In Saturday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators, Tyson Foerster scored a goal that helped the Philadelphia Flyers make NHL history.
Forty-five seconds after scoring his first goal of the night, Foerster scored his second. Senators center Shane Pinto hooked Foerster on a breakaway, giving the Flyers a penalty shot with only two seasons remaining in the second period.
Foerster subsequently buried his opportunity, giving the Flyers a 3-1 lead and sending the Wells Fargo Center crowd into a frenzy on Marvel Super Hero night. That’s not all – Foerster’s goal allowed the Flyers to make NHL history, becoming the only team to score five penalty shot attempts in a single season.
Which players scored the other four? Sean Couturier scored against the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 17, Travis Konecny scored against the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 9, Scott Laughton scored against the Dallas Stars on Jan. 18, and Morgan Frost scored against the Arizona Coyotes on Feb. 12.
And, not only do the Flyers have five penalty shot goals this season, but they have also scored on all five of their attempts.
Foerster’s two goals give him 16 on the season, putting him just one behind the Chicago Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard and the Minnesota Wild’s Marco Rossi (17) for the lead in goals amongst NHL rookies. It’s worth noting that six of Foerster’s 16 goals have come in his last five games. Before that, the 22-year-old missed four games due to a lower-body injury.
Stepping up and replacing Konecny (upper-body) is a tall order for any Flyers player, but Foerster appears to have embraced the challenge since returning from an injury of his own. Konecny’s absence is not expected to be long-term, and could return within the week if all goes well.
It helps that Foerster and the Flyers made NHL history along the way.
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