Flyers handed their first shutout of the season in goalie Cal Petersen’s debut

The NHL season is a roller-coaster, and the Flyers certainly have been on a wild ride so far.

After a stretch of games in which they outplayed opponents and probably deserved points they didn’t get, the Flyers were the ones outplayed on Saturday night. The result was the team’s first shutout loss of the season, 5-0, to the Los Angeles Kings.

Finishing off the first back-to-back of the season, the Flyers looked like a team that had played three games in four nights, including the night before — albeit that was a much-deserved 5-1 win against the Sabres in Buffalo. The Kings, on the other hand, looked like a team that was chilling out and relaxing in Philadelphia on Friday night.

“We’re never going to use that as an excuse,” veteran forward Cam Atkinson told The Inquirer. “I mean, if anything, sometimes it’s a benefit to play that back to back. For us, we just didn’t come out playing well.”

Although the Flyers had more shot attempts than the Kings (55-54), the guys sporting the shiniest silver helmets you’ll see on the circuit set the tone to remain perfect on the road. The Kings are now 6-0-0 away from Crypto.com Arena and have not lost in regulation since Oct. 21 (5-0-1).

The NHL’s hottest team in opening frames was ice-cold on Saturday night. The Flyers entered the game with a league-leading 18 goals in the first period while only allowing 11 against.

But the guys in Orange and Black couldn’t get one past Cam Talbot despite 13 shots on net. For only the second time in this young season, the Flyers skated off after the first 20 without a goal in the opening frame — and that other game was a forgettable one, a 7-4 loss to the Ducks.

Instead, it was the Kings who potted two, by Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar off deflections, as they looked like the fresher team.

“I think you can talk yourself into being tired. I think sometimes when you play a back-to-back ... it took us a few minutes to get our legs. I think your second wind kicks in, I think you feel better,” head coach John Tortorella said.

“I like parts of the game. They came out and they tried to get us going. They know we played last night, and I’m sure they talked about it, but we weathered it, and I thought we played fairly well. The part for me is, when it was 2-0 late in the second period, the next thing you know, you’re down, 4-0.”

Speaking of ice-cold, the Flyers power play remains in the freezer.

While they maintained possession for the majority of the time during their four power-play opportunities, they were unable to generate much in terms of shots on goal. They only mustered five and a total of 12 shot attempts.

Through 12 games, the Flyers have scored just four goals (9.8%) despite averaging more than six minutes with the man advantage.

“We’re trying some different things. I mean, we’re getting some looks, but ultimately we have to start scoring some goals, right?” said Atkinson, who had two of the five shots. “So I think just working at it and practicing and letting the puck do the work and taking what they give us. That’s what I was trying to do out there, was just trying to fire the puck as much as I could and, you know, trying to switch it up a little bit.”

» READ MORE: Why John Tortorella is confident Sam Ersson will bounce back from his shaky start

Cam York did not see the ice in the third period. The 22-year-old defenseman played 15 minutes, 22 seconds across the first two periods but was benched after he was on the ice for three goals. He also sent a puck over the glass that resulted in Arthur Kaliyev scoring on the ensuing power play.

“I mean, It’s a game of mistakes. A lot of things happen out there quick, and I’m aware of that,” he said. “I got tough skin; I can pull through and guys were encouraging and helping me out, so I’m confident I’ll bounce back.”

Seeing Kevin Fiala streaking in all alone just 88 seconds into one’s first NHL start in over a year is probably not ideal. But for Flyers goalie Cal Petersen, it was a huge moment and the best-case scenario as he stoned the King’s top points guy as he deked to the backhand.

“That was huge,” said Petersen who was making his Flyers debut and his first NHL start since last November. “It’s obviously good to get one of those in right away, feel like you’re in the game. He’s obviously a phenomenal player so, yeah, that felt good. Just wish I could have given us a little bit more of a chance to come back and keep it a little closer.”

Petersen had moments where he looked solid, making a couple of big pad stops. But he struggled as the game wore on against his former club in what he called a “challenging game emotionally.” He certainly did not have much puck luck on the first two goals but would have liked back some of the others back, especially Trevor Moore scoring through Travis Sanheim’s skates and Blake Lizotte cashing in as Fiala cut to the front.

Despite winning 20 games in 2021-22, the goalie struggled last season after signing a three-year, $15 million extension with the Kings. In 10 games (nine starts), he went 5-3-2 with a 3.75 goals-against average and .868 save percentage. He went down to the AHL and went 16-20-4 in 40 games posting a 2.88 GAA and .904 save percentage.

The Flyers hit the road for a matchup with the winless San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m. ET, NBCSP) to begin a four-game road trip.

Travis Konecny played in his 500th NHL game. ... Before puck drop, the Flyers recalled goalie Felix Sandström from Lehigh Valley and placed the goalie on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. ... The Flyers hosted their annual Military Appreciation Game on Saturday and throughout the night honored members of the armed forces in attendance. Retired Staff Sgt. Rico Roman and Staff Sgt. Ryan Pitts dropped the ceremonial puck. Roman is a three-time Paralympic gold medal winner with USA sled hockey and Pitts is a Medal of Honor winner.