The scenery was beautiful with a strong sun shining when setting in the first period.
Everything went dark from there for the Flyers at their NHL Outdoors game in Lake Tahoe on Sunday.
The Flyers delivered another hat-trick to David Pastrnak and yielded four goals in the second period en route to a 7-3 loss to the Bruins in Stateline, Nevada.
Taking the outdoors without six major players, the odds were against the Flyers before the puck crashed. They needed Carter Hart to be near the lights out. Instead, the 22-year-old goalkeeper was out of the game in the third period.
The Flyers (8-4-3) are 0-3-2 against Boston this season and 8-1-1 against everyone else.
The Bruins (11-3-2) overcame the Flyers 23-12 in the five games. The Flyers see Boston three more times.
• Hart looked the opposite of himself. He had a hard time tracking discs and stop viewing photos. He usually makes many of these defenses.
Outdoor games are often more challenging for netminders. Who knows if the elements got the better of it. There were audio problems with Hart’s post-game microphone. He answered a couple of questions, but his answers were inaudible. It’s not his fault.
The Flyers were unable to test the ice and sight lines this weekend before warming up.
Regardless, Hart fought hard and the game spiraled out of the Flyers. Boston dominated the second period with goals from Pastrnak, Trent Frederic, Charlie Coyle and Nick Ritchie. The Bruins overcame the Flyers by 15-3 in the middle. For the general game, Boston goalkeeper Tuukka Rask had to make only 16 saves, 11 of which occurred in the first period.
It was a 2-2 game in the first half and then it was not a game in the second half.
Twice, the Bruins scored six goals in Hart this season. This will not be a common occurrence in Hart’s career, but the young goalkeeper has been inconsistent so far. He has also faced many shots.
The Flyers had an insufficient team, they were not very good against one of the main NHL clubs and Hart was not good. It was just a recipe for disaster.
Brian Elliott stopped 11 of 12 shots in the third period.
• In the first four clashes between Flyers and Bruins, Boston dominated the third period. The final 20 minutes was the biggest difference for the Bruins to beat a perfect 4-0-0 against the Flyers. They had beaten Flyers 11-5 in the final stanza. In three of their four wins, they eliminated a deficit in the third period.
The Flyers actually yielded just four goals for Boston in the first two periods combined in those four matches.
Boston reversed that trend at Lake Tahoe by turning the Flyers game upside down during the second period. If the Flyers’ trip to Lake Tahoe still wasn’t a little bit sour because the team didn’t have six players and went through a lot of adjustments on Saturday, the Bruins went completely sour with four goals in the middle of the game. They scored six goals in the first two periods.
“To tell the truth, they are obviously important players, but we had a good team tonight and we showed that in the first period, we played extremely smart and strong,” said Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault. of us that second, but our guys fought and competed. And ultimately, as a coach, a coaching staff and an organization, you want your guys to go out and compete. We would like to have some of those shifts back in the second, but they have moved away from us a bit. “
The Flyers had a 2-1 lead at one point and their first period was solid. They were defeated by 27-8 the rest of the way.
• The Flyers held on to Pastrnak with a goal in four games last season, including the round robin.
Pastrnak has dominated the team this season with eight points (six goals, two assists) in three clashes.
There is no denying that the Flyers’ problems with kicking and preventing goals are occurring in 15 games this season. These areas were essential for Vigneault’s club last season.
• With concerns about the surface of the ice due to the extreme sun, the NHL changed the start time of the game twice before Sunday. The album was released at 4:59 PT with a stunning sunset. Although aesthetically pleasing to the viewer, it must be a challenge for the players.
“I thought the most difficult part was probably the first, with all the sun and being blinded by the sun in some places – it was kind of dangerous at times,” said Sean Couturier. “It was the same for both teams. In the second and third, I think the environment, the playing field was better for both teams. They were better than us; we have to give them credit.”
This is a quote that the NHL should consider when planning future outdoor games.
More: The sights of the game Flyers’ NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe
• A positive point for the Flyers was James van Riemsdyk humming offensively. He had a three-point night (one goal, two assists) and has 21 points from 15 games.
Couturier (one goal, one assist) and Kevin Hayes (two assists) also played multipoint games, while Joel Farabee equaled his total goals last season by scoring his eighth scorer.
The Flyers employed 11 attackers and seven defenders, with blueliner Mark Friedman joining the team and playing a right winger.
• Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Travis Konecny, Oskar Lindblom, Scott Laughton and Justin Braun remained on the NHL COVID protocol list on Sunday night. All six missed the Flyers’ two games since the club’s seven-day shutdown ordered by the NHL, forced by several cases of COVID-19 within the team.
Giroux lost consecutive games for the first time since February 20-25, 2016, when he was eliminated for three consecutive games due to an injury. Vigneault confirmed that Giroux had tested positive for coronavirus on February 9, when the captain and Braun were placed on the COVID protocol list. Voracek was added to the list on February 11, Lindblom and Laughton were on February 12 and Konecny was the most recent addition on February 14.
There are several factors that contribute to why a player can be placed on the list of COVID protocols. A player absent because of the COVID protocol does not necessarily mean that the player’s test is positive for the coronavirus.
Positive test players cannot return to team activities for at least 14 days after the initial positive test.
• Flyers will fly home on Monday, train on Tuesday and host Rangers on Wednesday (7 pm ET / NBCSN).
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