Flyers stun Red Wings in quick OT win

Jakub Voracek #93 of the Philadelphia Flyers celebrates his goal with teammates during an NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on January 23, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

Travis Konecny put an end to the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena Tuesday night. The young center got his best chance scoring the game winner that gave the Philadelphia Flyers a 3-2 win extending their streak to four games.

Detroit’s recent win on Monday allowed Petr Mrazek to get another shutout under his belt and the team on a good point to return home. He would face a serious challenge against a Flyers squad that has eight wins in its last night. Since their ten-game losing streak that began Dec. 5, Philadelphia has turned up a surge of victories that included Sunday’s 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. With a current three game winning streak and a loss to Detroit this season, the Flyers would try to make it four in the hopes of giving the Red Wings a sour welcome home.

The Red Wings got started well going deep in the Flyers zone where Dylan Larkin scared Brian Elliot in net with a very close shot that went off the post. They didn’t get many after that but held Philadelphia to a minimum amount of scoring tries on Mrazek. It remained slow through the halfway point with both teams each having three on the respective goals. It soon changed with defenseman Jonathan Ericsson scoring a big drive from the far end that went off the skates of Brandon Manning.

The deflection got the puck to go out of the reach of Elliot to give the veteran his second of the season and first in 40 games. The confidence of getting ahead on the scoreboard for a second consecutive game allowed them to hold their ground and play an even game against the Flyers. When the period finished up, the Flyers edged the Red Wings 5-4 but the difference maker was in the hands of Detroit.

Not wanting the Red Wings to grow a lead that would get out of hand, the Flyers made a strong push right from the start of the second period. After seventy second of play, they got things tied with a good shot from Andrew MacDonald gaining his second on the year with Voracek making the lone assist. They had a 4-0 run on Detroit through the opening minutes on shots at the Czech netminder hunting down a shot to take over the lead. Detroit wouldn’t let them despite being outshot again in the second.

Since even strength wasn’t working for them, they attempted to do so on a Detroit penalty to Luke Witkowski for charging. For the sixth consecutive time, the Red Wings killed off the power play of their opponents with a shorthanded chance that nearly turned the tables in their favor. They later had a power play at 15:56 that had them fighting to get the lead but Elliot and the Flyers PK shut them down.

In the final minute, Philadelphia had another man advantage that worked for them with 36.4 seconds left. Jakub Voracek had enough space to fire a shot that went into the net. Detroit challenged the call that there was goaltender interference but NHL officials ruled that no interference was visible. Voracek earned his ninth to get his team ahead after two periods making the third very interesting for both parties involved.   

Every shot was key for the Red Wings and the Flyers who didn’t get a lot on one another through the first several minutes of play. When they did, the scoring chances were so close that Detroit was frustrated being down a goal to the visitors. Larkin was a prime example of attempting to get it done for his team as he used his signature backhand in front of Elliot only to see it go into the glove when he tried for a second opportunity.

The Red Wings were not done as they made things happen with a full line effort that ended with Frans Nielsen scoring on a chance in front that tallied his 11^th to tie the game at two. Tyler Bertuzzi who had recently been on fire lately had an open net where he fired a shot that had too much power on it going well above his mark. With a chance to break the tie with five minutes, Detroit gained a power play that had everyone heated when Robert Hagg boarded Bertuzzi from behind.  

The Flyers made the key stop to force the Red Wings back to even strength with three minutes to go and still no determined winner. Detroit had the leverage shooting 10-7 with the intensity clearly rising. Bertuzzi got another chance but as the empty net came into view, he had very little time and ended up dislodging the net. Anthony Mantha was the last Red Wings player to take a shot on net in the final minute but his attempt went unanswered as the Flyers stopped them to force overtime.

Much like Andreas Athanasiou’s goal that gave the Red Wings a victory against Ottawa, the Flyers earned the ultimate win in similar fashion. A chance on the puck in the Detroit zone came to Konecny who gained the puck near the blue line getting ahead of the Detroit defense and 1 on 1 with Mrazek. The drive caught the net to end the game and give the 20-year-old centerman his ninth of the year 27 seconds into the period.

Officials went back to check whether Konecny went off sides when he gained possession of the puck. After a check from NHL officials in Toronto, it was determined that he was onside during the play thereby holding the goal up for his and the Flyers. The loss hurt those in the stands for Detroit as they extending a losing streak that went four games.

While Philadelphia relishes in victory, the Red Wings would attempt another try at ending their woes on home ice hosting the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.