Canucks fall to Flyers as Frost nets shootout winner

VANCOUVER — Morgan Frost scored in the fifth round of the shootout and the Philadelphia Flyers opened their season with a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.

Tyson Forester and Cam York had goals for the Flyers (1-0-0) in regulation, while Samuel Ersson stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced.

Teddy Blueger and Nils Hoglander scored for the Canucks (0-0-2), and Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves in his debut for Vancouver.

It marked the second straight game where the Canucks lost in extra time after holding a lead heading into the third period.

Takeaways

Canucks: Vancouver lost a big player less than two minutes into the game when Tyler Myers went down after hitting Joel Farabee along the boards. The defenceman spent several minutes on the ice being looked at by trainers before he was helped up and went directly to the locker room, favouring his right leg. He did not return.

Flyers: Highly touted prospect Matvei Michkov made some big moves in his NHL debut. The 19-year-old Russian right-winger tried to beat Lankinen with a backwards, between-the-legs shot in front of the net on a third-period power play. The Flyers selected Michkov seventh overall in the 2023 draft.

Key moment

York put a shot up and under the crossbar 2:48 into the third, but the puck pinged back out and play continued for several moments before the horn sounded. His goal levelled the game at 2-2 and forced extra time.

Key stat

Philadelphia kept Vancouver’s star-studded power play in check, killing off all five penalties they faced and not allowing a single shot on the final three.

Up next

The Flyers visit the Flames in Calgary on Saturday while the Canucks are set to embark on their first road trip of the season, starting with a matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.