Flyers Post-Game EXTRA! 2019 Rookie Game: Islanders - 5 at Flyers - 4
ALLENTOWN, PA -- The Phildelphia Flyers hosted the New York Islanders in a rookie game Wednesday night at the PPL Center - home of the Flyers' AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms - in a contest featuring plenty of highly-regarded prospects.
For the Flyers, the big guns stood out as expected. The top line of Isaac Ratcliffe, Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee seemingly created scoring chances at will. Phil Myers was calm, cool and played with a purpose. Felix Sandstrom stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced in the opening half of the contest. German Rubtsov led the way offensively with a pair of goals while also playing a responsible two-way game.
Tonight's live blog of the Flyers/Islanders rookie game with period-by-period insights -> http://insideahlhockey.com/article/live-blog-flyersislanders-rookie-game-2019
THREE THINGS
1. Weathering the Sandstrom
There were a handful of Flyers prospects that stood out in Wednesday night’s contest but it was clearly goaltender Felix Sandstrom who stole the show.
The 22-year-old faced 25 shots in his period-and-a-half of action, and of those shots, it seemed as if nearly half of them came off of Grade-A chances for the Islanders.
The Flyers’ defenders were not very good, especially in the first period. There were more than a few lapses in their own zone, leading to a plethora of golden opportunities for New York. Sandstrom was able to use his lateral quickness to bail the Flyers out all but one time.
2. (NHL Ready) Men vs. Boys
The four players that Flyers fans are most heavily invested in -- Isaac Ratcliffe, Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee and Phil Myers -- were the best skaters on the ice for either team in Wednesday night’s tilt. Each of them, with the exception of Farabee, recorded an assist in the contest.
Farabee looked really good on the forecheck, constantly winning puck battles and extending the Flyers’ shifts in the Islanders’ zone. He also showed some nice puck-handling ability as he deked past defenders on a few different occasions to create a chance on net.
Ratcliffe showed his versatility and maturity at different times throughout the game. There was one instance, in particular, where Ratcliffe and Islanders defenseman Justin Myers were jawing at each other. Instead of trying to escalate the situation, he let Myers force the issue and ended up drawing a penalty in the process.
Frost flashed his creativity all over the ice on Wednesday night. He came within inches of scoring a goal in the shootout but his shot hit the post.
Myers, at times, felt like the only Flyers defenseman to be on his game at all times during the contest. Between recording a team-high six shots and creating a scoring opportunity that led to German Rubtsov’s first period goal, it is clear that Myers is ready to hold onto that Flyers jersey that he wore Wednesday night.
3. Rubtsov a Dark-Horse Candidate for an NHL Roster Spot?
German Rubtsov found the back of the net twice on his four shots against the Islanders. After recording six goals and four assists in 14 AHL games before a shoulder injury ended his 2018-19 season, Rubtsov has proven, albeit in a small sample size, that he can thrive at the AHL level.
Would the Flyers give him a shot if he continues to impress the front office once training camp kicks off on Friday? I don’t think it’s out of the question.
POST-GAME REACTION
Head coach Scott Gordon
On Felix Sandstrom:
Yeah, he was solid.He played really well.I think, especially in the first period, we put him in some tough situations and he came up with some pretty good stops.
On the goalie situation moving forward:
That's for someone else to make that decision. Goaltending depth is important. Felix played a game last year, had a good showing tonight. He's on the right path.
Will Lehigh Valley be carrying three goalies?
No. It doesn't do anyone any good to not play. Especially goaltending, shots are shots. Sometimes shots from the ECHL can be more of a challenge and make you a better goaltender.
On Rubtsov's performance tonight:
He's a talented player. He's going to kill penalties, play power play, makes players around him better.
On Farabee, and his forechecking ability:
He has value in that, and that's the biggest thing. You can talk about being first in on the forecheck, but he wants to do it. It means something for him. And he had a big impact on his line [tonight].
On Phil Myers:
He's an NHL player to me. He played like it. There's no panic. He's done a great job of preparing himself the last two years to be an NHL player. Now he just has to have a good camp and everything will fall into place for him.
On any surprise standouts:
I thought Vorobyev did a lot of good things. Max Sushko did some things that I liked in the offensive zone. One of the guy that I thought kind of stood out, unheralded like the rest was Golod. Seemed like everytime he was on the ice good things. Wyatte Wiley played well, I looked alot at the defense.
Post-game video interviews with Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee and Felix Sandstrom below!
