SUNRISE — The Philadelphia Flyers have not been to the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2020, but the Panthers are probably pretty happy they don’t have to play them anymore.
The Flyers, now coached by Rick Tocchet, are off to a pretty good start to their season at 12-7-3.
Two of those wins have come against the Panthers in three games thus far.
Regardless of how the Panthers felt following Wednesday’s 4-2 loss, Tocchet seemed glad his team did not have to play the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs again.
At least in the regular season.
“Listen, this team has played a lot of hockey, a lot of pressure hockey,” Tocchet said of the Panthers when asked about going 2-1 against Florida thus far.
“To win two games, listen; we know Barkov and Tkachuk are out. But this is still a good team. To grab four points off them — we’re done with them, right? Thank God.”
Maybe in the playoffs?
“Yeah, you never know,’’ he continued with a smile. “Paul has this team … they’re a well-coached team.’’
On Wednesday, the Panthers did everything but win.
Florida outshot, outchanced, and outplayed the Flyers for much of the night. Only former Calgary goalie Dan Vladar kept things close enough for his teammates to bring in the win.
“It wasn’t good for the last 10 minutes of the first,’’ Tocchet said of his goalie who ended the night with 25 saves. “It was a little rope-a-dope, and he held it together for us.’’
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The Panthers led 2-0 early in the second, but a couple of goofy goals from the Flyers off point shots from third-pair defenseman Amil Andrae tied things up going into the third.
In the final minute of regulation, Tyson Foerster rifled a shot off the shin or ankle of Aaron Ekblad, got the puck back, then beat Sergei Bobrovsky for the game-winning goal.
It was an NHL-best 10th comeback win of the season for a Flyers team that still sits out of a playoff spot but whose future looks a lot better over the first two months of this season than many could have expected.
The mood in the opposing dressing rooms were polar opposites.
While the Panthers were short in their answers to the media following a most unexpected loss, the Flyers were a few feet away talking a little trash to the reporters gathers in the small visitors’ room.
“That’s off the record,’’ veteran Travis Sandheim chirped after throwing out a handful of quotes that were both unprintable yet, at times sounded like the cliches’ Crash Davis offered up Nuke LaLoosh in Bull Durham.
The Panthers put it to the Flyers throughout the game on Wednesday, yet despite the lopsided play, simply did not do enough to beat Vladar who is, like the Flyers, now 2-1 against Florida.
“He saved our bacon,’’ Tocchet said.
Florida grabbed the initial lead on yet another goal from Brad Marchand not long after Vladar made five straight saves in succession 5 minutes into the game.
The Panthers should have been up 4-1 at least going into the second, only Carter Verhaeghe’s goal off a nice crossing pass from Sam Bennett made it 2-0 early in the second.
Philadelphia added two goals later in the period to tie things up and suck the energy out of Amerant Bank Arena, allowing Foerster to come up with the puck off of Ekblad and take the Flyers’ first lead of the night in what would be the final minute of the game.
The Flyers have 10 comeback wins this season which leads the NHL.
“They’re a good team, that’s a the third time we have played them and they played us hard every single game,” Seth Jones said. “We played well enough tonight, just couldn’t get one more through.’’
The Panthers go into Thanksgiving two points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and three behind Boston for third in the Atlantic Division.
The playoff race is tight, but the Panthers do not seem worried about their place despite two losses in the past week to the Flyers and struggling Edmonton Oilers.
With the wobbling Flames in town for a Black Friday matinee, the Panthers can bounce back right quick.
Unless, of course, Vladar goes back to play for Calgary.
“We didn’t give up a whole lot, and I liked what we got,’’ Paul Maurice said. “Just a frustrating ending, that’s all.”
ON DECK: GAME No. 23
CALGARY FLAMES at FLORIDA PANTHERS
