Larry Henry Jr
Cover Photo Credit: Getty Images
The Philadelphia Flyers opened their 2023-24 schedule on Thursday night in Columbus and walked away with their first victory of the new campaign.
Travis Konecny scored twice while Carter Hart made 31 saves as the Flyers defeated the Blue Jackets 4-2. Sean Couturier registered one assist in his first regular season appearance in 663 days while Scott Laughton also added two helpers in the result.
Joel Farabee opened the scoring for the Flyers after only 3:33 into the first period, finishing off a nifty passing sequence between him and Couturier. Elvis Merzlinkis couldn’t handle Farabee’s shot, watching as John Tortorella’s squad claimed an early advantage.
Easy Beezy. #PHIvsCBJ | @FarabeeJoel pic.twitter.com/wKidAyADQr
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 13, 2023
However, Columbus would tie things up just 4:51 later as Jake Bean snuck a shot past Carter Hart for a 1-1 scoreline.
Konecny would reclaim the advantage for the Flyers after drilling a wrist shot off the right post and in for a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
After a goal-less second period which featured several key saves from Hart, the Flyers would pad their lead with 1:29 left to play in the game. Hart’s pass sprung Cam Atkinson up the ice, allowing the former Blue Jacket to score into an empty net for a 3-1 scoreline.
CAM’S BACK. #PHIvsCBJ | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/NcMY0mVo4E
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 13, 2023
Patrik Laine cut the deficit to 3-2 only 0:45 later, but Konecny’s second goal of the game truly iced the result for the Flyers.
It was a positive performance for the Flyers, who had eight different players record a point in the victory. Defenseman Travis Sanheim led all Flyers skaters with 26:17 of ice time. Several young players featured in the game as well, including Bobby Brink and Egor Zamula.
A Saturday afternoon trip to face the Ottawa Senators comes up next for the Flyers in their second regular season game of the season.
You can follow Larry Henry on Twitter (@lhenry019) and e-mail him at [email protected].
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