Flyers lay themselves out there to beat Red Wings 3-1

The Flyers laid their bodies on the line with game-saving shot blocks to squeeze out a 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings despite a third-period push Sunday.

The Flyers controlled the pace for the majority of the first period yet walked out of it trailing by one. Led by the Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost, and Joel Farabee line, the Flyers created numerous scoring chances, but goalie Ville Husso kept coming up big for the Red Wings.

Meanwhile, Detroit had significantly less quality shots, but it capitalized on a miscommunication between Frost and Ivan Provorov that allowed David Perron to beat Carter Hart on the breakaway 5 minutes into the game.

It wasn’t until the Flyers were at a disadvantage that they tied it. The Red Wings had caught up to the pace of the game, and then were awarded a power play. Down a man, the Flyers finally got one past Husso when Nicolas Deslauriers scored on a short-handed breakaway 7 minutes into the second.

Six minutes later, Noah Cates deflected Nick Seeler’s shot from the point to give the Flyers the lead heading into the final period.

The Red Wings had a chance to tie it on a third-period power play, but the Flyers easily killed it off, helped by big shot blocks from Tippett and Justin Braun. Cates then saved the lead with 5 minutes left by diving to block the open goal.

Scott Laughton sealed the game with an empty-net goal with less than two minutes left.

It was Tanner Laczynski’s first game back and Brendan Lemieux’s first game as a Flyer. Coach John Tortorella quipped they were both out of shape — both have been dealing with injuries.

Laczynski (lower body) was noticeable for both good and bad. He showed jump, stealing the puck, and creating a breakaway opportunity. He also showed rust, making a bad turnover at the blue line with no one behind him. Hart bailed him out. Laczynski finished with one shot on goal, one rush attempt in 8 minutes, 38 seconds of ice time.

“Felt good to get some game action,” Laczynski said. “A little tired right now.”

Lemieux was unnoticeable at first, but when the whistle blew after his first offensive opportunity, he was sharing words and shoves with the Red Wings. Things got heated again in the second between Lemieux and the Red Wings, but it only resulted in extra shoving. Lemieux finished with one shot on goal and five hits in 13:46 of ice time.

Tortorella also gave both Laczynski and Lemieux special teams time on the penalty kill. He said he plans to use them the rest of the way on the kill.

» READ MORE: Flyers’ Tanner Laczynski ‘ready to get back out there’ after three months on injured reserve

With Travis Konecny hurt and Patrick Brown traded, the Flyers were down two penalty killers. But the special teams unit continued to produce even without two of its staples.

The Flyers’ overall kill percentage is nothing special. It sits in the lower half of the league’s standings at 24th with a kill rate of 75.6%. They were third in the league in short-handed goals (10), but through their lackluster February, the goals faded away.

An unlikely name pushed the Flyers into second, along with the Vancouver Canucks (11). Deslauriers blocked a shot near the blue line and turned around for a breakaway short-handed goal. Deslauriers, who is more known for his forceful, hard-hitting play rather than his speed, now has five goals.

“I think our last 10 games, we weren’t aggressive enough when we had the chance,” Deslauriers said. “On that one, I just got lucky obviously with the flat stick there. But I think the guys were chirping me because I think Lemieux was calling for the puck behind me. But I only get one breakaway probably for two or three years. I’ll take the shot.”

The Flyers then scored their third goal down six skaters to five after the Red Wings pulled their goalie.

One of the positive moments for Tortorella in the Flyers’ 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday was when he noticed Tippett looking at him for more ice time. Tippett is at his best when he’s confident, and his confidence that game showed through in his dominance.

Tortorella granted Tippett the extra time in the Flyers’ next game. Against the Red Wings, he went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, creating an opportunity to play Tippett more than his line. Tippett was moving with speed, creating multiple rushes. He played the second-most minutes with 24:09 of ice time, the most among forwards.

“He knows I’m looking for him,” Tortorella said. “He’s free. He’s just playing.”

The Flyers head to Tampa, Fla., to play the Lightning at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

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