Ryan Poehling Is The Flyers’ Lone Goal Scorer After Two Preseason Games
While training camp and preseason hockey games may not appeal to fans, it’s a different story for the coaching staff. The Flyers fell 6-0 to the Devils on Monday night, which was not the desirable outcome. Although the Flyers are in a rebuild era, it doesn’t mean getting shut down is expected.
One big concern from Monday night’s game was the late scratch of Cam Atkinson. With minimal concern, Atkinson was experiencing soreness, and Tortorella wanted to take extra precautions. Atkinson was out for the entirety of last season and underwent shoulder surgery.
After the Flyers’ loss to the Devils, five cuts were made:
Jonathan Fauchon, Sam Sedley, Denver Barkey, Carter Sotheran, and Oliver Bonk.
While it was known that Oliver Bonk, Carter Sotheran, and Denver Barkey would head back to their junior teams, they still have a promising future. It is often rare to have players NHL-ready immediately after the draft. More cuts will be made as the roster is now condensed to 52.
Additionally, Travis Konecny would not be playing as he stated, “Body injury according to Torts.” Another player who would not be playing and was absent from the ice was Cam York.
Philadelphia has more of their younger players in the lineup with a handful of veterans. It’s inevitable that the Islanders were the better team on paper. After the morning skate, Phantoms Head Coach Ian Laperriere expressed that the team on Monday was tired from Tortorella’s training camp. Laperriere described how intense and brutal Tortorella’s training camp is and how nothing is like the camp in the NHL.
Flyers Take On The Islanders
While preseason doesn’t count toward the season, it does allow great practice. Regarding expectations for this game, Laperriere discussed the significance of the younger players learning from veterans. Laperriere named Scott Laughton, Garnet Hathaway, and Nicolas Deslauriers. Leadership is one of the most critical factors heading into this season, and changing the culture on the ice with a hard work ethic.
When asking Phantoms Head Coach Ian Laperriere about expectations for tonight’s game he explained this is a good time for the younger players to learn from leaders such as Scott Laughton, Nicolas Deslauriers, and Garnet Hathaway.
— Haley Taylor Simon (@Haleytsimon) September 27, 2023
Felix Sandstrom started in the net for the first period, and Samuel Ersson took the pipes for the second and third periods. Both goalies let up one goal but had a good game in totality. The Islanders were the more dominant team in the first two periods, with Simon Holmstrom getting New York on the board first.
Despite the Flyers doing well with the penalty kills, Julien Gauthier was able to capitalize on an Islanders power play and double the score. With the Islanders having a 2-0 lead heading into the third, the Flyers were still searching for their first preseason goal.
Ryan Poehling got the job done for Philadelphia by getting the puck in the back of the Islanders’ net. A phenomenal assist from Noah Cates set up the goal. Although the Flyers lost 2-1, this game was drastically better than Monday’s shutout to the Devils.
GOAL!
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 28, 2023
Ryan Poehling tallies our first of the preseason in the closing moments of #PHIvsNYI, cutting the Islanders lead in half. pic.twitter.com/9AtmAe7Izq
Finally, the Flyers have back-to-back games against the Boston Bruins. Friday’s game is in Boston and Saturday’s in Philadelphia. The Metropolitan happens to be a very talented division, which creates an uphill battle for this rebuilding team.
Recap: Five Days Of Flyers Training Camp Leads To Getting Shutout 6-0 By Devils
