Noah Cates' 2-goal game leads Flyers over Panthers – Hockey Writer – Philadelphia Flyers

The Florida Panthers and Philadelphia Flyers didn't show much flinch in their first two meetings of the 2024-25 season. Each game was a back-and-forth affair with a winner not decided until the final moments, and save for an empty-net goal in the second game, both games were one-goal games.

Their third and final regular season meeting may have looked more one-sided, with the favored Panthers jumping out to an early 2-0 lead. But the Flyers, who put together one of their best performances of the season in beating the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night, didn't let the first quarter define them. They took control of the game and got back into the game in the second period, then exploded with three goals in the third period, with Noah Cates scoring his first two-goal game since April 24, 2022 , giving the Flyers a 5-point lead for good: 51 hits.

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When Aleksander Barkov took a high penalty kick early in the first period, it seemed like the perfect catalyst for a strong start for the Flyers. After all, they scored two power-play goals on Saturday and didn't have to contend with the former Selke Cup champion in two minutes of 5-on-4 action.

But that still leaves another dangerous penalty-killing forward ready to take on the Panthers. Sure enough, Sam Reinhart beat Travis Konecny, got cleanly into the slot, and parked the puck while being illegally hauled. Reinhardt, who scored a career-high 57 goals last year, scored his 26th goal of the season with a superb individual finish and his league-leading fifth short-handed goal. Goal.

If that wasn't frustrating enough, it took the Panthers 95 seconds to double their lead. This time, Sam Elson was wearing goat horns and a routine shot from defenseman Uvis Balinskis (who had two goals in 66 NHL games tonight) somehow slipped into his five Hole. One game after making 22 saves and despite having an expected goals against rating of just 1.27 (the second-fewest goals the Flyers have allowed in a game this season), Elson was the winner of the second and second he faced. The Flyers were put in a difficult position by missing a goal on each of their third attempts.

Although the Flyers had a strong first quarter statistically (leading 8-7 and winning the 5-on-5 expected goals battle by a 0.34-0.15 margin), Florida's speed and front-line tenacity seemed to be weighing on them. area overwhelmed them. That started to change in the second quarter, as the Flyers began to create more quality chances, generating more points and high-danger chances in the first eight minutes of the second quarter than they did in the first. The Flyers did get on the board during that stretch, with Garnett Hathaway scoring for the second straight game when Ryan Bolin's midfield pass bounced off the Panthers.

Philadelphia didn't rest on its laurels during that stretch, outscoring Florida 14-6 in the second quarter to easily win the expected goals battle again. However, Barkov entered the penalty area in the first minute of the third quarter, and this time, the Flyers scored when he entered the game. After Morgan Frost nearly beat Sergei Bobrovsky's rebound, Cates did just that, burying his eighth goal and first since 2024. The first goal since scoring in five consecutive games from December 18th to December 28th.

However, the Flyers will be saddled with a costly penalty on their own Selke winner. Reinhart continued his special teams dominance when Sean Couturier hooked Balinskis in the zone and his turnaround shot snuck past Elson (Ersson), restoring Florida State's lead just 93 seconds later. However, this feast of powerful attacks did not end. 39 seconds after Reinhart scored, the Flyers ushered in another powerful attack. This time, Frost didn't miss from close range, stabbing the puck in after some clever set-up by Jamie Drysdale to tie the score again.

As the game progressed, both teams had some chances, but the score was still tied at three points as the game progressed. However, Elson turned the game around with a chest interception from Gustav Forsling that kicked the rebound from the middle into no man's land near the red line. That's where Cates pushed the puck, creating a breakout almost out of thin air. The backhand top shot is nice, but that's only because he's able to expertly put the puck on the Florida blueline while keeping himself and Bobby Brink in line.

Of course, the last time the Panthers came to Philadelphia, the Flyers took the lead in the third quarter and Florida won 7-5. The Panthers seemed to have another punch in the bag when an ill-advised pass from Frost gave them a couple of A+ chances against Elson in the final four minutes. But Elson made up for his poor first-quarter performance by holding on, then rocked Carter Verhaegger on a dangerous six-on-five shot.

The win capped off a four-game homestand for the Flyers, which started out disappointingly against other teams but was completely salvaged in the second half. They won't have time to rest on their laurels as the team heads to Columbus tomorrow for a game against the Blue Jackets. The Panthers are also in the midst of a back-to-back, having completed four of five road games and traveling to Newark to face the New Jersey Devils.