The Flyers were on the ice for a hockey game tonight, and it was certainly … a hockey game. The goalkeeper was optional, sadness abounded and many high-level hockey games were played. What happened, who did what and what are the main conclusions? All of this and much more to follow.
First period
Things didn’t start out well for Orange & Black, with Brian Elliott allowing Daniel Sprong this spectacularly horrific goal to kick-start. Elliott’s rebound control seemed unstable even in the opening minutes, something that would become a topic.
The Flyers had trouble establishing their forecheck and generally seemed to be very slow. The top line of Sean Couturier, Joel Farabee and James van Riemsdyk was practically the only positive thing to start. Fortunately (or unfortunately?) Justin Schultz suffered a penalty for interfering with Shayne Gostisbehere, giving Philly the opportunity to get back to normal.
Power play failed to score, the Capitals generated momentum on the other side, and yet another missed attempt to corner the puck led to Washington’s second goal of the night:
Speaking of notable fights, Nolan Patrick continued to deliver the record to the opposition with a series of brutal twists. The second general choice did not score a goal in seventeen games that reach this match, and while he is still recovering to accelerate after the migraines, his trials and tribulations have hurt the team. I hope he gets back on track soon.
Second period
The Flyers came out with a bit of jam in the second, peppering Ilya Samsonov with shots before a shot from the JVR slot made it 2-1. Any momentum that the team built from that goal was abruptly stopped when Nick Jensen passed Shayne Gostisbehere and beat Brian Elliott (who committed to the short side) cleanly. It was not the best night for Moose, who scored the third goal.
Carter Hart arrived, and so the Flyers decided to keep it interesting. After a great save from Travis Sanheim, Nolan Patrick buried a pass from Jake Voracek to make it 3-2. The Flyers completed a stretch in which they overcame Caps 10-3 in a dominant way, proving that this team can control the game when everything is working.
A waiting penalty at Nic Dowd prepared Philly for what appeared to be the deadly blow, but a waiting call at Travis Sanheim sent the two teams to four-to-four. After failing to sustain any pressure, the Flyers went to the penalty spot, where a blatant gaffe by Justin Braun led directly to a power play goal by Alex Ovechkin.
The Flyers left the period deflated and disheveled, but not before Alain Vigneault hit the game’s line blender. Provorov ended up being paired with Gostisbehere instead of Braun after the gaffe, but more importantly, Giroux’s strength game unit featured Provorov, Patrick and the inexplicable decision to put Travis Sanheim on the half-wall. My patience with Michel Therrien’s antics has long since evaporated, but at this point, poor staffing is almost comical.
Third period
It didn’t take long for another leak in the already porous dam to emerge. Carter Hart gave up a trickler to make it 5-2 in Washington, effectively closing the deal. The Flyers had a chance to recover shortly thereafter, but Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Claude Giroux overcame the puck two by one and failed to score.
A sharp penalty sent the Capitals back to the game of strength with about eleven minutes to go. While Hart seemed small in the goal for most of the game, he made some important saves on the penalty spot. Alex Ovechkin and TJ Oshie managed to open eyes (Oshie off the post), but the Caps were happily removed from the scoreboard because of the man’s advantage.
A Nick Jensen interference penalty on Travis Konecny sent the Flyers back to the strength game, where Shayne Gostisbehere achieved a long-range goal thanks to a TK screen. Konecny was credited with an assist for his 200th career point. With the goalkeeper pulled, the Flyers exhibited a brilliant movement of the puck to prepare Claude Giroux for a beautiful stopwatch, pulling them into one.
The rest of the game can only be described as crazy. The Flyers moved into the offensive zone with the nervous energy of a college student jumping on Monster, Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier had ridiculously close chances for goals, but Ilya Samsonov denied every attempt. Orange & Black lost their third straight game to Washington, despite a great finish for the third.
Three great things
- Where the hell is the urgency we saw in the last three minutes when the Flyers take advantage of the power game? The lack of fall passes, explosions of speed and violent attacks in the slot; they are all more characteristic of what this team looked like last year, when everything was working, but they only blink when they are in the most dire situations. I need to see more of that kind of speedball energy on a game-by-game basis, rather than just in desperate times.
- The goalkeepers were tough tonight, and if they were close to being competent, the Flyers would probably end up winning. Carter Hart is still becoming small on the network and looks shaken, Brian Elliott is starting to crumble with his newly increased workload and the team really has no other good option on the network that is immediately available. It is a frustrating place to be.
- Michel Therrien needs to be canned. Many of the malfunctions I saw in the death penalty were of an individual nature, but the power game as a whole is poorly constructed in terms of both personnel and process. Therrien did not even deserve the freedom of action he received from Chuck Fletcher; the Flyers were constantly changing last year in the power game last year, and this season was just more of the same. If Fletcher is going to shoot to shake things up, he’s the right guy to kick out.
Sad Time Tunes
I don’t know why, but this song fits my vibe. I hope you enjoy.
Good night, mediocre hockey, and as always, go Flyers.