Despite dominating nearly the entire game, the Philadelphia Flyers lost to the visiting Florida Panthers by a score of 4-1 at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday night.
The story of this game is pretty cut-and-dried: one team had strong goaltending, and the other did not.
In this instance, the Flyers were the team did not.
Felix Sandstrom fails Flyers
Sandstrom, making his first start in eight days, just had a really bad night for the Flyers. There’s no way around that.
The 27-year-old allowed three goals on 14 shots and was not enthused with his performance after that game. Neither was his coach, John Tortorella.
When asked about Sandstrom’s performance, Tortorella threw his arms up twice, tapped the podium, and walked away. He didn’t say a word.
None of the three goals Sandstrom allowed were great chances, but Sam Reinhart‘s opening tally went through his arms, and Carter Verhaeghe’s goal that gave Florida a 3-0 lead early in the third period went off Sandstrom’s glove.
Flush this game down the toilet, and make sure to spray after.
Former Flyers goalie makes the difference
A former Flyers goalie stealing a game? Have we seen this one before?
Yes, and Anthony Stolarz just featured on the latest episode.
Serving as Sergei Bobrovsky’s understudy, Stolarz marched on into Philadelphia and gave the Flyers the business, stopping 32 of 33 shots en route to a .970 save percentage and a 4-1 win.
If you remember, former Flyer Alex Lyon posted a 30-save shutout against the Flyers on Jan. 25, stealing a win for a playoff-aspiring Detroit team.
Solidifying the backup goalie position shold be the Flyers’ No. 1 priority this offseason.
Youth leading the way for Flyers
Few Flyers players can say they truly had a strong game on Sunday night. Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink certainly qualify, though.
Brink’s third period power play goal, his 10th goal of the year, gave the Flyers some life after making the score 3-1. Although Reinhart’s 50th goal of the season ultimately killed the Flyers off, it was encouraging to see the rookie get rewarded for his improving play at both ends of the ice and along the walls.
Conversely, Foerster did not end up on the scoresheet, but it felt like he created something on every shift. The 22-year-old was reliable as usual with his defensive stick, and even made a few hefty hits, taking advantage of his 6-foot-2 frame.
For a Flyers team that doesn’t have too many players on their A or even B-game right now, it’s encouraging for them that two rookies are playing well in a high-pressure situation.
They’ll have to flush this one away and prepare for the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
More must-reads: