03/28/23 09:28:00
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03/28 21:26 CDT Frost scores 2 goals, leads Flyers to 4th straight win
Frost scores 2 goals, leads Flyers to 4th straight win
By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) --- The lead singer of a Pearl Jam tribute band --- the
Flyers held a promotional night in honor of the grunge band --- that packed an
arena bar before the game dedicated "Given to Fly" to the home team.
"How are the Flyers not going to win tonight?" he said.
Some Flyers fans yelled "No!" One fan caught the attention of the Ledbetters
lead singer when he exclaimed, "I hope not."
"Oh, you want that draft pick," singer Jamie Stem cracked.
Flyers fans do want that No. 1 pick and a sudden late-season winning streak has
them fading from the top spot.
Morgan Frost scored his second goal of the game with 2:15 left in the third
period and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Tuesday
night.
Frost gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead in the second period with a goal just as the
power play expired and he clinched their fourth straight win off a 2-on-1
effort for his 16th goal of the season and a 2-1 lead. Owen Tippett added an
empty-netter.
The four-game winning streak matches the longest of the season and the Flyers
now have just a 6.5% chance of winning the draft lottery, per tracker Tankathon.
"We've had our ups and downs all year, but to put a stretch of games like this
together towards the end, it's always nice," Tippett said.
Depends who in Philly you ask.
Brendan Gallagher and Rafael Harvey-Pinard scored for the Canadiens, who were
eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.
The Flyers wrapped a seven-game homestand at 5-1-1 and play three more home
games before the season ends.
Coach John Tortorella, who won his 700th career game this season, has been
tasked with turning the Flyers into winners. Despite the late push at home, his
first season has been a disaster in just about every capacity. The Flyers were
ravaged by injuries to key players and the front office paid the price as in
the midst of a makeover.
Tortorella said he was warmly greeted by fans over the weekend at the Flyers
charity carnival.
But Flyers fans want better results -- soon.
"They're just dying for it to go the right way and get back to where we all
want it to get to," Tortorella said before the game. "I did spend a lot of my
day saying that I have to be patient. A lot of people didn't like hearing that.
But there has to some patience and process to it."
The Flyers believe they're making the overdue and hard steps necessary to make
them winners again. They fired general manager Chuck Fletcher earlier this
month and replaced him on an interim basis with Danny Briere. Dave Scott, the
longtime chairman of the Flyers' parent company Comcast Spectacor, announced
Monday he will retire. Dan Hilferty will succeed Scott as chairman of the
company on April 17 and as the team's governor on July 1. The Flyers are in the
market for a hockey president.
"The thing that's different with this for me is there's a lot of other stuff,"
Tortorella said. "Not just the on-ice product, but there's a lot of the other
stuff that needs to get straightened out. Just a little bit too gray for me,
there's a lot of gray areas that I think need to get ironed out within the
whole organization. I think that is a huge part of our process."
Cayden Primeau stopped 24 shots for Montreal in his first start of the season.
The 23-year-old goalie is the son of former Flyers star Keith Primeau.
Felix Sandstrom had 27 saves for the Flyers in place of injured goalie Carter
Hart.
FARRELL DEBUT
Forward Sean Farrell made his NHL debut for Montreal after two strong seasons
at Harvard. Farrell played for Team USA in the Olympics in the 2022 Beijing
Games.
"Offensive talent, dynamic player," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. "He's
done it at every level. This is the level where he's going to have to show he
an still do it."
Farrell received a signed stick before the game from fellow Massachusetts
native and Flyers forward Kevin Hayes.
"Congrats on making the NHL!! Here's to a lot more games!" Hayes wrote on the
stick.
OH CAPTAIN! NO CAPTAIN!
Just like this year, Tortorella said the Flyers will not have a captain next
season. Before this season, the Flyers named a captain in every season in
franchise history except 1992-93.
"It's just the way we're gonna go about it here," Tortorella said.
UP NEXT
Canadiens: Host Florida on Thursday.
Flyers: Play Thursday at Ottawa.
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