HC John Tortorella gives a 4-word review of Philadelphia Flyers' 3 new defensive pairings after 7-3 thumping by LA Kings

By ARJUN B

Modified Dec 20, 2024 05:50 GMT

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The Philadelphia Flyers rolled out three new defensive pairings against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night, but it did little to stop the onslaught in a 7-3 loss at Wells Fargo Center.

When asked about the new-look blue line, head coach John Tortorella offered a blunt 4-word assessment:

"There were struggles there."

The Flyers shook up their defense, pairing Nick Seeler with Rasmus Ristolainen, Travis Sanheim with Jamie Drysdale and Emil Andrae with Egor Zamula. But the changes failed to spark improvement as the Kings lit up the scoreboard.

The game was tied 3-3 after two periods before Los Angeles erupted for four goals in the third to turn it into a blowout. Tortorella highlighted his team's inability to sustain momentum, citing struggles on faceoffs leading directly to goals against.

"That's four face off goals in the last two games. Third goal at the end of second period. I think it's a really big play, but we couldn't make any plays. We just could not sustain the play going into the third," Tortorella said.

Tyson Foerster (two goals) and Noah Cates scored for the Flyers. Anze Kopitar (two goals), Kevin Fiala (two goals), Warren Foegele, Quinton Byfield and Tanner Jeannot scored for the Kings.

Game Recap: Flyers' 7-3 loss to LA Kings

Kevin Fiala opened the scoring for the Kings with Philipp Danault's stretch pass to make it 1-0 in the first period. Then, Noah Cates scored to tie it for the Flyers. Tanner Jeannot and Tyson Foerster traded goals in the second period to make it 2-2. Then, Foerster scored again to give the Flyers lead 3-2.

"I thought we were playing good hockey until the last two games. I'm quite honest, the first period we're kind of hanging on, they were quicker, it's a good hockey club, it's a team that checks very well, a good challenge for us here." Tortorella said,

"I thought we handled ourselves well for 40 minutes, but couldn't find our way through 60."

However, Anze Kopitar responded to tie it heading into the third period. The Kings pulled away in the final frame with goals from Warren Foegele, Kopitar once again and Quinton Byfield's empty-netter. Fiala added another late goal for the Kings.

Goaltender Darcy Kuemper stopped 24 shots in the win, while the Flyers' Alexi Kolosov allowed made 19 saves in the loss.

The Flyers now look ahead to Saturday's home matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets.