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Takeaways: Foerster fine as Flyers foil Bruins 3-2 in shootout win

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The Flyers didn’t bring their best lineup, but Tyson Foerster was solid as was Dan Vladar in a 3-2 shootout victory over the host Bruins on Monday night.

The basics

First period: No scoring.
Second period: 13:38- Noah Cates (Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink), 16:46- Sean Kuraly (David Pastrnak, Tanner Jeannot), 19:36- Rodrigo Abols (Alexis Gendron)
Third period: 11:21- Morgan Geekie (Elias Lindholm)
Overtime: No scoring.
Shootout: Bobby Brink- Goal, Casey Mittelstadt- No goal, Tyson Foerster- No goal, David Pastrnak- No goal, Denver Barkey- No goal, Pavel Zacha- No goal
SOG: 22 (PHI) – 15 (BOS)

Some takeaways

Do I hear one…

Eight minutes into the game the Flyers were still looking for their first shot. If there was an upside, it was that Boston only had one more. A lot of the play was whistle-free, with some good hitting and the neutral zone clogged up quite a bit. It took Alexis Gendron’s wrister on Swayman at the 8:25 mark to finally even the shots at one each.

Andrae passes D auditions? Yes

With Helge Grans placed on waivers earlier Monday, the Flyers fifth, sixth, and seventh spots on the roster still look to be up for grabs. And most of those in the running for those two or three slots were showcasing themselves in Beantown. Emil Andrae (who was paired with Hunter McDonald) looked to grab the bull by the horns. He had a solid scoring chance early but the puck didn’t get near Boston’s Jeremy Swayman. Unfortunately, Andrae took a hit with six minutes and change left in the first and gave Boston’s Matt Poitras a shot in the noggin which the refs caught. The Bruins didn’t do a lot on the power play outside of one shot Vladar stopped. Andrae also delivered a good hit halfway through the game behind his own net as Philadelphia killed a penalty to Nic Deslauriers. And dumped Alex Steeves on his backside in the third with a surprisingly hard hit.

Egor Zamula also looked to have a strong showing and, well, really didn’t. Paired with Dennis Gilbert, Zamula boxed out well early on, avoiding errors that could leave him out of the top six. Unfortunately, he let Sean Kuraly get away from him late in the second which cost the Flyers. Through two period Zamula was the only Flyers blueliner to not have either a blocked shot or a hit despite leading the defensemen with 15:32. But overall, Andrae might have made the biggest statement in trying to make him one of the obvious frontrunners. It’s something Tocchet is craving for out of one of them, but so far nobody has really solidified a spot. Andrae might have done just that with this game despite playing nearly six fewer minutes than Zamula (18:42 compared to 24:38).

Hunter McDonald got nailed from behind courtesy of Pastrnak late in the second and seemed to be favoring his back. He was okay the rest of the way. The same type of hit happened to Adam Ginning early in the third which could’ve ended quite badly. Fortunately it didn’t.

Foerster’s fine debut

Tyson Foerster was on the ice to start the game as head coach Rick Tocchet opted to go with the Flyers’ steady third line. The Flyers were the aggressor the opening moments, keeping the Bruins in their zone but not getting many quality looks. The third line were the a trio of buzzsaws with Foerster standing up a Bruin in the neutral zone, stopping a potential Boston opportunity.

Foerster was also out on the Flyers penalty kill in the second alongside Noah Cates. The four-man unit stood firm with Elias Lindholm not getting good wood on the Bruins’ best attempt. And Foerster set up Cates perfectly in front to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead. It was their sixth shot in roughly 34 minutes of action.

The winger could’ve had his first of the exhibition season early in the third during a Flyers power play, but Swayman was able to get a piece of it. And he nearly ended it in overtime on the power play but Swayman denied him again.

Luchanko leaving it all out there

Jett Luchanko might have realized time was running out to make a great impression to stay in Philadelphia. He looked quite engaged throughout most of his initial shifts, often on the right side of the puck and making smart little plays to keep Boston at bay. The forward dazzled everyone last year with his speed, and most of that speed was shown far more on this night (at least to start) than in previous exhibition games. He had a rough shift in the second, losing the puck to David Pastrnak which set up a golden chance for the Bruins that caught the outer mesh of the net.

Seconds after the Flyers first goal, Luchanko again facing Pastrnak. Only this time he was fine, winning the one-on-one battle and getting the puck out of harm’s way. Pastrnak took a penalty on the same shift, giving Philadelphia its first power play of the night. Luchanko had some time on the second half of the power play but wasn’t able to add an insurance goal. He nearly made a costly turnover in the third, losing control of the puck just inside the Boston blue line and missing his man, Pavel Zacha, darting up ice. Zacha was stymied by the post.

Abols able

Rodrigo Abols has played a lot of minutes this exhibition season. And on Monday, he had another very good outing. With the scored tied 1-1 late in the second Abols skated down the side and took a long but extremely accurate wrist shot that hit the iron and in, giving Philadelphia a 2-1 lead.

Vladar lost his edge (no really)

The Bruins’ David Pastrnak nearly opened the scoring, but Flyers keeper Dan Vladar was able to get enough to keep it out. In the process he lost the blade of his left skate, causing the officials to stop play. For most of the game, Philadelphia did a very credible job of keeping things to the outside and minimizing high danger chances. When shots were there, Vladar made the stop and his mates ensured the rebound was quickly gobbled up.

When he was needed, Vladar was strong, making a great save on Casey Mittelstadt in tight with Boston on the power play. Unfortunately, Vladar’s only goal against in the opening 40 minutes came on a nifty deflection by Sean Kuraly that Vladar had no chance on. In the third, the goaltender was lights out for a lengthy shift. However, the freewheeling shift ended with Morgan Geekie getting it by Vladar for a 2-2 score. Vladar got his shoulder on it but not enough of it.

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