Jamie Drysdale had one heck of a debut!
The Philadelphia Flyers went up against the Montreal Canadiens in their last of a four-game home stand before a Midwest road trip. In true Flyers fashion, they came from behind to tie the game and eventually win in a shootout, which included some monster blocks by Sam Ersson.
Jamie Drysdale Looked Great
As expected, all eyes in the Wells Fargo Center were locked on Jamie Drysdale as he made his debut as a Flyer. Paired up with Travis Sanheim, Drysdale showed the home fans exactly what he was brought to Philadelphia to do. Solid showing at the back (considering he's adapting to an entirely new defensive system) and recording an assist on Morgan Frost's power play goal took the city's adoration of him to new heights. Plus, the arena was treated to his elegant skating during every one of his shifts. When the only complaint is that you didn't get score the winning goal in OT, you know you had a pretty solid debut.
The Power Play Was Bearable to Watch
Flyers fans never thought they would see the day, but the power plays against the Canadiens were noticeably better than they have been (which isn't exactly hard thing to achieve, but still!) Drysdale's presence made all the difference in making Frost's power play goal happen, but even when the young defenseman wasn't on the ice, the Flyers still looked dangerous in front of the Canadiens' goal. There's still ways to go in terms of making the power play consistently good, but if this game was any indication, the Flyers are headed in the right direction.
"A Game of Mental Toughness"
Sam Ersson described this game as one of "mental toughness," where the Flyers had to push through the frustration of dominating the game but not having the scoreboard show it for a bit. Both Ersson and Sean Couturier highlighted how important it was for the team to be able to hurdle over those mental obstacles, with Couturier also acknowledging that the electric atmosphere of the Wells Fargo Center helped out as well. He said that it would've been "very easy for [the fans] to start booing us" but expressed gratitude that the crowd stuck with them throughout the game.
The Flyers hit the road for their next three games, starting off with the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 12 at 8 pm EST.
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