December 16, 2023
The Red Wings were pressing, but the Flyers held strong.
They stopped shot after shot, made check after check, and after a tense final two minutes that had the entire Wells Fargo Center crowd holding its breath, the Flyers held on for the 1-0 win.
Their point streak extends to eight games. They have yet to lose in regulation this month, are 6-0-1 in their last seven, and are 17-10-3 overall to keep them well within the Metro division playoff picture through mid-December.
The Flyers are showing Philadelphia something. Is it time to start believing in them again?
Here are five thoughts from a statement of a win Saturday night...
Travis Sanheim was a late scratch from the lineup due to illness, which bumped Rasmus Ristolainen up to the top pairing with Cam York, and set the stage for York to put in a statement performance.
And oh man, did he deliver.
The 22-year old put in a team-leading 23:13 of ice time Saturday night, and was quick, decisive, and aggressive throughout – both with and away from the puck.
The night's opening goal was all his when a win on an offensive zone draw left him free to carry the puck up the wall and send a centering pass in front meant for Sean Couturier. Instead, the puck took a perfect bounce off the tape of Detroit's J.T. Compher's stick and in, but hey, 1-0 Flyers either way.
Cam York gives the Flyers a 1-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/VvyWsIAYXy
— Nasty Knuckles (@NastyKnuckles) December 17, 2023
Cam York is cooking tonight. Nice little give and go with Travis Konecny at center ice, then races past the Detroit defense for a quality scoring chance. pic.twitter.com/yl8bj8Wtbl
— Ryan Quigley (@ryanquigz) December 17, 2023
Not shown above though was the retrieval of the puck right before, when York boxed Red Wings winger Michael Rasmussen – who stands six inches taller and 25 pounds heavier – out of a pursuit of it on a dump in over the neutral zone that York then took behind his own net to turn around and start blazing up the ice with it.
"I thought he used his legs more tonight," head coach John Tortorella said postgame. "I watched him try to score a goal – try to bring it to the far post in front of the net where two weeks ago, he would stay off to the side and try to flip it to the short side and skate it behind the net.
"He used our net a lot as far as escaping and just losing the guy, so his legs were evident tonight."
York's strong play carried into the Flyers' own end as well, with a series of interceptions and quick clears on Detroit possessions that immediately got the Flyers out of trouble and going the other way.
One key defensive play especially: When York got caught too far down low on an expiring Flyers power play that the Red Wings' Austin Czarnik got the jump on and took off toward the net with. York chased him all the way down and swept the puck away with his stick to deny the scoring chance and keep the Flyers up.
Cam York has stepped up so far without Travis Sanheim tonight. #Flyers pic.twitter.com/ojuWfIZcWI
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) December 17, 2023
York has shown flashes of solid play throughout the season so far, but has had his fair share of mistakes too.
But at the same time, he's still just 22 and still finding his way as a pro.
Nights like Saturday though, those are clear signs that he's getting there.
"Now whether it's because [Sanheim's] out? I don't know," Tortorella continued. "But Yorkie's been pretty good for quite a while."
And hey, give credit to Ristolainen as well. He played a pretty sound game himself filling in for Sanheim – and he blew up Rasmussen along the boards late in the second, then really started throwing the body around late when the Flyers needed to preserve the lead while Detroit fired with everything it had.
Rasmus Ristolainen just gave Michael Rasmussen the Rock Bottom. pic.twitter.com/4IYsu6u3ky
— Ryan Quigley (@ryanquigz) December 17, 2023
He put in an effort that made the Red Wings painfully aware that he was out there.
Each passing game feels like it only adds to a growing body of evidence of just how badly this team missed Sean Couturier the past two years.
He's always in the right spot to hound the opposing puck carrier, takes away so many passing lanes through the neutral zone, and can drive offense from the second the puck drops on the draw.
A clean faceoff win to Tyson Foerster along the boards in the first created the setup for the play that became York's goal, he and Travis Konecny took off on a rush that created a solid scoring chance that they couldn't convert on elsewhere in the first, and Couturier had a couple of looks where he took the puck with speed straight through the neutral zone with a few quick dekes that got him through the Detroit defenders.
In terms of the stat line, Couturier generated six shots, went plus-1, and skated 20:34.
But in terms of what he's brought back to a team that's now relatively inexperienced: A lot of reliable and strong veteran play, a lot of wisdom, and a whole lot of increasing confidence.
Carter Hart has also been dealing with an illness himself, which led to Samuel Ersson getting the call in goal for the third straight game.
And for the third straight game, he was steady – more than steady even on Saturday night – stopping all 33 of Detroit's shots to keep the Flyers on top of a paper-thin one-goal game.
The Red Wings generated their chances, especially with their new-look top line that now includes Patrick Kane, and stretched Ersson post-to-post on a few cross-crease passes that slipped through the defense, but Ersson had the beat on it every time.
The Flyers also did well enough for the most part to clog traffic in front and deny Detroit any especially dangerous chances from the slot. If there was ever a clean look, usually Ersson was swallowing it straight into his pads for the freeze.
"We defended well," Tortorella said. "There was a little bit of a panic at the end. They ended up with three or four chances at the end, which happens with the goalie pulled. But I thought we defended the middle of the ice well."
Ersson handled the rest.
So here we are: Seven games into December and the Flyers riding an eight-game point streak that extends to right before the month, and in the current playoff landscape, they're right up there in the Metro.
This is a rebuilding team. A clearly stated rebuilding team. And yet they're more than a third of the way through the season and able to skate against anyone.
Sure, they're not perfect – the power play is still struggling mightily – but they're playing solid hockey and finding a way to win.
It feels like we're at the point now where you really do have to wonder if this team can make a potential playoff run, or at the very least a strong push for it.
They're definitely believing that they can right now as York's interview during the first intermission can attest:
"The vibes are high, everyone in the locker room is postive right now. Just really fun coming to the rink." - Cam York's 1st period interview#DETvsPHI #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/9cFe6sNN6W
— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) December 17, 2023
And maybe it's time Philadelphia starts believing in them again too (more on that in a sec).
The key, however, is that the Flyers as an organization did go into this with a long-term plan, and success now shouldn't lead them to lose sight of it – though they'll happily take it in the meantime.
It doesn't seem like that's going to happen though based on what Tortorella said after the shootout win over the Capitals from Thursday night.
"We’re staying with the plan," Tortorella said. "The players know that, but when they put the uniform on and we play the game, they are going to try to win. I think our guys have been very consistent in their – just their competitiveness. Just being ready to play. They were ready to play tonight."
Saturday night too.
Going into the season, Tortorella talked about how he wanted the team to earn the city's respect and enthusiasm back, saying this as the Phillies were fully into their postseason run with all attention on them across the street.
When the year began, understandably, the Wells Fargo Center had a lot of empty seats, and while it isn't exactly a packed house yet, the arena is noticeably getting fuller, the chants louder, and the support seemingly stronger.
The Flyers have been putting the work in. They're playing better hockey than they have in years, it's translating into wins, and fans seem to be noticing again.
Are the Flyers officially back? Maybe it's still too early to say, but something's definitely happening here, and they're proving by the game that it's no fluke.
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