Author: Jackie Spiegel

The Flyers were riding high after a solid week out west. But they crashed back to reality, losing a four-point game against Metropolitan Division rivals, the New York Islanders, on Monday.

Here are three interesting things said postgame:

Rick Tocchet: ‘You’ve got to handle prosperity.’

Standing outside the coaches’ room in the bowels of Ball Arena on Friday in Denver, Rick Tocchet was asked if the win against the No. 1 team in the NHL, the Colorado Avalanche, could serve as a springboard for his team. The coach calmly responded that they could enjoy it for a moment but that everything needs to remain on an even keel.

It’s a smart mindset amid an 82-game grind, as there will be winning streaks, losing streaks, highs and lows, and everything in between. But while the Flyers won Friday to seal five of six points across a three-game gauntlet of games, Trevor Zegras said what everyone watching was thinking postgame Monday, “We just kind of came out and thought it would be easy, I guess.”

What does Tocchet mean when he says his club needs to handle prosperity better? Part of it is that the Flyers need to sustain wins; they need to know that just because you win Night 1, it doesn’t mean Night 2 will be easy. And it’s something they should know since they have only won two straight once in 2026, have lost eight of their past 10, and are 3-10-4 after a regulation win this season.

Noah Cates: ‘I think we were kind of perimeter.’

The Flyers have been focusing on getting to the middle and driving to the net. But they struggled with it on Monday.

According to Natural Stat Trick, at five-on-five, the Flyers had 13 shots, with just five from high-danger areas. It was a noticeable difference from their games the past week, where, against the Avalanche and Utah Mammoth, they had 12 and 13, respectively, at five-on-five.

Captain Sean Couturier said Monday that the team wasn’t “at our best on winning battles” and “going to the dirty areas,” as was evident from the eye test, too. Was it something the Islanders, who deploy a 1-1-3 system, were doing or that the Flyers weren’t driving to the net?

“Yeah, I think both,” forward Noah Cates said. “I think we were kind of perimeter, not getting guys to the front of the net and different things like that. But they’re so structured, and that’s just kind of their MO, has been for the last couple of years, kind of their hard and stingy defensively, and just kind of winning battles down low, and then getting pucks to the net and getting bodies there is tough against them.”

Tocchet: ‘Some guys accepted it.’

The coach wore this one, saying it was on him. But he’s not the one on the ice making the plays. His players are the ones who need to step up.

“We just got our butts kicked on home ice in a game where it’s probably tough to get to, and a lot of fans in the building,” Jamie Drysdale said.

It seemed that as soon as the Islanders found the back of the net — while the Flyers were the ones on the power play — in the first period, it sucked the life out of the building and the team.

“There was no effort coming back,” said a frustrated Tocchet, who answered a follow-up question that it was Hockey 101. “We didn’t even have the puck, and then we had two guys go to the same guy, and then one guy doesn’t backcheck.

“We don’t have the puck, just come back in the slot hard. One guy stays in front, the other guy takes him, there’s no goal. And who knows, if we’re zeros after the first, maybe. But it seemed like when they scored it, some guys accepted.”

Back at sea level, it looks like the Flyers left their energy in the Rocky Mountains.

Coming off a three-game road trip, with wins against two Stanley Cup contenders, the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche, you would have thought the Flyers would be amped to get back in front of the hometown faithful, especially since they had left town on a six-game slide.

But they came out with a lackluster effort, and the result was a 4-0 loss to the New York Islanders and goalie Ilya Sorokin. It marked the second time this season the Flyers were shut out and ended the team’s three-game point streak.

Had the Flyers won the game, they would have jumped ahead of the team from Long Island via tiebreakers into third in the Metropolitan Division, as each team would have had 59 points in 51 games.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead in the first period while shorthanded against the unit with Trevor Zegras, Travis Konecny, Christian Dvorak, Bobby Brink, and Jamie Drysdale.

Off the offensive-zone faceoff to start the power play, which was won by Dvorak back to Drysdale, the puck ended up on Brink’s stick down the boards. He tried to pass it to Dvorak, but it went to Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech, and he knocked it away.

Pageau picked up the loose puck and dumped it in off Ersson, who steered it into the right corner. Islanders forward Casey Cizikas was first on the puck, despite having Brink and Drysdale there, and fed it back to Pageau, who was skating alone through the slot. It was the fifth short-handed goal the Flyers have allowed this season.

Philly fell into a 2-0 hole in the second period when Mathew Barzal deflected a point shot past Ersson. The line of Dvorak, Konecny, and Nikita Grebenkin got pinned in their own end with Dvorak out there for 2 minutes, 12 seconds, Konecny for 1:42, and Grebenkin for one minute.

Drysdale was also out there for 1:42, skating with Travis Sanheim for over a minute as the Islanders kept the puck to one side of the ice, with the Flyers unable to recover. In the end, Barzal pushed off Drysdale in front and moved into the slot to deflect the shot by Isaiah George.

Later in the second period, former Flyers defenseman and Sewell, N.J. native Tony DeAngelo made it 3-0 with a power-play goal.

Ahead of the goal, the Flyers had a chance to get on the board when Rasmus Ristolainen, activated before the game from injured reserve, got the puck to Owen Tippett while shorthanded. Tippett went one-on-one with DeAngelo, even making a between-the-legs move, but couldn’t get a shot off and sent it back to Emil Andrae at the point.

Andrae couldn’t control the pass, and the Islanders broke out three-on-two with Anthony Duclair carrying the puck up the ice. Duclair passed it back to Barzal on the right wing, and he found DeAngelo in the middle for the one-timer.

Pageau added another goal in the third on a pass by Maxim Tsyplakov. The forward got behind the defense after the puck came off the wall in the neutral zone, and fired one upstairs off the pass.

Philly had 21 shots, but only four from high-danger areas, according to Natural Stat Trick; two of those were on the power play. Sorokin entered the game with an 11-3-3 career record, 1.61 goals-against average, and .944 save percentage against the Flyers.

Breakaways

Ersson started his fourth straight game for the first time since Feb. 8-27, when he went 3-0-1. With Ristolainen activated, defenseman Hunter McDonald was loaned to Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League. … The 2nd Annual Gaudreau Family 5K will be held on May 16 at Washington Lake Park in Sewell. Registration will open on Feb. 13.

Up next

The Flyers are on the road again for two games in two nights. First up, they see old teammate Egor Zamula and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max) before going to Boston to face the Bruins on Thursday (7 p.m., NBCSP+).

DENVER ― Three games. Three different outcomes. Five out of six points.

Not a shabby week for the Flyers, who lost six straight before heading west and took on three of the NHL’s best. Not a shabby week for, really, anyone, facing the gauntlet of the Vegas Golden Knights, Utah Mammoth, and Colorado Avalanche in three consecutive games.

Coach Rick Tocchet and his players have often talked about lessons. Here are five lessons the Flyers learned this week that could help propel them forward as the season heads to the Olympic break.

1. Owen Tippett has been unleashed

Speaking with The Inquirer after his introductory press conference, Tocchet said, “I think Owen Tippett is a guy who I feel has another level in him. I think he’s a prototypical big, fast winger. Can we unleash him?”

If you hadn’t noticed it in the past few weeks, it smacked you in the face Friday: Tippett is officially unleashed.

“He’s a big-time player,” Sam Ersson said postgame. “He makes big-time plays at the right time when we need it. And he’s that guy who can score from anywhere. He just doesn’t need much. And you give him the finger, he’ll take the whole hand.”

Standing in the Flyers locker room at Ball Arena after the game, Tippett’s hand was filled with pucks after the winger notched his second career hat trick. His first came after his initial shot was blocked, but he stayed with it and sniped it past Mackenzie Blackwood from the right circle. The second came on the left side off the rush, and his third, which sealed a 7-3 victory over Colorado, was a short-handed goal through the wickets.

His four points — he also assisted on Denver Barkey’s power-play — showed everything he’s been doing well for weeks. Since Dec. 20, Tippett leads the Flyers in goals (nine) and is two points back of Travis Konecny’s team-leading 15. He also ranks third in hits (29).

“I think I’ve been pretty happy with my game the last couple of weeks, just doing all the little things and not really worrying about kind of points or scoring or just knowing they’re coming,” he said. “So obviously, it’s nice to have three [goals]. But more importantly, it’s about the win.

2. Keep the foot on the pedal

On Wednesday, the Flyers learned the hard way on how letting up can change a game. Losing 5-4 in overtime, they faltered despite having 3-0 and 4-2 leads before Utah scored twice in the third period, including the game-tying goal in the last minute.

“We talked about it as a team. I think, like, sometimes when the pressure comes, instead of folding, it’s when you have to play your best hockey,” defenseman Cam York said after morning skate in Denver. “I felt like when the pressure hit, we didn’t play our best hockey … [and] it’s mental. I think sometimes when we get a lead, we like to just kind of let them do their thing a little bit more, instead of just keeping our game going. So I think that’s the biggest piece for us.”

On Friday, the Flyers did not let up. They scored three goals on seven shots in the final frame, including two goals in the first two minutes of the period to break open a 3-3 game.

“[Friday], there were about four or five guys … who stood on the bench and said some key things,” Tocchet said. “Usually, we’re a fairly quiet bench. But the guys who were talking don’t talk that much, and it was really inspiring for me to hear them say that.

“Jamie Drysdale stood up and said, ‘Let’s enjoy this moment. Like, we’ve got to enjoy these pressure games. That’s why you play the game. You don’t want hide from it.’ When he said that, I think maybe that gave everybody a little bit of ‘Yeah, let’s enjoy it, let’s not be nervous about it.’ And I think that helped.”

3. Stop taking penalties

For the love of hockey, the Flyers need to stop taking penalties.

Penalties happen, of course, and is every penalty a legitimate call? Absolutely not, as the officiating has been downright dreadful this year. However, there are certainly penalties that could have been avoided.

The good news is that the penalty kill has been much better. It went from a league-worst 60.6% from the holiday break through Sunday to 85.7% across the three games this past week.

The bad news, since Monday’s 2-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights — where one of Konecny’s two goals was a shortie — the Flyers lead the NHL in times shorthanded (14). They’ve spent the second-most time on ice shorthanded at almost 8 minutes a game, with only Utah, which played that one game against them, having more at 8:30.

Part of why the penalty kill has been better was because they have more structure — playing the diamond Tocchet likes while being smart with their aggressiveness — and part of it was Ersson. According to Natural Stat Trick, across the last three games, the Flyers allowed 36 shot attempts, 19 shots, 21 scoring chances, and 10 high-danger chances.

They allowed just two power-play goals against, with one coming from a high-danger spot — and none of the three shot attempts from in tight by Colorado, which kept feeding the bumper, got through. On the flip side, they do have two short-handed goals this past week and five on the season.

“We scratched and clawed. It was a tough game; got to kill two penalties right off the start. We had to kill a bunch of penalties tonight,” said Tocchet of the Flyers taking two penalties in the first five minutes and four in the game. “And I’m not going to blame the guys on the penalties, but I really felt they grinded it out killing those penalties.”

4. Bobby Brink is a catalyst

Could Brink be the straw that stirs the Flyers’ drink? Brink missed six games and the Flyers lost them all. Brink returns on Monday, and the Flyers go 2-0-1. Coincidence?

Whether or not there is a correlation, Brink doesn’t just bring a balance to the forward lines; he brings speed, a dogged determination, and pressure that creates turnovers and puts the opposition on its heels.

“There’s a guy like Bobby Brink, I think the last couple of games, he adds a lot of speed,” Tocchet said following morning skate at Ball Arena. “If he gets the puck, you see him through the neutral zone, separating himself. Those are the things we’re teaching our players to do.

He notched yet another goal — he has two in three games since returning from a concussion — on Friday for a career-high 13 this season. It was a pivotal moment as it regained the Flyers’ lead 32 seconds after the Avalanche tied it up 2-2. It was his work ethic, alongside Noah Cates, that led to the goal.

Skating in on a two-on-one, Brink fed Cates, who didn’t get good wood on the pass. But the centerman stayed with it as he and Brink worked together down low and around the net before Brink used his feet to keep the puck loose. The 24-year-old winger got the puck atop the crease and roofed it.

5. Never give up on Ersson

It wasn’t an easy one to close out the road trip — as Ersson said, “You kind of get those flashbacks from the Utah game” as the Avalanche kept pressing. But while they may have bent slightly, the Flyers didn’t break — in large part because of their goaltender.

According to Natural Stat Trick, entering the week, Ersson had the worst save percentage (.854) among goalies with at least 1000 minutes played this season. His Goals Saved Above Average (-18.35) and high-danger save percentage (.750) were second-worst in the NHL, better than only Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues.

With Dan Vladař injured and Aleksei Kolosov allowing three goals on three shots last Saturday to the New York Rangers, the net was Ersson’s. He took hold of it as he started three straight for the first time this season — and the first time since late March.

This past week, among the 37 goalies who played at least 60 minutes, every one of his stats rose. His save percentage was 24th (.897), his GSAA was 26th (-0.41), and his HDSV% was 18th (.846). Most impressive was that his high-dangers goals saved above average rose from -6.67 to 1.04. He tied Kevin Lankinen of the Vancouver Canucks, Tocchet’s old team, for the most high-danger shots faced this past week (26).

Ersson was modest postgame on Friday, saying it was “all about just making those timely saves,” but it’s clear he’s seeing the puck well. Always a goalie who likes to see shots early to get into the game, on Monday, he had his fifth first-period shutout of the season when he stopped 11 pucks by Vegas on the way to the win. On Friday, he made 17 saves — several of which were masterful as the Avalanche put quick snapshots and peppered him from the slot and in tight — for his sixth clean first period.

“Yeah, obviously, you get a lot of action early, and I think that helps to settle in,” he said. “Every game has its own challenges. And, you know this team is so good [that] they’re going to make a huge push to come back, and they did. And how we dealt with it in the team, [we] just kept believing in ourselves.”

Long known for his tough mental game and often praised for it by former coach John Tortorella, the turnaround was not unexpected from the Swede or his new coach.

“He was down in dumps, and he knew that he wanted to get his game going, but he worked at it. Spent a lot of time with [goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh], with video, and I got to give him credit,” Tocchet said.

“He had a smile on his face there about three games ago — I didn’t see him kind of moping around — I like that. A lot of things were being tested, and some of the demons in him, and that’s where you got to face it, and I think he did. He was solid in net.”

DENVER ― Standing in the hallway outside the Flyers locker room on Wednesday in Utah, coach Rick Tocchet said his team needed to learn “how to play winning hockey.”

Two nights later, they handed the NHL’s No. 1 team its second regulation loss at home this season. The Flyers wrapped up a three-game road trip with an impressive 7-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche, leaving the new “Death Valley” through Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Denver, with five out of six possible points.

It wasn’t easy, especially in the first period against Colorado’s high-octane offense, but Sam Ersson put on a show.

The Flyers’ goalie committed robbery several times as he faced 17 shots, including a torrent of high-danger chances by the Avalanche in the opening frame. Across the full 60 minutes, he would stop 32 of 35 shots on the way to his eighth win of the season.

Just 45 seconds into the game, the Flyers were shorthanded after Travis Konecny took a hooking call. Although the Avalanche entered the night ranked 26th on the power play, they still have guys like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar who can score at will.

But Ersson stood up to the task. He stopped Martin Nečas with his glove and then stoned not just a Victor Olofsson snapshot from the bumper but Nečas on the rebound at the right post.

At even strength, after Konecny couldn’t control the puck and lost it in the Flyers’ end, Ersson had to make a save on a tipped shot by Gavin Brindley. But then he made a beauty of a glove save as the rebound went back to Brindley in the slot for the quick shot. With 3:33 left in the period, he made another impressive save, snaring a quick shot by Brock Nelson after the puck popped out to him in the slot.

Owen Tippett got the Flyers on the board first with a snipe from the right circle. The forward got the puck and skated through the neutral zone, going one-on-one with Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski.

The speedster pushed Malinksi back and then put on the brakes. After the blueliner blocked the initial shot, Tippett picked up the loose puck and beat goalie Mackenzie Blackwood stick side.

Philly took a 2-0 lead with 63 seconds to go in the opening frame on a power-play goal by Denver Barkey. The second power-play unit of Cam York, Matvei Michkov, Tippett, Noah Cates, and Barkey had a great shift by maintaining pressure and composure.

Tippett sent the puck down to Matvei Michkov at the goal line by the right post. The Russian winger then fed it up to Barkey, who was waiting patiently in the right circle, and sent off a quick shot. The youngster, who scored his second career goal, also had the primary assist on Tippett’s goal.

Colorado is the NHL’s best for a reason, and they tied things up in the second period on goals by Parker Kelly and Olofsson. Christian Dvorak turned the puck over to Kelly in the Flyers’ end before Kelly finished the play by scooping up a rebound. Olofsson scored his goal after he got the puck and skated down into the left circle, beating Ersson glove-side.

But the Flyers did not break, and 32 seconds after Olofsson tied it 2-2, Bobby Brink gave the Flyers another lead.

Skating in on a two-on-one, Brink fed Cates, who didn’t get good wood on the puck. But he tracked it down, and he and Brink played catch before Brink used his feet to keep the puck loose. Brink, who returned to the lineup on Monday after missing six games with a concussion, got it back atop the crease and roofed it for his 13th goal of the season. He set a new career high.

Two-time Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar tied it back up 1:11 after Brink scored, but the Flyers came out for the third period on fire. They clearly learned from their mistakes in Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth and did not sit back.

Tippett scored his second of the game 56 seconds into the final frame to give the Flyers a 4-3 lead. Sean Couturier intercepted the puck near the Flyers’ blue line and started the rush up the ice. Tippett got the puck and kept it as Barkey went to the net. The power forward skated into the left circle and beat Blackwood glove side.

Sixty-four seconds later, Michkov notched his 11th goal of the season as he tipped in a point shot by Emil Andrae to make it 5-3. As the Flyers worked the puck around the boards, Michkov skated to the bottom of the left circle and planted himself perfectly for the deflection.

But the Flyers weren’t done finding the back of the net — led by Tippett, who would snag the second hat trick of his NHL career. Killing a penalty by Barkey, Tippett picked off a pass attempt by Makar inside the Flyers’ blue line and took off. He skated down the ice and put the puck five-hole for his 18th goal of the season.

And then the 21-year-old Michkov, who was skating well all night and had his legs, would add an empty-netter to seal the win. Konecny picked off a pass attempt — akin to his two goals against Vegas on Monday — before pulling the veteran move and passing the puck to Michkov for his second two-goal game of the season.

Breakaways

Forwards Nikita Grebenkin and Nic Deslauriers, and defenseman Hunter McDonald were the healthy scratches. … The Flyers have a three-game point streak. … Jamie Drysdale, Cates, and Michkov were all plus-3 on the night. … Tippett tied his career high with four points. … Garnet Hathaway got his first assist of the season on Michkov’s first goal, giving him two points in 44 games this season. … Konecny extended his point streak to four games (three goals, three assists).

Up next

The Flyers head home for a meeting with the New York Islanders on Monday (7 p.m., NBCSP).

SALT LAKE CITY ― Standing in the hallway outside the Flyers’ locker room at the Delta Center after a 5-4 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday, Rick Tocchet was the most frustrated and direct he’s been all season after a loss.

“Obviously, we had good parts of it, but that’s unacceptable what happened tonight. So [there’s] really not much to say,” the Flyers coach said.

“I’ve been here [49] games, and there’s some really good stuff,” he added. “But when the pressure hits this team, we’ve got to learn how to play winning hockey.”

The Flyers had the game on their sticks. Literally.

Garnet Hathaway skated in on an empty net with Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka pulled and nothing standing in his way of making it a two-goal game with 1 minute, 27 seconds left in regulation. Instead, he dallied, got his pocket picked, and never got a shot on goal.

Nick Seeler then had a shot that was blocked by Clayton Keller, the eventual tying- and winning-goal scorer, with 1:16 to go. Travis Konecny had a third chance at the empty net from the right point blocked by Jack McBain with 53 ticks remaining.

Those came after Trevor Zegras had been robbed by the glove of Vejmelka and Owen Tippett nailed the crossbar. Zegras also hit a post with 2:55 left. But those were just missed opportunities to ice the game.

The Flyers also allowed the Mammoth to climb back into a game in which they led 3-0 and 4-2.

Noah Juulsen rushed to defend Jamie Drysdale and got tagged for an extra minor, leading to the 4-3 goal with less than eight minutes to go. “I love Juuls, but take a punch in the mouth,” Tocchet said afterward. “You’ve got to win the game. … You can’t take a penalty there.”

Then there was veteran defenseman Travis Sanheim getting dog walked by Keller on the tying goal with 35 seconds left, and Konecny losing the puck to Dylan Guenther deep in the Utah zone in the lead-up to Keller’s overtime winner.

The Flyers also could have done with one more timely save along the way from Sam Ersson, who allowed five goals on 27 shots.

As Ersson said, “Obviously, it [stinks], losing this game, but it’s not on one guy, it’s on everybody.”

Tocchet can say that they’ve got to “keep building certain people, and get some of these young guys to understand that and go that direction.” But this was on the veterans.

Regardless, the game is now in the past. Mistakes happen. It’s what one does in response that matters.

“I thought for the most part, we were the better team [and] played some good hockey,” said Christian Dvorak, who scored twice. “Sat back a little bit. It’s a tough loss. It stings, but we can’t let it tread on the next game.”

That next game is Friday against powerhouse Colorado. The Avalanche, who have only five regulation losses all season, are 20-1-4 at Ball Arena.

With the Flyers sitting three points out of a playoff spot at 23-17-9 and with the 16th-best points percentage in the NHL, this is a big game. Leaving a three-game road trip with at least four points out of six across the new Death Valley would not only keep the Flyers in the playoff picture but be a good return considering they entered the week riding a six-game losing streak.

The Flyers need to do what they did well early on against the Mammoth:

• They need to play as aggressively as they did in the first period, when Cam York scored after sneaking down from the point to bury a rebound, and Dvorak got behind the defense and scored around a sprawled-out Vejmelka.
• The power play scored twice, with Bobby Brink getting one of the goals. The Flyers moved the puck well and created good momentum, but as Tocchet said, “I liked it early, and we did a good job, but then the last one or two, we revert to old style again.” After going 2-for-6 on the power play, the Flyers have moved up from 32 to 30 (15.5%) but will have a tall task against the NHL’s best penalty kill (85.0%).

• The penalty kill was good early on and looked like the unit that went 6-for-7 against the Vegas Golden Knights’ potent power play on Monday. But it came up short in the end, with Guenther given space to put a shot on goal that hit Barrett Hayton to make it 4-3. “You’ve got to come out and block the shot, play aggressively, and we sunk,” Tocchet said. “We let Guenther, one of the best shooters in the league, go and shoot the puck. Obviously, we unraveled, and we’ve got to put the pieces back.” One positive — the Avalanche’s power play, given its immense star power, is surprisingly not clicking much better than the Flyers’ at 16.5%.
• Turnovers are going to happen. It’s inevitable when you’re playing in a 200-by-85-foot enclosed space with 10 people typically skating around 20 mph. But the Flyers need to minimize them, especially when facing guys like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, who can turn it into a goal in a heartbeat.
• Whether it is Ersson or Dan Vladař returning from his injury in goal, the Flyers need saves. Early on, like he played in Vegas, Ersson was impressive against Utah, playing with confidence as he read the puck well, especially through traffic. The late goals were not entirely his fault, as one was a deflected shot, and the game-winner saw a guy left wide-open in the slot, but the Flyers will need big-time saves against the Avs. Ersson was in net for the Flyers’ 3-2 loss at home to Colorado in December, and let in three goals on 28 shots, with the game-winner coming off a cross-ice pass.

SALT LAKE CITY ― The Flyers were in control until they weren’t.

After ending a six-game losing streak on Monday, and snapping the Vegas Golden Knights’ seven-game winning streak in the process, they lost to the Utah Mammoth, 5-4, in overtime on Wednesday.

The Flyers had a 3-0 lead early in the second and led by two going into the final frame. It was only the fourth time after leading after two periods that they did not come out victorious.

Clayton Keller scored in overtime from the slot after he tied the game with 35 seconds left in regulation during a six-on-five situation.

The Utah captain tied the game when he knocked a bouncing puck away from Travis Sanheim. Keller skated around the defenseman, cut across the crease, and backhanded one over Sam Ersson. On the game-winner, Travis Konecny lost the puck deep in the Utah zone to Dylan Guenther, who carried it up the ice and eventually fed Keller for the shot.

Philly had chances to extend its lead several times, with Owen Tippett ringing one off the post after a sick dangle with 5 minutes, 55 seconds left, and Garnet Hathaway with the puck on his stick and skating in alone toward an empty net with just under 1:30 to play. But Hathaway didn’t pull the trigger fast enough and had his pocket picked by Nick Schmaltz.

It was a stinging loss as the Flyers led the game just 30 seconds in.

Defenseman Cam York slammed home the rebound on a turnaround shot by Sanheim. The goal came off sustained pressure by the defensive pair with the line of Christian Dvorak, Konecny, and Trevor Zegras, with the latter two using the boards before Konecny fed Sanheim.

The goal was York’s fourth of the season, tying his total from last year across 66 games.

Just over four minutes later, the Flyers were up 2-0 for the first time since Jan. 4 against the Edmonton Oilers. The Flyers broke out of their own end with Noah Juulsen sending an outlet pass up in the air to Konecny at center ice.

Konecny knocked the puck down and led Dvorak with the pass and he took off. The center skated between the defense, cut across the crease, and put the puck around the right pad of Karel Vejmelka.

The Flyers took a 3-0 lead with a power-play goal 58 seconds into the second period. After a clean zone entry, the unit of Zegras, Konecny, Jamie Drysdale, and Bobby Brink got to work.

Zegras and Drysdale played catch above the circles before Zegras put a shot on goal from inside the blue line. Brink had been in the bumper but then rotated into the left circle before dropping down and burying the rebound on Zegras’ shot.

The goal was Brink’s 12th of the season, tying his career high set last season.

Utah started to pick up its game after a hard and borderline high hit by Liam O’Brien on Tippett in the neutral zone. Initially, the referees called a major penalty, but after a video review, ruled that it did not warrant a penalty. Tippett left the game but returned to the bench later in the second period.

The Mammoth then scored two quick goals 36 seconds apart, the first by JJ Peterka and the second by Lawson Crouse.

On the goal by Peterka, there was a scramble at the side of the net, and he jammed in the loose puck. The Crouse goal came after Sean Durzi’s shot went off the stick of Brink, and Emil Andrae couldn’t handle the bobbling puck. Crouse knocked it away from the Flyers defenseman, and Schmaltz fed Crouse for the quick snapshot.

Flyers coach Rick Tocchet called a timeout to settle down his club, and it worked.

The Orange and Black had some chances, and then Dvorak added his second of the night with a power-play goal. He got the puck in the neutral zone, gained the zone, and fired a wrister from the right circle. Vejmelka couldn’t control the rebound, and Dvorak knocked the follow-up in.

With his second multigoal game of the season, Dvorak now has 12 goals, tying his total last season with the Montreal Canadiens. His career high is 18 set in 2019-20.

Utah cut it to a one-goal game with 7:13 left when Barrett Hayton deflected a Guenther shot from the left circle on a power play past Ersson. The Mammoth had the man advantage after Juulsen dropped the gloves with Jack McBain and got an extra two minutes for roughing. Juulsen went after McBain, who ran over Drysdale.

Breakaways

Making the start for the second straight game — the first time since Dec. 18-20 — Ersson stopped 22 of 27 shots. … Forward Carl Grundström was a healthy scratch for the first time since entering the lineup on Dec. 9. In that 21-game span, he had seven goals and nine points. … Defenseman Hunter McDonald and forward Nic Deslauriers were also healthy scratches. … The Flyers extended their point streak to two games.

Up next

The Flyers head to Denver to face the NHL’s best team, the Colorado Avalanche — who have only five losses in regulation on the season — on Friday (9 p.m., NBCSP).

SALT LAKE CITY ― Familiarity and opportunity.

Those are two reasons that several free agents signed with the Flyers this season, as Christian Dvorak, Noah Juulsen, and Dan Vladař did. It’s why Lane Pederson did, too.

After spending the last two seasons with the Edmonton Oilers organization, the centerman saw Philly as a place where he would have an opportunity to return to the NHL. And he had familiarity with Rick Tocchet and assistant coach Jay Varady. On July 1, he signed a one-year, two-way deal worth $775,000 in the NHL.

On Wednesday, Pederson will skate in his second game for the Flyers against the Utah Mammoth (9 p.m., NBCSP). The 28-year-old will be the pivot on the fourth line, replacing Rodrigo Ābols, who went down with a long-term injury on Saturday.

In the Flyers’ win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, he played his first NHL game since March 30, 2023, with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Pederson skated a little under nine minutes in a game filled with special teams. It’s a departure from his deployment by John Snowden, the coach for Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League, where Pederson had 13 goals and 28 points in 37 games. With the Phantoms, he was centering the team’s top line — between Denver Barkey and Alex Bump.

“Just a really great human being, down-to-earth, and made me feel welcome in Lehigh right away. So really appreciative of him, obviously,” Barkey said. “A special player, really reliable, 200-foot, but also really smart. He skates well, holds on to pucks, and kind of does it all. So it’s exciting to have him here.”

Largely a career minor leaguer, Pederson entered the season with 71 NHL games across four teams: the Arizona Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, and Blue Jackets.

His tenure in Arizona overlapped with those of Tocchet and Varady, with the former at the NHL level and training camps, and the latter in the AHL. He was also with Tocchet for a few days after the bench boss was hired by Vancouver before being claimed off waivers by Columbus.

“Jay was awesome for my development [during] my time in Tucson,” Pederson said. “It’s a familiar face and someone I can kind of lean on and go ask questions, and he’s helped me along the way. He’s open door and open book, so he’s been great.

“We’ve kind of kept in touch throughout the years, text here and there, congratulate one another on milestones and stuff like that. So it’s awesome to be able to work with him and Tocc again.”

According to Tocchet, Varady and Pederson spent time together going over video and on-ice reads since he joined the Flyers for the three-game road trip that ends Friday in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche. Consistency is something that Pederson has been chasing, but the bench boss likes what the Saskatchewan native can bring to the bottom of the lineup.

“He’s got some speed up the middle, something that we want, we need, and I think that can help his wingers,” Tocchet said. “So if he can play [with] speed up [but] now the reads and sometimes he’s got to know puck decision stuff, that’s stuff he’s going to have to learn at this level to be consistent. But it’s tough to find those speed up the middle guys.”

Breakaways

Sam Ersson (7-8-4, .860 save percentage) will get the start for the Flyers. It will be the first time he starts back-to-back games since Dec. 18-20. Last season in Utah, the Swede had a masterful performance, with the Flyers ultimately losing in overtime despite Ersson stopping 39 of 42 shots. … It looks like Nikita Grebenkin will slot back in on the fourth line. Carl Grundström stayed out on the ice during the optional morning skate. …. Goalie Dan Vladař continues to work his way back and was on the ice for the optional skate at the Delta Center after not participating in the team’s practice on Tuesday. He did skate on his own on a different rink.