Stolarz Haunts Flyers as Panthers Avoid Season Sweep

The Flyers fell to the Florida Panthers in the second game of their final back-to-back of the season Sunday night. 

Reinhart Scores His 49th of the Season

The Flyers got the game’s first power play as Sam Reinhart was called for delay of game at the 7:46 mark of the first period. However, the Flyers couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity and only managed to get one shot on goal.

Reinhart gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at the 10:34 mark of the first as he was able to get the puck underneath the arm of Philadelphia’s goaltender Felix Sandstrom. He was left all alone in the middle of the zone. Anton Lundell and Brandon Montour were credited with assists.

The Panthers got their first power play of the game at the 12:06 mark of the first as Joel Farabee was called for holding. They couldn’t get a puck past Sandstrom as the Flyers blocked a few shots.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson was called for interference to give the Flyers their second power play of the game. However, the Flyers struggled to get set up in the zone and turned the puck over too many times, making them 0 for 2 on the night.

Travis Konecny drew his second penalty of the night as Ryan Lomberg was called for interference. The Flyers had a shooting mentality and got many chances in tight around the net. However, they couldn’t get any pucks past Florida’s goaltender Anthony Stolarz.

Panthers Add to Their Lead

The Panthers started the second period on the power play as Cam York and Bobby Brink took minor penalties for roughing at the very end of the first. Matthew Tkachuk was called for roughing Brink.

Vladimir Tarasenko gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead 55 seconds into the power play as he got a puck past the glove side of Sandstrom. He was left all alone at the right point. Reinhart and Montour were given assists.

Power play goal for Florida!

Scored by Vladimir Tarasenko with 19:05 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Sam Reinhart and Brandon Montour.

Philadelphia: 0
Florida: 2#FLAvsPHI #LetsGoFlyers #TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/77QdCrdiak

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 24, 2024

Evan Rodrigues slashed Morgan Frost on a breakaway, giving the Flyers their fourth power play of the game. They were able to generate good chances and shots on net, but Stolarz had all the answers.

Verhaeghe Extends Florida’s Lead

Carter Verhaeghe gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead at the 4:43 mark of the third period. He was one-on-one with Sandstrom and got a puck off his glove and into the net. Sam Bennett and Montour got the assists.

The Flyers got their fifth power play of the game as Niko Mikkola was called for slashing at the 11:20 mark of the third. John Tortorella decided to pull Sandstrom to get an extra attacker, and it paid off. Bobby Brink got the Flyers on the board as he put a puck in a wide-open net. Ryan Poehling and Yegor Zamula were credited with assists.

Fighting until the final buzzer.#FLAvsPHI | @BobbyBrink19 pic.twitter.com/kiqRAcyh9U

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 25, 2024

Reinhart scored the empty-netter to give the Panthers a 4-1 lead at the 18:48 mark of the third. Eetu Luostarinen got the only assist.

Felix Sandstrom struggled as he only saved 11 of 14 shots faced, while Anthony Stolarz was solid as he saved 32 of 33 shots faced.

Flyers power play struggled as they went one for five on the night, while the penalty kill went 50%, killing off one of two Florida power plays.

It was a decent back-to-back weekend for the Flyers as they picked up 2 of 4 possible points.

Goal Summary:

1st Period
Reinhart (49) Assists: Lundell (20), Montour (23)

2nd Period
Tarasenko (20) (PowerPlay) Assists: Reinhart (33), Montour (24)

3rd Period
Verhaeghe (32) Assists: Bennett (18), Montour (25)
Brink (10) (Power Play) Assists: Poehling (15), Zamula (14)
Reinhart (50) (Empty Net) Assists: Luostarinen (9)

Flyers Next Game:

Flyers’ next game is Tuesday, March 26th in New York against the Rangers.

MEGHAN REILLY IS A CONTRIBUTOR AND LIVE GAME TWEETER FOR HW HOCKEY
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