The Flyers win their third straight game after blanking the best team in the NHL.
The Philadelphia Flyers took on the Winnipeg Jets, who currently sit at the top of the NHL standings, and put on a truly dominant performance across the 60 minutes. Earning a third consecutive and now sitting just two points out of first place in the Metropolitan Division, this game showed just how serious the Flyers are about proving their detractors wrong.
Sam Ersson and Cam Atkinson, Have Yourselves a Night!
Ersson and Atkinson were undoubtedly the stars of the Flyers' overall spectacular performance in Winnipeg. Atkinson scored both Flyers goals, ending a 26-game goal drought, while Ersson stood on his head to keep the Jets' offense quiet with a truly astonishing display between the pipes, earning his third shutout of the season.
No Couturier or Drysdale, No Problem
There was a collective panic across social media when the Flyers announced last minute that Sean Couturier and Jamie Drysdale would not feature against the Jets. Thankfully, neither player is suffering from anything too serious (Couturier is dealing with a minor injury while Drysdale is down with illness), but there was concern over how the Flyers would fare against the top team in the league without those two key players.
They proved that they were just fine, largely controlling the play the entire game. The power play continues to look stronger (Atkinson's PPG marks the fifth game in a row the Flyers have scored on the power play), the defense protected Ersson well, and the offense stayed aggressive against Connor Hellebyuck, one of the best goalies in the NHL this season. Of course, the Flyers would like Couturier and Drysdale to feature as much as possible, but they proved emphatically that they can hold their own without them.
This Team Made No Excuses
The Flyers continued to look strong, but it would've been easy to explain away any glaring mistakes by saying that they've played two games back to back, had to go straight from their game against the Wild to Winnipeg, and to cut them some slack if they looked exhausted. They needed no such excuses. Even when they had noticeably tired legs on the ice, the Flyers' quality did not dip. It's clear that they're not interested in hiding behind a hectic schedule—they show up to give their best efforts no matter what.
The Flyers' will get a rest day before facing off against the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 15 at 8:00 pm EST.
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