Flyers blown out by Kings in most lopsided loss of season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Flyers suffered their worst loss through 12 games of this season.
They were completely outplayed by the Kings in a 5-0 decision Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
John Tortorella’s team was shut out for the first time.
The Flyers (5-6-1) haven’t won consecutive games since Oct. 17-19. They’re 2-5-1 in their last eight games.
After winning their first three home games, they’ve lost their last four in Philadelphia and have been outscored 20-8.
The Kings (7-2-2), who have regulation losses to only the Bruins (9-1-1) and Avalanche (7-2-0), are a perfect 6-0-0 on the road.
The Flyers see Los Angeles again in a week at Crypto.com Arena.
• They played well without them Friday night, but the Flyers sorely missed the injured Sean Couturier and Carter Hart against the Kings.
The first-line center and No. 1 goalie are both considered day to day.
• Cam York struggled. The team’s youngest defenseman was a minus-3 and committed a costly penalty when he sent the puck into the stands with 4:47 minutes left in the second period. Los Angeles capitalized on the power play to cushion its lead to a commanding 3-0.
The 22-year-old defenseman didn’t play in the third period.
“Obviously not the game I wanted to have, but you’ve got to have a quick memory in this league, you play a lot of games,” York said. “It’s one of 82, so I’ve got to bounce back, for sure.”
Cal Petersen surrendered a dagger with only 16 seconds remaining in the middle stanza.
At second intermission, the Flyers trailed 4-0, were 0 for 4 on their power play and looked awfully frustrated.
• The man advantage is now 4 for 41 on the season.
It has been a momentum killer.
Through 12 games, the team’s penalty kill has matched the power play in goals.
• Petersen, called up Thursday from AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley, made his Flyers debut.
It happened to be against the team that traded him in the offseason. Petersen came to the Flyers in the three-team Ivan Provorov trade this offseason.
The 29-year-old finished with 25 saves on 30 shots against his old club.
The Kings struck first with 5:28 minutes left in the opening stanza. After an Owen Tippett turnover, York had a chance to clear the puck from the crease area but missed it.
Anze Kopitar scored 18 seconds later on a redirection.
Sean Walker also faced his former team. The defenseman was a part of the trade. He’s on an expiring contract and has played well for the Flyers.
“I had a great opportunity there, they gave me my start in the NHL,” Walker said of the Kings before the game. “I have nothing but respect for the organization and all of the guys there. I loved the way my time there went and even as it ended, it was a smooth process and I have no hard feelings about it.”
Los Angeles netminder Cam Talbot stopped 24 shots to blank the Flyers.
• Tyson Foerster, one of the Flyers’ top goal-scoring prospects, has been held without a marker in 11 games. Morgan Frost, a healthy scratch for half of the club’s games so far, has gone scoreless in six outings.
• Felix Sandstrom suffered an upper-body injury Friday night in his second game of a conditioning stint with the Phantoms. The 26-year-old goalie was recalled by the big club Saturday and placed on injured reserve.
• The Flyers saluted the military before and throughout the Saturday night’s game.
• The club opens a stretch of four consecutive road games with a matchup Tuesday against the Sharks (10:30 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
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