Author: Jackie Spiegel

Skating in front of a sellout crowd of 19,994 at Xfinity Mobile Arena, the Flyers gave the faithful something to cheer about.

In their final home game of 2025, the Flyers beat the Vancouver Canucks, coach Rick Tocchet’s old team, 5-2.

“Happy to be home,” said Owen Tippett. “Obviously, a long road trip, so you want to have a bounce back and use your fans as much as you can. So they were great tonight. Obviously, in warmup[s], you can tell there’s a lot of people here. So, we were ready to go in the room.”

After struggling to close out games, including the last game of the four-game road trip that saw the Flyers blow a third period lead to the Rangers, they scored four goals in the third period to seal the win.

“I think in the past, we just kind of sat back a little bit too much … But I thought we were more aggressive tonight and controlled most of the play,” Christian Dvorak said. “We have a lot of chances, and capitalized on them. So I thought that was a big step for us in the third tonight.”

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Orange and the Black. It is their second win in the past seven games and their fourth win out of 11 games in December (4-3-4).

Vladař solid in net

Standing on the Chase Bridge at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Flyers general manager Danny Brière revealed that goalie Dan Vladař had “a little, little boo-boo.” He added that his upper-body injury is “nothing too serious” and that “he should be back, we hope, by Monday.”

After not dressing on Saturday, Vladař was indeed back between the pipes on Monday, and the netminder picked up right where he left on in his last start, a 4-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens last Tuesday.

“All the trainers did an awesome job, especially [assistant athletic trainer] Joe Mele, so all the credit to him, and [he] got me back as soon as possible,” Vladař said postgame. “So I’m very thankful. And he’s got magic hands.”

Any nervousness getting back between the pipes?

“As a goalie, you’ve got to be a little bit nervous every game,” he said. “So obviously, it’s something that comes with playing goalie. But no, health-wise, just no fear as usual.”

Vladař played his angles well as his defense kept the Canucks away from the front of the net. Through the first two periods, he stopped all 17 shots on goal he faced.

According to Natural Stat Trick, only one — on the power play — was a high-danger shot; and it was the only shot he stopped across two penalty kills. Eleven of the shots were low-danger. Late in the second period, it looked like he even made a save off his mask on a shot by Evander Kane.

In the third period, things fell off a little bit.

The Czech netminder was 6 minutes, 55 seconds away from getting the first Flyers shutout of the season, but Vancouver’s Max Sasson ended the bid. Conor Garland drew in Emil Andrae and made a leading pass to Sasson, who skated in alone and scored.

Drew O’Connor added a goal with 18 seconds left for the Canucks, who had eight shots on goal — with both coming from a high-danger spot

May the fourth be with you

The fourth line has been retooled, and it is working. Nikita Grebenkin and Carl Grundström each got on the board for the Flyers.

Grebenkin gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead 13:13 into the second period. Grundström made it 2-0 5:58 into the third period.

“We played pretty direct and got pucks to the net, and we got rewarded for it today,” Grundström said.

To open the scoring, Grebenkin got a stretch pass from Cam York down the left wing boards and, although it bounced off his stick, he chased down the puck. The Russian winger then sent a backhand pass up the boards to Rodrigo Ābols, who was providing support.

Ābols curled away from his check and sent the puck up to Andrae at the point. The Swedish defenseman put a one-timer toward the net, and Grebenkin, who went to the net after being checked along the end boards, tipped in the puck past Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko.

It was Grebenkin’s second goal of the season and his first since Nov. 4 in Montreal, which was also the first of his NHL career.

Grebenkin then played a big role in helping Grundström pad the lead with his fourth goal of the season. The 22-year-old winger got the puck high along the right boards from Grundström and carried it down behind the net.

Along the way, he avoided a check by Filip Hronek and then did a little fake before going deeper into the zone. He sent a backhand chip pass to Grundström in front, finding an open lane despite four Canucks surrounding the Swede.

Grundström, who had peeled off and headed to the net after getting the puck to Grebenkin, quickly got the shot off on Demko before getting a second chance and burying it to put the Flyers up 2-0.

“[Grundström]’s an NHLer,” said Ābols, who had two assists for the first multipoint game of his career. “He’s got 300 games, you know, he’s playing with confidence. It’s something maybe some of us were lacking down there. He comes out with confidence, a lot of speed, a lot of skill, and we can feed off it.”

The game was one of the better ones for Grebenkin, who has played in 24 of the Flyers’ 35 games.

“The goal, that’s what I saw in training camp, get to the net, he was around the net,” said Tocchet. “Then behind the net [on Grundström’s goal] he made a [heck] of a play to hold it.

“We knew hash mark down [he’s good]. The other parts [of his game] he’s getting better at not overthinking. But I think getting that goal really helps him. Like, that’s the places where he’s got to go.”

Dvorak’s big role

Brière also added that Dvorak would miss Saturday’s game, and he did with a minor lower-body injury. Like Vladař, he returned on Monday and played a big role in the win.

“I guess whenever you miss the game, there’s concern, but I felt a lot better after taking a couple of days off, and that’s kind of what I needed,” Dvorak said. “And felt pretty good tonight.”

In the third period, the Flyers headed up the ice, and Travis Konecny hit York coming late. The defenseman handed it back to Konecny, who then fed Trevor Zegras skating down the slot.

His shot attempt was blocked by Brock Boeser and went off the glass behind the net before Dvorak batted the puck out of the air into the back of the net at the left post to put the Flyers ahead 3-0.

The goal was reviewed for a potential high stick; however, Dvorak said he purposely waited until it was below the crossbar before knocking it in for his eighth of the year.

“Yeah, it was crazy,” said Tippett with a grin when asked about the snazzy passing leading up to the goal. “Obviously, the patience on [Dvorak], too, to wait for it to drop below the crossbar before he whacked it in, it was pretty special too.”

Breakaways

Tippett pulled off a highlight-reel move — going inside-outside on Vancouver’s Tom Willander — to add a breakaway goal in the third period for his 11th of the season. On one of his 10 shots on goal, which tied his career high, he had a breakaway chance earlier in the game that he could not capitalize on. “I wasn’t too happy with the first breakaway; I don’t think I really got him moving too much,” he said. “So kind of learned and improved the next time.” … Matvei Michkov added an empty-netter for his first goal in December. … Zegras extended his point streak to eight games (five goals, five assists). … Forwards Garnet Hathaway and Nic Deslauriers, and defenseman Noah Juulsen were healthy scratches. It was the second straight scratch for Hathaway and the fourth straight for Juulsen.

Up next

The Flyers get right back at it on Tuesday against the Blackhawks in Chicago (9 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max).

NEW YORK — The Flyers seemed to have the game in hand, thanks to a four-goal second period, but then the lights went out on Broadway.

Heading into the third period with a 4-2 lead, the Flyers allowed the New York Rangers to come back and steal a 5-4 shootout win. It is the first time this season the Flyers led heading into the third period and lost (10-0-1).

Mika Zibanejad tied the game with 2 minutes, 34 seconds left in regulation, beating his countryman, Sam Ersson, with a one-timer from the left circle. The Rangers had a power play after Rasmus Ristolainen was called for delay of game, when he sent the puck over the glass.

“I think we just can’t sit back as much as we do,” said forward Owen Tippett. “We put ourselves in great spots, and obviously we play a certain way to get there, and I think we just have to kind of continue playing that way and not worry about sitting back.”

Artemi Panarin, who had a pair in regulation, and Vincent Trocheck, who scored the Rangers’ third goal, each beat Ersson in the skills competition. New York netminder Igor Shesterkin stopped Trevor Zegras before Travis Konecny hit the post.

The Flyers have lost two straight and five of their past six games, with four of the losses coming after regulation.

“We’re starting to learn how to win,” coach Rick Tocchet said postgame. “This group’s going to have to learn, but they’re working hard. We [were up] 4-2 and had a couple of opportunities to score, and then we leave it for chance, right? A penalty. You can’t take your foot off.”

The dog is in the fight

Denver Barkey spent Friday afternoon tossing and turning in bed, trying to get his pregame nap in before Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League’s game against Bridgeport.

“Couldn’t fall asleep, and I rolled over and checked the time on my phone and saw a few missed calls from [Flyers general manager Danny Brière] and a text saying, call me back ASAP, so kind of clicked in there,” Barkey said of when he found out he was being called up to the Flyers.

“Yeah, super cool moment.”

Those lights were bright on Broadway for the forward as he had an “eye-opening experience” making his NHL debut at Madison Square Garden with his parents and brother in attendance despite snow in Toronto delaying their arrival.

They must have enjoyed it even more when the forward made his presence known from puck drop. Literally, as he got the start with linemates Sean Couturier and Tippett.

On his first shift, Barkey forced Shesterkin to freeze the puck on a shot by Tippett. On his next shift, he almost scored — twice.

The Flyers controlled the perimeter and the boards with Barkey, Couturier, and Tippett cycling the puck down low. Couturier got the puck in the left corner and sent it around to Tippett before finding Barkey crashing down. He shot the puck off the pass and then got a rebound chance.

In the third period, he came close to scoring his first NHL goal as he drove to the net. Couturier sent the pass to the 5-foot-10, 173-pound forward as he tried to finish backdoor.

“I’ve actually played with him a couple years now in camp, and obviously, super skilled player, and brings a lot of energy,” Tippett said. “Were telling him to kind of play his game and not worry about anything else. And I think he played great.”

In the second period, Barkey got on the scoresheet with a pair of primary assists.

His first came on a power play, when he got the puck off the right boards and fed Travis Sanheim in the high slot. The defenseman skated down and fired the wrister from the slot past the stick of Shesterkin. It is Sanheim’s first power-play tally since Jan. 31, 2019, against the Boston Bruins.

Just 23 seconds later, he got point No. 2. Flyers defenseman Cam York threw a backhander on net that was knocked down by Rangers defenseman Will Borgen in front. Barkey scooped up the loose puck and sent the backhand pass to Tippett, who was at the left point. The forward skated in between the circles and also beat Shesterkin stick side.

“The way he played tonight, the way he competes, yeah, I’m going to fight for him,” Tocchet said when asked if Barkey has a chance to stick around. ”Listen, he’s a young kid too. You want to make sure that he has enough reps where he’s going to be, but I saw enough tonight, and that’s a short sample side, that he’s a good little player.”

What We Do

In the second period, Barkey also drew a penalty that led to yet another power-play goal for the Flyers. The penalty came in the offensive zone, after the forward cleared the puck away from the front of the Flyers’ end.

On the ensuing power play, the Flyers ran what appeared to be a set play. Noah Cates won the face-off back to Jamie Drysdale at the left point. The defenseman sent it across to his good buddy, Zegras, and the New York native sent a one-timer into the back of the net.

Zegras has a team-leading 15 goals and 35 points in 34 games. He is riding a seven-game point streak (five goals, four assists).

It is the first time the Flyers have scored two power-play goals in a game since Dec. 3 against the Sabres, which was also the last time the Flyers got a tally on the man advantage. They went 0-for-16 across the past seven games.

But what made the day extra special was the Flyers getting their first short-handed goal of the season. Rodrigo Ābols forced defenseman Scott Morrow to make a pass across the ice that was picked off by Sanheim.

The defenseman skated down and made a nifty move around Morrow on a two-on-one. His pass went off the skate of Ābols as he crashed the net. The goal is Ābols’ second of the season.

Philly had two chances to win the game in overtime. Panarin slashed York eight seconds into the extra session. They had four shot attempts, with Konecny missing the net twice.

Then, with 51 seconds left in overtime, Zegras was pulled down by Morrow, but the Flyers couldn’t find the back of the net. Shesterkin stopped a tip-in chance by Konecny from 6 feet out with 33 seconds left, and Zegras had a shot blocked.

“Yeah, it’s tough. … I think it’s something that we’ve got to get a lot better at, because that’s, two four-on-threes in overtime, like you’ve got to come up with a goal for the team there,” Zegras said. “Just not good enough.”

Added Tocchet: “We had chances at the end, four-on-three. We have some guys here who’ve got to help us. Got to score there. Too slow with the four-on-three. … We’ve just got to learn how to handle pressure. We knew at the beginning of the year we had to start to do [that], but take the point when we thought we should have had two.”

‘Broadway is dark tonight’

Before the game, Brière announced that goalie Dan Vladař “has got a little, little boo-boo.” The goalie has an upper-body injury is “Nothing too serious,” and “he should be back, we hope, by Monday.”

With that, Ersson got the start in goal for the second straight game. Although he came up big at times, he still allowed four goals on 27 shots, including two on 10 shots in the final frame.

Panarin, who was clearly the Rangers’ best player Saturday, beat Ersson twice. His first goal of the game, with 26 seconds left in the first period, put the Flyers in a 1-0 hole. It is the 24th time in 34 games that the Flyers have trailed 1-0.

Off a face-off in the Flyers’ end, Zibanejad got the puck on the right boards and chipped the pass to Panarin alone in the middle of the ice. He sent the wrister stick-side past Ersson.

The Russian winger scored again in the second period after Tippett turned the puck over in the neutral zone. Panarin intercepted his backhand pass in the middle of the ice, skated down the right wing, and fired the snapshot off the far post and in.

Trocheck cut it to 4-3 in the third period after Ersson made a brilliant save on the Pittsburgh native, but couldn’t control the rebound. Trocheck’s second shot appeared to nick the skate of Nikita Grebenkin before getting past Ersson.

“Comparing this one to recent third periods, I thought this one was a little bit better. I think maybe just a couple mental breakdowns, obviously, that led to the goal that was bouncing around. And then obviously they got one on the power play late to tie it up.” Zegras said.

”But, I mean, I thought we were playing better in the third than we normally have. So I guess that’s exciting, but still not good enough.”

Breakaways

Forward Garnet Hathaway was a healthy scratch for the first time with the Flyers on Saturday. The winger does not have a point in 33 games this season. “He’s had some tough moments and stuff like that. He’s trying to find his game,” said Tocchet, when asked about Hathaway postgame. “… He’s good when he plays with speed guys. So we’ve also got to help him, too.” … Forward Christian Dvorak (lower-body injury) did not play. Neither Dvorak nor Vladař’s injury is expected to be long-term, per Brière. Goalie Aleksei Kolosov was recalled under emergency conditions and served as the backup. … The Flyers are 12-7-5 when trailing 1-0; their 12 wins lead the NHL. … The two goals assisted on by Barkey, 23 seconds apart, is the sixth time this season the Flyers have scored twice within 25 seconds. It is three more than the next-closest team, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Up next

The Flyers head home for a meeting with coach Rick Tocchet’s old team, the Vancouver Canucks, on Monday (NHLN, NBCSP, 7:30 p.m.).

They finish up the schedule before the NHL’s holiday break with a quick trip on Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks (9 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max).

NEW YORK — There’s been some movement with the Flyers’ 23-man roster in recent days, but before a question could even be asked about Egor Zamula clearing waivers, Tyson Foerster undergoing surgery, or Denver Barkey’s first call-up, Flyers general manager Danny Brière started things off with some news.

Goalie Aleksei Kolosov was with the team for Saturday’s matinee against the New York Rangers as an emergency recall and backed up starter Sam Ersson. Goalie Dan Vladař “has got a little, little boo-boo,” he said, adding his upper-body injury is “Nothing too serious” and “he should be back, we hope by Monday.” But added that they don’t know for sure.

Vladař last played on Tuesday in Montreal, backstopping the Flyers to a 4-1 win against the Canadiens. The Czech netminder is 12-5-3 this season with the sixth-best goals-against average (2.41) and tied for the ninth-best save percentage (.910) in the NHL among goalies who have played at least 15 games.

And then there was more. Forward Christian Dvorak, who has been centering one of the Flyers’ top lines and serving as a key penalty killer, is out with a lower-body injury. He did not dress against the Rangers, but “according to our trainers, shouldn’t be long-term.”

Here are three more questions answered by Brière on Saturday afternoon.

Why was Denver Barkey recalled and not Alex Bump?

Called up from Lehigh Valley on Friday, Barkey delivered two assists in his NHL debut Saturday.

Drafted by the Flyers in the third round of the 2023 NHL draft, the 5-foot-10, 173-pound forward, who is known for his grit, moxie, and determination, turned pro this season and has been impressive in the minors. The 20-year-old has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 26 games for the Phantoms, primarily playing on the wing with center Lane Pederson and winger Alex Bump.

“He came in. He played extremely well. I think the biggest thing from the report is his consistency; he was good night after night and earned the right to get a look,” Brière said.

Barkey has looked impressive since the Flyers’ rookie camp in early September, but everyone outside the organization expected Bump to be the one getting the call-up. Brière did say, “It could have also been one of those two guys,” meaning Pederson or Bump, as the line has been dominating in the AHL, “but we decided to go with Barkey.”

A highly touted prospect, Bump was someone many thought would break camp with the Flyers. Instead, after a solid rookie camp, he was sent down after a poor main training camp. After a slow start in Lehigh Valley, he now has 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 27 games in Allentown.

“We’re very happy with Alex,” Brière said. “Unfortunately, he got injured [Friday] night. He’s going to be out for a short period of time, maybe seven to 10 days. He didn’t have a great camp, and he knows that. But since then, he went down there, and he’s been working hard as well. He’s a guy we considered, and he’s not that far off.”

What’s next for Egor Zamula?

The Flyers defenseman cleared waivers on Friday afternoon and has been assigned to Lehigh Valley.

Zamula last played on Dec. 7 and has skated in 13 of the Flyers’ first 33 games this season, registering one assist. Averaging a few ticks above 14 minutes a night, he had a plus-minus of plus-4, only boosted by a plus-5 night when he returned to the lineup on Nov. 22 against the New Jersey Devils.

“The biggest thing with Egor is that he needs to play,” Brière said. “It doesn’t really help him sitting game after game, and we figured if he clears waivers, it’s going to give him the chance to play some games, maybe find his game again.

“We expect to have some adversity there on defense at some point, too, where injuries are going to come — what was it two, three weeks ago, we didn’t have Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen, and now they’re back in the lineup. So things change fast. Hopefully, he can find his game, and we could very well see him back with the big team at some point.”

A mainstay last season, skating in 63 games, Zamula has dropped down the depth chart this season. He has been passed by Emil Andrae, offseason acquisition Noah Juulsen, and, more recently, Ty Murchison.

A long-standing criticism, dating back to former coach John Tortorella, has been Zamula’s pace of play. Coach Rick Tocchet also said he wanted to see the 6-foot-3, 200-pound defenseman move the puck more quickly. Although he did not play for the Phantoms on Friday night, and while the AHL has a slightly slower pace of play, the hope is that he can refind his game.

“It’s up to him,” Brière said. “We hope that he kind of takes charge down there. That’s up to him to decide how he’s going to play, but I think just going on the ice and getting the reps is more important than sitting around and just practicing day after day.”

Why the change in status for Tyson Foerster?

Originally, the winger was expected to miss two to three months after suffering an “upper-body” injury on Dec. 1 against Pittsburgh. However, on Wednesday, the Flyers announced that Foerster will miss the next five months after undergoing arm surgery on Monday. It is likely that his season is over.

“Just more in-depth examinations, and after talking to different people, and just to make sure it was decided that, at the moment, the best thing was to take care of it with surgery,” Brière said.

The GM added that it is an approximate timeline and “it could be a little less, could be a little bit more.”

At the time of his injury, Foerster led the Flyers in goals (10), leaving a huge hole in the lineup. Brière is hoping the Flyers can fill the spot from within.

“It’s a pretty good player that you’re trying to replace, so that’s obviously not easy, but it’s a chance for other guys to step up, get more ice time, and take advantage of it,” he said.

“So that’s the way we see it. It’s a great opportunity for a lot of guys to see what they can do. [Carl] Grundström’s recall, since then, he’s played extremely well, so that’s good to see, but it’s never easy to replace a guy like Tyson, who’s becoming a huge part of our offense.”

NEW YORK — The NHL hits a roster freeze at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, so with defenseman Egor Zamula clearing waivers and being assigned to the American Hockey League, it left a roster spot open.

Forward Denver Barkey has been called up.

Drafted by the Flyers in the third round of the 2023 NHL draft, Barkey turned pro this season and has been impressive while skating primarily on the wing for Lehigh Valley of the AHL. The 20-year-old has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 26 games for the Phantoms, primarily playing on the wing with center Lane Pederson and winger Alex Bump.

“I think right from the start, he’s played very well,” Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr recently told The Inquirer. “On the production side, he makes plays, he works, and the details are great. Such a smart player. He’s got to get stronger and build up his body to handle the grind and but so far, so good.

“Down there, he’s been arguably our best forward a lot of nights, and coaches love them plays, plays a lot. He’s certainly going in the right direction.”

Well, the direction now is east to New York City ahead of the Flyers’ matchup with the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon (12:30 p.m., NBCSP). The kid from Ontario is in line to make his debut at the World’s Most Famous Arena.

“I call him like a little mini [Travis Konecny],” Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong said of Barkey over the summer. “He’s all over the puck. He’s grimy when he doesn’t have the puck. He’s always working to get the puck back.

“He’s really good with his stick picking pockets, transitioning, and his eyes are up; I don’t think a little guy like that skating around, his head down, is going to last very long in the game.

“But when you watch him go into corners, and he’s not afraid of that, he’s quick to get in, he’s quick to get out.”

Some have questioned Barkey’s size at 5-foot-10, 173 pounds, but no one questions his grit, moxie, will, and determination. Last season, he notched 25 goals and 82 points in 50 regular-season games before adding another nine goals and 20 points in 11 postseason games for London of the Ontario Hockey League.

On June 1, he captained the Knights to the Memorial Cup championship despite suffering a high-ankle sprain in the OHL Final. In the finale of the Memorial Cup, against the projected No. 1 for this June’s draft, Gavin McKenna, and Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League, Barkey drove play and scored a pair of goals.

A month later, he was at the Flyers development camp but did not participate. He did, however, try.

“[Barkey] always comes to me every morning, ‘Hey, do you think you can get me out on the ice?’ No, no, you’re done,” Armstrong said with a chuckle in early July.

The rest helped. He was again impressive at the Flyers’ rookie camp and in a game against their Rangers counterparts in early September in Allentown.

Barkey opened eyes with his speed, hockey IQ, puck possession and patience, and high-end passing ability. Looking completely healed from his high-ankle sprain, the forward used his quickness, leverage, and ability to win pucks to beat the defense at every turn and notched a goal.

It appears that his summer of eating Italian giant subs — Mike’s way, minus the onions — at Jersey Mike’s with his buddy, and former London teammate, Oliver Bonk, to add weight paid off. Phantoms coach John Snowden called him “a heck of a hockey player” in September.

“Continue to get bigger, stronger,” Barkey said of his summer plans at development camp. “It’s a big jump next year. I’m going to be playing against older men and strong guys. So, continuing to get stronger, faster, and I think the biggest thing is just using my brain and then finding a way to adjust. It’s a different game in pro.”

And Barkey has adjusted well to the pro ranks, skating on the wing of the Phantoms’ top line, which drives play and is relied on for offensive swings. His fellow winger, Bump, was actually the one many thought would be called up.

The kid from Minnesota, who led Western Michigan to the NCAA championship in April, was pegged by everyone, including The Inquirer, to break camp with the Flyers; however, he was sent down after a poor main training camp. After a slow start in Lehigh Valley, he now has 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 26 games in Allentown.

BUFFALO — The Flyers were handed a 5-3 loss by the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, a team that just fired its general manager and may make a coaching move soon.

They came out hard but still trailed, and while they tied the game and even took the lead at one point, they eventually sputtered and lost.

Here are two things to know from Western New York:

Special teams struggled again

The Flyers had three power-play opportunities but were unable to put one past former Flyers goalie Alex Lyon. According to Natural Stat Trick, they had 12 chances, including four shots on goal; the four shots came on the first two power plays.

The last man advantage was in the third period, with the Flyers down a goal, after Mattias Samuelsson, the son of former Flyers defenseman Kjell Samuelsson, put the puck over the glass with 2 minutes, 19 seconds left in the game. They had shots by Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, and Owen Tippett blocked when goalie Sam Ersson was pulled to make it a six-on-four.

“We’re getting points. It’s a loss. I mean, relax. I’m not saying you, nothing against you [the media],” coach Rick Tocchet said. “But, I mean, yeah, it’s a loss, I’m mad like you, but we’re getting points. These guys are trying, so we’ve got to take it easy on that part.

“But saying that we got to be more disciplined, right? I’d like to see the power play, we got to get some guys to score some goals on the power play. Too perimeter. We need some people in front. That’s the one thing. I thought the key tonight, we didn’t have people in front of the net. You’ve got to be in front of the net to score goals.”

The penalty kill allowed a goal to Josh Norris, who was left wide-open in front, in the third period. Norris’ goal, the eventual game-winner, came 18 seconds after Bobby Brink took a high-sticking call in the offensive zone when he hit Michael Kesselring in the face as he tried to make contact with the puck in the air.

Norris was left alone in front as all four Flyers penalty killers went to one side of the ice.

The penalty was one of five by the Flyers, although the goaltender interference call on Matvei Michkov in the second period was questionable. The winger appeared to be bumped into Lyon and then took several cross-checks to his back while on the ice and defenseless behind the net.

The Sabres had 11 chances during five-on-four action and nine scoring chances. The Flyers had four scoring chances during their power-play opportunities, none in the third.

Philly has been called for 117 minor penalties this season in 33 games, tied with the Winnipeg Jets for the seventh-most in the NHL. Last season, the Flyers had 238 across 82 games, tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for the 13th-fewest.

“We’re taking a lot of penalties and we’re playing good players, so the more opportunities they get, the more chances for them to score,” defenseman Travis Sanheim said. “But in saying that, obviously we have to do a better job, and we’re at our best when we’re pressuring and disrupting and it’s something obviously we know we’ve got to be better, and I’m sure we will be moving forward.”

They had good moments but also bad

Defenseman Cam York, whose second goal of the season gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead in the second period, probably said it best postgame.

“I think it’s just group maturity. I think we’re still maturing in some areas,” he said. “You don’t want to play simple sometimes, and it comes back to bite you, I think, when you don’t want to get the pucks behind their D-man and forecheck; we’re not going to have the puck much, and we’re going to be defending.

“So there’s a lot of things that go into the game, obviously, but we’re definitely struggling to put a full 60 [minutes] together.”

According to Elite Prospects, the Flyers are the sixth-youngest team in the NHL with an average age of 27.08, aging slightly with the recent return of 31-year-old defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.

And while they are young and still learning and growing, they’ve also played just 33 games under a new coaching staff led by Tocchet.

“There’s positives,” Tocchet said. ”To learn how to win, you’ve got to be disciplined. You can’t throw pucks away. We have a couple guys who were diving in when we shouldn’t.

“That’s hockey, and we’re not a team that could outscore our mistakes. But we’re in every game, so I give them credit. But there’s some things there. We need some other guys to contribute too. It just can’t be the same guys.”

Despite it being the fourth game in six days, the Flyers came out firing and dominated the analytics. But they ended up trailing before Noah Cates tied things up less than a minute later.

“You just got to stay focused and be ready,” Cates said. “Any opportunity you’re given, no matter who or what the situation is. So just something we’ve honestly been needing to work on our whole season.

“It [stinks] because we’ve honestly been good kind of in the back half of games, kind of coming back and kind of bites us in the butt. So we obviously can’t rely on it, and going to learn from it and move on and have a big one on Saturday.”

BUFFALO ― The Flyers are having better days lately, but came up short on Thursday night, falling 5-3 to the Buffalo Sabres.

The loss snapped the Flyers’ five-game point streak and is their first road loss in regulation since a 3-0 stinker against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 24.

Things started well for the Flyers. They came out in dominating fashion, but for the 23rd time — in 33 games — they trailed 1-0. It is just their seventh loss (12-7-4) when trailing first.

Jack Quinn knocked down a Travis Konecny pass in the neutral zone, and the Sabres took the puck the other way. Zach Benson carried the puck down the left board before curling and feeding Mattias Samuelsson at the point. Samuelsson, the son of former Flyers defenseman Kjell Samuelsson, put the puck on net quickly, and Quinn redirected it past Sam Ersson.

But before the KeyBank Center’s announcer could finish announcing the goal, 58 seconds later, Noah Cates found the back of the net to tie it at 1. Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin moved a dump-in by Cates up the boards, but Bobby Brink picked up the loose puck.

Brink carried the puck up the boards and maintained control under pressure before turning back down the boards and into the left circle. He dished a backhand pass to Cates, who snapped the one-timer past the glove of former Flyer goalie Alex Lyon.

According to Natural Stat Trick, by the end of the first period, the Flyers had a 12-4 lead in shots on goal, had 21 shot attempts to the Sabres’ five, and 88.45% of the expected-goals share.

The Flyers took a 2-1 lead with 8 minutes, 59 seconds to go in the second period. As Trevor Zegras carried the puck through the offensive zone, Cam York cut through the middle, turned, and received a no-look pass from Zegras in the right circle.

York held the puck and then sent the wrister past Lyon. The goal was the defenseman’s second of the season.

But in a period that saw an almost even number of shots, 12 for the Sabres and 10 for the Flyers, Buffalo took a 3-2 lead.

Off a defensive-zone face-off, the Flyers got stuck in their own end, and 32 seconds later, the Sabres tied the game at 2. Travis Sanheim played the puck along the left boards, but right to Buffalo’s Dahlin. He dropped the puck between his legs in front to Tage Thompson, and the winger skated to the middle before beating Ersson.

Noah Ostlund gave the Sabres their second lead of the game less than three minutes later. With 30 seconds left in the middle frame, he sent a shot from the point past several bodies that appeared to screen Ersson.

In the third period, Josh Norris scored to give Buffalo a two-goal cushion. Norris was sitting wide-open in front during a power play when he received a cross-crease pass from Benson. The center waited and whipped the puck past Ersson 18 seconds into a high-sticking penalty on Brink. Philly went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.

Konecny cut it to a one-goal game with 5:32 remaining off a pass from Emil Andrae. The Flyers had the puck in the offensive zone for 52 seconds when Andrae at the left point found Konecny curling above the right circle.

The goal, which came from a similar spot as York’s, is Konecny’s 10th of the season and fifth in December. He has 11 points in his last nine games.

Breakaways

Buffalo’s Ryan McLeod scored an empty-netter. … The Flyers placed defenseman Egor Zamula on waivers on Thursday. … Defenseman Noah Juulsen and forward Nikita Grebenkin were the healthy scratches. … Ersson allowed four goals on 27 shots. The Flyers put 27 shots on goal, too, with only five coming in the third period. … Flyers forward Matvei Michkov, who was handed a questionable goaltending interference call and was cross-checked while down multiple times — without a call — played 15:27. It is his highest ice time since Dec. 3 (six games ago).

Up next

The Flyers head downstate to face the New York Rangers on Saturday (12:30 p.m., NBCSP).