Flyers can't keep up with Kings' scoring pace in third consecutive loss

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Dec 19, 2024

Published in Hockey

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PHILADELPHIA — In the third period on Thursday, the Los Angeles Kings scored four goals — twice the number of shots the Flyers put on net.

The fatigue from playing back-to-back nights was clear, as the Flyers wasted Tyson Foerster’s first multi-goal game of the season to fall to the Kings at home, 7-3.

Momentum swung rapidly between the two teams across the first two periods, but the Kings struck first. With his typical topline partner Cam York a healthy scratch, Travis Sanheim was paired with Jamie Drysdale, and they got off to a rocky start. In the first period, the Kings’ Kevin Fiala snuck behind both Sanheim and Drysdale and a stretch pass from Phillip Danault sprung him for a breakaway. Fiala tucked the puck past goalie Aleksei Kolosov to put the Kings on the board, 1-0.

The Flyers didn’t take long to respond. Bobby Brink won a race to the puck in the corner and fed Noah Cates alone in the slot. Cates backhanded the puck over Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper to tie things up. It marked Cates’ fourth goal of the season and his second in as many games.

The Kings reclaimed the lead in the second period when winger Tanner Jeannot pounced on a loose puck during a net front scramble and poked it past Kolosov.

The Flyers had solid chances early in the second frame, but Kuemper foiled a Brink breakaway and later managed to stop a puck that deflected off Sean Couturier and bounced along the goal line. Foerster finally broke through, scoring twice in a four minute stretch to give the Flyers their first lead of the game, 3-2.

Both of Foerster’s goals came in the low slot, cashing in on passes from Scott Laughton and Morgan Frost.

Kolosov made some solid stops, but made a costly misstep with less than a minute remaining in the second period that nullified the Flyers’ narrow lead. The 22-year-old netminder couldn’t quite smother a loose puck, and L.A. captain Anze Kopitar capitalized to tie things back up. The Kings hung onto the momentum to start the third period, and Warren Foegele redirected a point shot past Kolosov 1 minute, 54 seconds into the frame for the 4-3 lead.

Brink drew a tripping call to give the Flyers a chance to tie things up on the man advantage, but they failed to sustain offensive zone time and did not even register a shot attempt.

The Kings then twisted the knife. Los Angeles’ Alex Turcotte blew past Emil Andrae, who returned to the lineup on Thursday following three straight healthy scratches, and set up Kopitar’s second goal of the night. Goals from Quinton Byfield and Fiala put the game well out of reach.