Philadelphia Flyers right wing Travis Konecny moves the puck against Chicago Blackhawks center Ryan Greene (Matt Marton-Imagn Images)

Flyers Defeat Blackhawks 3-1 In Pre-Holiday Matchup

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Brooke LoFurno | Last updated Dec 24, 2025 12:20 AM ET

The Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers faced each other for the first time this season before heading into the Christmas break.

The Flyers came off a 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks the night before (Dec. 22) in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks were looking to snap their five-game losing streak at home in the absence of Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, and Nick Foligno.

But the Blackhawks extended their losing streak to a season-high six-straight, while the Flyers came away with their second straight win with a 3-1 score.

Game Recap

The first period was not a barn-burner of hockey, as there was only one shot on goal by Flyers’ Rodrigo Abols until Ilya Mikheyev got the Blackhawks’ first shot on goal eight minutes into the game. Neither goaltenders, Samuel Ersson nor Spencer Knight, were heavily tested.

It seemed that the Flyers controlled a lot of the play to start, and then Trevor Zegras took a tripping penalty. The Flyers killed it off, and then moments after, Travis Konecny opened the scoring for Philadelphia, 1-0. Chicago gained some more momentum and zone time towards the latter half of the period, including a penalty kill on Colton Dach’s holding penalty, but nothing to show for it. Shots were 7-4, Philadelphia.

Over 30 seconds into the second period, Flyers’ Carl Grundstrom took a roughing penalty, which sent the Blackhawks to the power play. They had some looks, but no goals. It wasn’t an overly exciting period to start (again), but Philadelphia extended its lead to 2-0 with a Noah Cates power-play goal after the Blackhawks took a too-many-men penalty. With two minutes left in the period, Connor Murphy took a cross-checking penalty on Konecny, and moments later, Denver Barkey took a boarding penalty on Wyatt Kaiser, resulting in a four-on-four. Ryan Donato got Chicago on the board, 2-1. Shots were 10-9, Chicago.

Nick Lardis and Matvei Michkov got dual unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, resulting in another four-on-four early in the third period, which neither team converted on. Defenseman Alex Vlasic took an interference penalty on Travis Sanheim, and the Flyers came up empty on the power play.

The Flyers had some chances, and Zegras hit the post. Sean Couturier took a hooking penalty, but the Blackhawks couldn’t even the score. They went 0/4 on their power play on the night. The Blackhawks had chances, and it didn’t go their way. In contrast, the Flyers went 1/4 on their power play. Shots were 10-7, Flyers in the third period.

Carl Grundstrom scored an empty net goal to make it 3-1, and that sealed the win for Philadelphia.

What’s Next?

With the NHL Christmas break, games won’t resume until Dec. 27. The Blackhawks will face the Dallas Stars on that day, while the Flyers will face the Seattle Kraken on Dec. 28.