The Philadelphia Flyers were victorious over the Boston Bruins for the first time since 2021, grinding out a 3-2 win to keep their playoff hopes alive and well.
The Philadelphia Flyers were victorious over the Boston Bruins for the first time since 2021, grinding out a 3-2 win to keep their playoff hopes alive and well.
The Philadelphia Flyers were victorious over the Boston Bruins for the first time since 2021, grinding out a 3-2 win to keep their playoff hopes alive and well.
It was a huge difference from the Flyers' last result against the Bruins—a 6-5 loss on the road—and, despite what some doubters may believe, a performance indicative of how much this team wants a postseason bid.
Welcome Back, Travis Konecny!
Although he still looked to be dealing with the effects of an upper body injury the past few weeks, Travis Konecny has made it crystal clear over his past two games that he is, as they say, so back. A goal against the Carolina Hurricanes and two against the Bruins have announced the re-emergence of the Flyers' point leader (who now has back-to-back 30-goal seasons), and an essential part of making this team's offense hard to contain.
Head coach John Tortorella highlighted how important it is for Konecny to not only just be scoring again, but to be able to step up in big games like this one and be the leader the Flyers have trusted him to be.
"He cares," Tortorella said. "...He gets on the ledge sometimes, but I think he's brought himself back."
Resilience All The Way Through
In their last outing against the Bruins, the Flyers started letting in goals, but fighting back, and then got hit with a gut-punch of of a goal flurry that gave them what ended up being an insurmountable hill to climb.
This time, the Flyers were able to hold the Bruins to a surprisingly low number of shots on goal, and even when they did let in a couple, it didn't cause a complete defensive meltdown that could open the floodgates for the Bruins to take advantage of. They held steady, got the win in regulation, and showed massive strides in keeping their heads on straight when already tough oppositions start gaining back some ground.
Tortorella acknowledged that their third period was their best one in this game, and has been their best period over their recent stretch, which speaks to how consistently strong they've been able to play over three periods—a key part of "playoff hockey."
Sam Isn't Sleepy
There have been plenty of concerns raised over whether or not Sam Ersson, the rookie goaltender who many Flyers fans have accepted as their lord and savior this season, can continue starting the majority of games in the regular season. He's handled the challenges of this season incredibly well, but there have been games where the exhaustion has shown.
But if Ersson is feeling fatigued, he certainly didn't show it against Boston.
Ersson is learning what it means to be a No. 1 goalie, and getting used to such a taxing schedule is something that will come with time and experience. There's no lack of effort on Ersson's part—even when he struggles—and he's responded to his circumstances the best way any team could hope for if they found themselves in the predicament the Flyers have been dealing with. Rest is important to keep him healthy, but Ersson has been proving that he's up for the challenge of a playoff push.
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