Flyers Top 10 Games of 2019-20...So Far

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

Over the course of the season suspension, the NHL put together lists of the top plays for each team. While no list of top games was created, there are still several games Flyers fans can look back on with great fondness this season, especially as the team started to make a push for the playoffs and challenged for a division title.

So with that, here are our Top 10 games of the Flyers 2019-20 season (so far).

Flyers-Bruins – Jan. 13, 2020
It will go down as the Brad Marchand whiff in the shootout, but there was so much more that happened before this that makes it such a classic. Marchand’s gaffe at the end of the game was just the final improbable moment that sealed a Flyers win.

The Bruins jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Kevin Hayes scored a power-play goal in the final two minutes that made the game a manageable 2-1 margin entering the second. The Bruins scored just 33 seconds into the second, only for the Flyers to answer 39 seconds later to cut the lead back to one. From there, the Bruins appeared to gain control, getting two more goals to open up a 5-2 lead.

Then Sean Couturier and Connor Bunnaman scored 1:34 apart and cut the lead back to one before the end of the second, setting the stage for the third. Travis Sanheim’s second goal of the game tied the game with 7:02 left in the period, eventually forcing overtime as the Flyers held off a late push from the Bruins.

The overtime was action-packed with quality chances at both ends before going to a shootout. After no scoring in the first four rounds, Travis Konecny finally solved Jaroslav Halak and gave the Flyers the lead, but Marchand was the next shooter for the Bruins and has been very successful over his career. Marchand skated in and misplayed the puck, just barely grazing the top of the puck before skating past. The attempt counted and the Flyers somehow escaped with a 6-5 shootout win against the NHL’s top team.
Flyers-Blue Jackets – Oct. 26, 2019

It was starting to feel like one of those nights for the Flyers. Jake Voracek had opened the scoring, but the Blue Jackets had gained the lead early in the second. Just 25 seconds after James van Riemsdyk scored on the power play to tie the game late in the second, Boone Jenner scored to give Columbus the lead right back.

Josh Anderson scored at 2:15 of the third after getting a friendly bounce off the end boards. With the Flyers trailing by two after a goal like that, it just didn’t appear to be their night. Then the Flyers went into comeback mode.

Shayne Gostisbehere scored with 9:08 remaining in the third to cut the lead to one and van Riemsdyk scored his second of the game to tie things up at four with 7:23 remaining. Shortly after, Sean Couturier took a penalty and Columbus was going to get a golden opportunity to regain the lead. Instead, Kevin Hayes intercepted a pass and scored on a breakaway to give the Flyers the lead with 5:36 to play. Michael Raffl scored into an empty net and Travis Konecny added a late power-play goal for good measure to seal a 7-4 win.
Flyers-Senators – Dec. 7, 2019

Though the Senators were at the bottom of the standings for most of the season, they presented the Flyers with a challenge in each of the three meetings and it made for some entertaining hockey.

The Flyers opened up a 2-1 lead in the first period of this game on goals by Travis Konecny and Shayne Gostisbehere and actually had a third goal from Oskar Lindblom nullified by an offside challenge.

Anthony Duclair scored shorthanded to tie the game in the second. Early in the third, Ivan Provorov gave the Flyers the lead again, but Duclair struck again for a goal to tie the game with five minutes remaining.

Just 11 seconds later, Scott Laughton scored on a rebound to give the Flyers the lead for good in a 4-3 win that ended with Brady Tkachuk jumping Laughton, who had some words for the Ottawa bench as he skated past to celebrate his goal.
Flyers-Blues – Jan. 15, 2020

January was filled with games against the top teams in the NHL and facing the defending Stanley Cup champions was going to be a task. The Flyers did fall behind in the first on a power-play goal by Justin Faulk, but scored two goals separated by three minutes in the second from Scott Laughton and Michael Raffl to take a 2-1 lead.

Travis Konecny scored on the power play just 26 seconds into the third to open up a 3-1 lead, but the Flyers were quickly met with a wave of pressure from the Blues and St. Louis tied the game on goals by Ryan O’Reilly and Alexander Steen with 6:21 remaining. Despite some frantic moments at the end of the third, the Flyers forced overtime against the defending champs.

Neither team had recorded a shot in the overtime for over three minutes before Jake Voracek put an end to things with a nice curl-and-drag move around Alex Pietrangelo to score the game-winning goal in a 4-3 overtime win.
Flyers-Blue Jackets – Feb. 20, 2020
The Flyers had just handed the Columbus Blue Jackets a 5-1 defeat two days earlier, but this was a trip into a house of horrors for the Flyers. Playing in Columbus had not treated them well over the years, and this was more than just a chance to exorcise those demons. This was a chance to bury a team behind them in the standings and further solidify their playoff chances.

Things did not start well however, as Oliver Bjorkstrand scored 41 seconds into the game and Nick Foligno added another goal at 9:05 to give Columbus a 2-0 lead. Travis Konecny scored just 23 seconds later to get the Flyers on the board, but a goal by Stephan Matteau at 3:39 of the second restored the two-goal lead.

The Flyers were able to tie things up with goals by Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Claude Giroux on the power play late in the period. The third period featured some close calls for both sides, as the Flyers had to settle for getting the game to overtime.

Columbus got some quality chances early in the overtime, then Kevin Hayes worked his magic at the other end, getting some space and firing a shot past Elvis Merzlikins to give the Flyers the 4-3 win.
Flyers-Capitals – March 4, 2020

The Flyers competed well against the Washington Capitals all season, but when the two teams met on March 4 with just three points separating them in the standings, there was a lot at stake, especially in the Flyers push for the Metropolitan Division lead.

The game didn’t start off well for the Flyers. They gave up the first goal to Lars Eller and had to weather the storm of possession time that Washington had in the opening period.

The Flyers relatively survived the opening period, then came out in the second and grabbed a hold of the game with a power-play goal by Travis Konecny and goals from Kevin Hayes and Tyler Pitlick. A late turnover allowed the Capitals to close the margin to one, but third-period goals by Ivan Provorov and Scott Laughton finished off a 5-2 win and moved the Flyers to within one point of the Capitals for first in the Metro.
Flyers-Penguins – Jan. 21, 2020

The Flyers had not played the Penguins since October, when they were dismantled, 7-1. When the two teams met again in January, the Flyers were just starting an excellent stretch of results. In their final game before the All-Star break, they held the Penguins completely at bay, allowing just 19 shots.

Jake Voracek, James van Riemsdyk and Justin Braun each scored while Brian Elliott stopped everything thrown his way in a 3-0 win that sent the Flyers to the break on a high note.
Flyers-Devils – Nov. 1, 2019

The Flyers were fresh off two straight blowout losses and really needed a positive result against the Devils.

Former Flyer Wayne Simmonds opened the scoring with his first goal as a Devil, but the Flyers tied it up with a goal by Oskar Lindblom and took the lead in the second on a goal by Sean Couturier. Sami Vatanen tied it up on the power play with 5:32 left in the second and took the lead at the halfway point of the third with a goal by Taylor Hall.

Joel Farabee’s first NHL goal tied the game with 8:31 remaining in the third and after a frantic overtime where the Flyers nearly won it, Couturier used the Peter Forsberg move in the shootout and Carter Hart stopped Hall to secure the 4-3 win.
Flyers-Rangers – Dec. 23, 2019

The Flyers first meeting against the Rangers carried some extra motivation. Alain Vigneault was facing his former team for the first time. So was Kevin Hayes.

It took until 6:44 of the second period for either team to score, and Jesper Fast broke the ice with a shorthanded goal to put the Rangers in front. The Flyers tied the game up with under two seconds to play with Travis Sanheim scoring to even things up after two periods.

In the third, Hayes made his impact on the game, scoring the eventual game-winning goal at 7:31 of the period. Sanheim and Hayes each added insurance goals in the final five minutes, then Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored his first NHL goal on the power play in the final minute to cap off a 5-1 win.
Flyers-Devils – Oct. 9, 2019

The Flyers first game of the season in the US and first at Wells Fargo Center was one of the most memorable.
Just eight seconds shy of the halfway point of the game, Ivan Provorov broke the ice with a power-play goal. Late in the second, the Flyers were tasked with killing off a full two-minute 5-on-3. Carter Hart stood tall, making a spectacular glove save on Taylor Hall to keep the Flyers in front.

The Flyers scored two goals in the first minute of the third with Kevin Hayes and Sean Couturier getting the goals. Travis Konecny also scored in the period off a turnover to cap the scoring, as Hart finished off his first career shutout by making 25 saves.