Flyers continued to improve their record away from home, as they emerged victorious against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. It wasn't an easy or pretty win, but it was one they needed to boost their confidence after losses in their previous two games.
High Praise For Sam Ersson
Sam Ersson's heroics were a huge factor in keeping the Flyers in this game, making some truly phenomenal saves. Everyone was talking about how incredible Ersson looked, including none other than legendary goalie and fellow Swede Henrik Lundqvist.
Speaking on TNT's analyst panel, Lundqvist talked at length about Ersson's edge work, which allows him to move faster than many other goalies. The former Ranger goalie would know how impactful this aspect of Ersson's style is, considering he mentioned that he did the same thing in his playing days. High praise indeed from a giant of the game, and a comforting sign that the Flyers' rookie netminder is heading in the right direction.
Less Than Impressed
John Tortorella made it clear that he wasn't very pleased with the line made up of Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, and Travis Konecny against Chicago. He said that he "didn't like a whole hell of a lot about [that] line," and that they had been "too lateral" during the game. He did, however, acknowledge Konecny's individual performance in scoring the Flyers' second goal of the night.
Konecny, on the other hand, was more critical of himself, saying, "Tonight wasn't a good one for me. I'm just trying to figure out how to get wins."
Tortorella explained his decision to put those three on a line together by admitting that Konecny's combination with Sean Couturier had stopped working, so he decided to try Frost and see if that improved anything. He said that he'll review the tape before making a decision for the Flyers' next game.
Can't Get Too Comfortable
A win is a win. The Flyers will take it. But the players and Tortorella have said in recent weeks that they're past the mindset of "just wanting to win." At this point in the season, with the success they've been having, they want to win because they played well. There were some bright spots in the game, but it wasn't a pretty win by any stretch of the imagination.
"I thought tonight we were a little sloppy in our control of odd-line rushes," Garnet Hathaway, who scored what ended up being the game-winning goal, said. "They really know when to jump. But tonight, we definitely had control of the puck more."
Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson said, "They got a couple through and we couldn't find a rebound on their end...They kind of outworked us. It's frustrating."
But as games against the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Tampa Bay Lightning loom ahead, there's still a lot for the Flyers to prove. This is when, as Tortorella would say, everyone is starting to implement "playoff hockey" into their games. If the Flyers have any hope of being taken seriously as a playoff team, they need to follow suit on a consistent basis.
The Flyers will head back to the Wells Fargo Center to take on the Rangers on Feb. 24 at 3:00 p.m. EST.
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