It was a tale of two different games for the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets got off to a dominant start. Whether that was due to the Flyers’ lack of urgency or complete and utter sloppiness, the Blue Jackets were in the driver’s seat for the first 20 minutes. And it was not even close.
Their goals all came in a span of three minutes in the latter half of the first period, but the Blue Jackets put on a clinic. They were dominant along the boards, creating turnovers and keeping most of the first period in their own offensive zone. The Flyers were lifeless, and the Blue Jackets were taking advantage of the Flyers’ mistakes.
All of a sudden, it was a 3-0 game after the first period. The Flyers were being outshot 7-2, and things looked mightily bleak. Then, a switch flipped.
It’s like the Flyers became a completely different team. After a first period of being outworked, outhustled, and outplayed, it was the Flyers who took a dominant command of the driver’s seat for the final 40 minutes.
In periods two and three, the Flyers outshot the Blue Jackets 28-6. They became the team that was controlling play. The pressure was completely flipped, despite the Blue Jackets holding the Flyers to just a goal through 55 minutes of play.
Then, with their backs against the wall, the Flyers scored two goals in the final 5 minutes, including Jamie Drysdale’s equalizer within the final 10 seconds of regulation. They were able to force overtime before their own mistakes once again became costly.
It was a tale of two games for the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. One where they were in complete control. The other where they were their own worst enemy.
Read More: Flyers Dig Out of First-Period Hole, But Can’t Complete the Comeback in Overtime
The Flyers’ Tale of Two Games
“Not the start we were looking for,” said Flyers defenseman and alternate captain Travis Sanheim following Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime loss vs. the Blue Jackets. “Didn’t have the energy, and credit to the guys, had the first [intermission] to regroup and find their legs and make it a game. So we’ll take the point, but obviously the start’s got to be better, and it just wasn’t good enough.”
The difference between the first 20 minutes and the final 40 was more than significant. It did not just look like two different games. The difference looked like two separate teams.
As Sanheim said, there simply was no jump to their game. The Flyers were playing weak and disconnected. They got what was coming to them for their play. Then, the Flyers went into the first intermission and came out of it like a brand new team. The Blue Jackets’ three goals provided a wake-up call for a team that desperately needed one.
“I think it took a kick in the butt to get us going,” said Flyers defenseman Cam York, who made his return to the lineup on Tuesday. “Second and third, we pretty much dominated the game. Just felt like we were on our toes and dictating the pace of play.”
Forward Trevor Zegras echoed that message. “We were bad, we weren’t good, we weren’t ready to go. Didn’t get pucks in behind them. Didn’t forecheck. Slow in the zone, taking pucks back, two shots, just not how we play.” But the Flyers’ forward liked the final 40 minutes of regulation. He said then, they looked to the veterans and leaders for a message when they needed it the most. “We kind of looked in the mirror, to our leaders and the veterans, to get us going a little bit, and that’s what we did.”
The Flyers had bounced back in a game that felt out of reach after the first period. Then, the mistakes came back to haunt the Flyers in overtime. The Blue Jackets had not one, but two two-on-nones to close out overtime.
First, Matvei Michkov was pickpocketed at the blueline, leading to a Cole Sillinger and Zach Werenski rush. Dan Vladar bailed out his forwards, making a showstopping save. However, when it happened again immediately after, the Blue Jackets were bound to score.
The Flyers were all trying to pounce on a loose puck in front during 3-on-3. The puck got behind them, and the Blue Jackets beat them to it. When Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson are leading a rush, the former Wolverine duo is bound to score.
“The decision-making in overtime this year has been mind-boggling on some players. We got to fix it quickly,” said head coach Rick Tocchet on the loss.
The Flyers picked up a point. They showed some good, if not great, fight to battle back into the game. The loser point was fought for hard and well earned. But in the end, the start was nowhere near good enough to get them the win, and the overtime was further proof that mistakes remain costly.