There’s no better way to honor Ed Snider’s legacy than with a hard-fought win.
That’s exactly what the Flyers did Saturday during their matinee matchup with the Flames, snapping a four-game losing skid in the process, with a 3-2 victory at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers split the season series with Calgary and redeemed themselves from the 4-3 loss on New Year’s Eve.
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The Flames entered Saturday having won three in a row (6-2-2 in their last 10 games) and were coming off a six-goal offensive explosion in their previous win against the Predators.
Who else but TK?
The recently named All-Star scored in the third period to give the Flyers their first lead of the game and the win. After an iffy roughing call that sent Garnet Hathaway to the sin bin, Travis Konecny responded on the penalty kill. He continues to lead the NHL in shorthanded goals with five.
That shorthanded goal also nudged the Flyers back on top with the most in the league at 10. They entered this afternoon's matchup in a three-way tie with the Flames and Blues (9).
Philadelphia Flyers
Konecny has been on an absolute tear as of late, collecting eight points in his last five games (5 goals, 3 assists).
Fuel for Frost
After being healthy scratches in Thursday's shootout loss to the Blue Jackets, both Cam Atkinson and Morgan Frost returned to the lineup.
The Flyers went down a goal early in the second period, when Johnathan Huberdeau scored to give the Flames the first goal of the game. Frost responded just moments later by burying a puck past Jacob Markstrom. Sean Walker and Tyson Foerster both picked up assists.
"After being out again, I just wanted to come play with energy," Frost said following the win.
He ended the day with a goal and an assist.
The 24-year-old forward approached John Tortorella for a meeting to discuss the scratch and the head coach was thrilled about it.
"[Friday] was really a good, honest conversation of what's happening now and just kind of big-picture stuff," Tortorella said. "He's the one who wanted the meeting. For me, I was thrilled that he came in and wanted to talk and gave me some of his thoughts, not agreeing.
"That's a huge step for me with Frosty, is him coming in and saying, 'You know what, this is what I think.' It's so important that players do that. It creates a little bit of a path for him and I as we try to go through this."
Atkinson’s goal-scoring drought has now reached a career-high 23 games and has only tallied two assists in his last 10 games. While he remained off the scoresheet against the Flames, Atkinson played with a significant jump in his game and managed a few high-danger chances throughout.
A very chippy middle frame
While both teams exchanged penalties a few times throughout the opening frame, things only got crazier — and chippier — in the second period.
Travis Sanheim was hit hard from behind into the boards by A.J. Greer, which caused an uproar from the entire fourth line.
Nick Deslauriers and Hathaway acted immediately, with Cam York also jumping in on the scrum.
It didn't end there, though.
A few moments later, York was hit along the Flyers' bench by Elias Lindholm and Joel Farabee came to the rescue, dropping the gloves.
A flurry of penalties came out of the fight: Lindholm received a two minutes for roughing and two minutes for elbowing. Farabee received two-minutes for instigating and a 10-minute misconduct.
So after the dust settled, the Flyers had another failed attempt with the power play. A hooking call minutes later on MacKenzie Weegar once again gave the Flyers the man-advantage.
Fifth time's the charm, right?
Sean Couturier scored his 10th goal of the season, with Frost and Egor Zamula collecting assists. It was the Flyers 13th power play goal of the season and first one since the club's 4-1 win on December 28 against the Canucks.
The Ed Snider Legacy Game
It was a special day at the Wells Fargo Center as the Flyers honored their founder and former owner with the Ed Snider Legacy Game on what would have been his 91st birthday.
The club paid a beautiful tribute to the late Mr. Snider throughout the game, highlighting his life and legacy.
Before puck drop, Flyers Charities made a $300,000 donation to Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education.
"The type of game, the style of game, I think he kind of had us playing that way up there," Tortorella said after the win on Snider. "I wish I knew him.
"I just have secondhand information, and a ton of it, about what type of man he was. I just wish I had a chance to meet him and just talk to him for a bit. I'm glad we responded and I think the organization — the tribute they paid to him — I thought was one of the better tributes I've seen.
I'm happy it ended on a good note for him. And certainly well recognized — and he should be."
Legend Bobby Clarke also joined the Flyers Pregame Live crew to talk about Mr. Snider and what he meant to the organization and the city of Philadelphia.
Coming up next
The Penguins roll into the Wells Fargo Center on Monday night for the third matchup of the season between the division rivals. The Flyers won both previous games.
The four-game homestand wraps up Wednesday, January 10, when the Canadiens come to town.
Both games are set to begin at 7:00 p.m. with full coverage on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
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