Flyers turn up the heat on Devils to extend…
Flyers turn up the heat on Devils to extend winning streak
The Flyers' Cam Atkinson skates up ice with the puck during the second period Tuesday night. Atkinson tallied a hat trick in a 6-1 win over New Jersey. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
By Jack McCaffery | jmccaffery@delcotimes.com | The Reporter
PUBLISHED: December 15, 2021 at 3:48 a.m. | UPDATED: December 15, 2021 at 4:31 a.m.
Along with the usual technical instructions to the Flyers Tuesday, Mike Yeo was careful to mix in an emotional suggestion for a game against the New Jersey Devils.
The short version: Take the rivalry up a few dozen notches.
"One of the things we've talked about it that we haven't necessarily hated these guys, compared to say Washington or Pittsburgh," Yeo said. "These guys just go into the game. And the next thing you know, we come up with a loss."
Whether it was Yeo's demand for ill will, continuing momentum or solid Carter Hart goaltending, enough clicked for the Flyers to run a winning streak to three with a 6-1 victory at the Wells Fargo Center.
Cam Atkinson scored a hat trick, and Travis Sanheim, Justin Braun and Oskar Lindblom added a goal apiece.
While early for a standings vigil, the game did have added value, as it was the Flyers' third and final opportunity to defeat the Devils after losing the first two games in lackluster fashion in New Jersey. The victory pushed them past the Devils and into fifth place in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.
Sanheim scored his first goal of the season at 9:41 of the first, keeping a play alive and sliding the puck past MacKenzie Blackwood.
Atkinson doubled the lead at 18:35, slipping a shot inside the post on a four-on-four situation. Rasmus Ristolainen assisted on both goals.
"Obviously, with four-on-four hockey, there is a lot more open ice," Atkinson said. "And Risto made a great play to me back door."
Braun made it 3-0, fluttering a puck through traffic that Blackwood never saw at 6:07 of the second. Lindblom and Ivan Provorov had the assists.
"We're getting everybody on the same page, and knowing where everybody is going to be at all times," Braun said. "Top to bottom, I feel we are all doing that about the same."
Thirty-five seconds later, P.K. Subban finally solved Hart to draw New Jersey within 3-1 on his second goal of the season. But Atkinson restored the three-goal cushion with a shorthander at 16:16, a blast from the right wing on a two-on-one break with Lindblom.
Lindblom scored his second goal of the season 2:04 later, taking a pass from Atkinson after a New Jersey turnover.
After allowing five goals on 22 shots, Blackwood was replaced by Akira Schmid for the third period, but he was unable to prevent Atkinson's third goal at 7:09.
By then, the Flyers had delivered a message that they are heading again in the right direction.
"We got that win in Vegas," Sanheim said. "That was huge for us. Now we just have to keep this thing going."
Due to a groin injury, Ryan Ellis has not played since the fourth game of the season. However, his return seems near.
"He's obviously progressing," Yeo said. "He wasn't on the ice this morning, but that is something we are looking forward to getting him into very quickly here."
Ellis underwent an MRI Monday.
"We'll still continue to treat it and monitor it," Yeo said. "Obviously, we are very anxious to get him back. But that's going to take some time because he hasn't been on the ice yet."
Travis Konecny's goal slump reached 12 games, with his career total stuck at 99.
"When you think of TK's game, you think energy," Yeo said. "You think relentlessness. You think skating. He's starting to make more plays. He's starting to skate. I think he's starting to feel better about his game. And if he continues to do that, I know it's just a matter of time."
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Jack McCaffery | Reporter
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