Takeaways: Flyers sweep Rookie Series with 4-1 victory over Rangers

The Flyers took both games over the weekend against the Rangers, the latter a strong 4-1 win led by Porter Martone and another strong showing by center Jett Luchanko.

The basics

First period: 16:28- Denver Barkey (Oliver Bonk, Jett Luchanko)
Second period: 12:39- Liam Greentree (Adam Sykora, Tomas Chrenko), 19:55- Brek Liske (Spencer Gill, Porter Martone)
Third period: 18:05- Noah Powell (unassisted) (ENG), 19:13- Porter Martone (Denver Barkey, Maksim Sokolovskii) (ENG)
SOG: 28 (PHI) – 16 (NYR)

Some takeaways

Rotating cast

After Saturday’s 3-2 victory, it was assumed that there would be some changes made to the lineup. Namely to get everyone a chance to play, and to possibly give those who played in game one another look to see what they could do in a back-to-back situation. Out of the lineup Sunday up front was Alex Bump, Devin Kaplan, Sawyer Dingman and Cole Knuble. Entering the lineup was Brady Berard, Owen McLaughlin, Denver Barkey, and Porter Martone. On the blueline, Ty Murchison and Jackson Edward sat out, while Oliver Bonk and Riley Steen were put in. Finally, having played all three periods on Saturday, goaltender Carson Bjarnason was out, with Marek Sklenicka and Martin Psholavec the Flyers tandem between the pipes.

The game began with a lot of flow and hardly any whistles. It was a good start for Philadelphia, with not a lot of chippy play given how Saturday’s game concluded. Instead, the Flyers spread the shots around, with seven different players having a shot on goal roughly halfway through the first. The second period had a few more scoring chances, but generally the Flyers were happy to create some chances when not playing a tight and tidy defensive structure. And they were very thrifty, allowing just 16 shots over 60 minutes.

Most importantly, none of the Flyers exited the game due to injury. Which is something you never want to see happen at any point, especially in the opening weekend of camp.

Luchanko looking pretty, pretty good

After getting the top line nod down the middle on Saturday, Jett Luchanko once again centered the Flyers top line Sunday. Finding himself between Denver Barkey and Porter Martone, Luchanko had to realize the opportunity the club was affording him. And he didn’t waste much time driving the play and moving the puck easily into the offensive zone. A few good plays and puck possession resulted in Martone setting up Luchanko in close about four minutes into the game, but the game remained scoreless. The nicest set play was about 13 minutes in when Brek Liske fed Luchanko who was hitting another gear through the neutral zone. Martone had a strong opportunity but was thwarted by goalie Danai Shaiikov.

Luchanko got a secondary assist on the opening goal, taking a hit in the neutral zone to make a short but precise pass to a rushing Oliver Bonk. Again, it wasn’t showy by any stretch, but the goal doesn’t happen without Luchanko having the smarts to find the open man.

Luchanko didn’t end up with a five-point night, or anything close to that. However, he was instrumental in a key third period penalty kill, drawing a penalty with just eight seconds left in Philadelphia’s penalty kill. He made next week’s training camp a lot more interesting regarding his role and if he could make the big club.

Martone makes up for miscue

Getting his first taste of Flyers action since shaking hands with Carolina after round two, winger Porter Martone looked strong on the top line with Luchanko and Barkey. Every time the line was on the ice, the trio seemed to feed off each other, with a few nice plays and hardly any time hemmed in their own end. In short, he didn’t miss a beat, looking as cool, calm, and collected as he did when he made his debut against the Capitals last year. He also didn’t mind getting into it against a Ranger early in the second as Philadelphia crashed the net to eke out a garbage goal. Martone also stood up for Denver Barkey who took a hit up high but seemed okay afterwards. Martone introduced himself to his opponent before delivering a love tap on the back of his legs.

The one hiccup Martone had was in his own zone, and he paid for it. With two Rangers on him, Martone coughed the puck up. Liam Greentree fired a shot over Marek Sklenicka before Bonk was able to get a piece of it, resulting in a tie game. Martone atoned for the mistake late in the second, earning a secondary assist on a billiards-like shot by Brek Liske that found its way through Shaiikov with five seconds left to give Philadelphia the lead.

It was a good first game for Martone, who ended the game with an empty-netter to make it 4-1.

Barkey brings his best

Nobody told Denver Barkey that he couldn’t replicate what he did last year. And why would they? Barkey is small, but what he lacks in height he makes up for in smarts and will. Barkey scored the opening goal late in the first period, taking a lovely little pass from Oliver Bonk before beating Shaiikov clean. It’s that north/south style of play that should bode well for the player, and thus the Flyers over the course of the season. Like his linemates, he didn’t end up with a bevy of points, but he did demonstrate he hasn’t lost any of that desire to give everything every shift.

Goalies good

The Flyers started with Martin Psohlavec in goal. Although nothing is truly expected from Psohlavec in terms of making the Flyers (or the Phantoms) this coming season, it gave both he and Marek Sklenicka a taste of professional hockey on this side of the Atlantic. Psholavec’s busiest moment was stopping the puck behind the net before a bad giveaway resulted in a Rangers chance. However, the puck was deflected and ended up out of play. Through nine minutes, he faced one shot.

Perhaps Psohlavec wanted to be peppered with shots to get into the game and work up a sweat. But the skaters in front of him weren’t having it. But he came up big on a quality chance after defenseman Maksim Sokolovskii negated the first Ranger’s attempt. Psohlavec had a perfect opening period, stopping all five shots, and ended his night after roughly 31 minutes of play. Psohlavec was replaced by his fellow countryman in Sklenicka. Sadly, the goalie’s first shot got behind him, although he couldn’t truly be blamed for the terrible giveaway. With the game no longer in doubt, Sklenicka made a nifty save in the dying seconds which his teammates appreciated.

Pautov works like a dog

He wasn’t one of the top stars on Saturday, but Ilya Pautov showed some glimpses of why Philadelphia drafted (and signed) the young winger. Pautov’s skill is intriguing, at times making something out of nothing for a quality scoring chance. And he always looked like he was trying to find himself in open ice, whether it was marginally cheating out of the offensive zone, or trying to find himself behind the Ranger defensemen. It didn’t matter the size he gave up to his opponent, Pautov was eager to battle and try to win pucks out of the corners. Despite being one of three skaters not getting a shot on goal (Riley Thompson and K.J. Sauer were the others), Pautov doesn’t look out of place at such a youthful age.

Maksim-um Bonk

The pairing of Sokolovskii and Bonk proved fruitful most of the game, with Sokolovskii’s defensive smarts the perfect partnership for Bonk’s offensive prowess. A few times Bonk drove up ice, and tilted it in Philadelphia’s favor. As well, Bonk found himself on the first power play unit, with Martone, Luchanko, Brek Liske, and Barkey. Things looked promising, with Bonk being more of a rover on the ice than the quarterback near the blueline.

Sokolovskii got away with what could’ve been another minor in the middle frame, breaking the stick on a crosscheck on a Ranger. Although it wasn’t called, it could’ve been the third minor against him in under five periods of play. Not great. He also was on the receiving end of what should’ve been a penalty, getting a high stick in the mouth early in the third. It knocked his helmet off, but didn’t cause the referees to raise an arm.

Pesky Powell does double duty

Noah Powell rubbed every Ranger the wrong way over this weekend. He wasn’t afraid to stirring things up against the Blueshirts, but dropped the gloves in the second against defenseman Jackson Dorrington. Powell gave as good as he got, landing a few flush before Dorrington pushed him down. Powell’s five-minute major saw a jersey change as the forward had his jersey ripped in the tussle.

Powell didn’t let the stitches in his jersey deter him afterwards, nearly getting into it with Spencer Bowes before cooler heads prevailed. In the third, Powell retired the #50, and spent the period wearing #69, most likely due to the jersey he started with not quite surviving the wear and tear of a hockey game. However, Powell scored an empty-netter to provide insurance with under two minutes to go.

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