This one stings: Flyers battle hard but fall in OT, 3-2

by Travis Hughes on Apr 18, 2009 3:23 AM EDT in 2009 NHL Playoffs

[Recap] - [Boxscore] - [Highlights] - [Photos]
Pittsburgh wins 3-2 in OT, leads series 2-0

After Game 1, we sat around for 36 hours contemplating why the Flyers looked so terrible. The main reason for their poor play, we hypothesized, was the inability to stay out of the penalty box. In that game, Philadelphia made ten infractions and lost key chances to impose their will on Pittsburgh with each trip they made to the sin bin.

But tonight in Game 2, things were different. The Flyers cut down on the penalties substantially -- cut them in half, in fact --by taking only five. They played much more disciplined hockey, and as a result, were able to create scoring chances and actually look like a team deserving of playoff hockey.

It is ironic, then, that penalties are what did the Flyers in tonight. A 5-on-3 goal by Bill Guerin 18-and-a-half minutes into the first overtime period put Philadelphia in a serious hole as the series heads to South Broad Street on Sunday afternoon. The infractions that caused that five-on-three weren't the cheap shots that Daniel Carcillo was guilty of on Wednesday, nor were they even slightly dirty. But nonetheless, they were penalties.

The first was a cross-check by Mike Knuble while the Flyers were, believe it or not, on the power play. He wasn't trying to do anything cheap or dirty, but in trying to gain position, he knocked a Penguin to the ice. Less than a minute later, Claude Giroux made things a thousand times worse for the Flyers as he slashed the stick out of the hands of Chris Kunitz. Again, given the rules it was an impossible penalty not to call (we'll be touching on this on Saturday, trust me).

Undisciplined? No. Untimely? Definitely. And that's a tough pill to swallow.

Despite the stinging loss, though, tonight wasn't all bad. The Flyers played far-and-away much better than they did in Game 1. They forechecked hard, they fought along the boards, they won puck battles all over the ice, they blocked shots, and their goalie played a hell of a game. In fact, Martin Biron was named third star of the game tonight (by the Pittsburgh media, keep in mind) for his solid 46 save performance.

Philly could've had a two-goal cushion in the third period if it weren't for Marc-Andre Fleury's toe. Jeff Carter had a wide open net but Fleury made what could turn out to be the save of the series when he made an incredible lateral move to get a piece of the puck along the goal line. The Flyers got a few more whacks at it, but the Pittsburgh netminder was able to keep it out.

That allowed the Pens to get one past Martin Biron while on the power play with about four minutes left in the third. It was another unlucky play that saw the puck pinball off of Braydon Coburn's shin pad into a traffic-filled slot area, off of Evgeni Malkin's leg, and into the back of the net, erupting Mellon Arena into an absolute frenzy.

As mikefive said in the game thread though, this isn't the time of year for moral victories. We can sit here and talk about how reassuring it is that the orange and black played a much better all-around hockey game tonight, but that doesn't make this 2-0 series hole any less daunting. It was said before the game that tonight was a must-win for the Flyers, and that makes it even more painful that the loss came the way it did.

But this thing isn't over -- let's make that clear right now. The Flyers still have three home games left in this series, and they made it clear tonight that they have the fight in them to win a game at the Igloo. Could tonight have been a deflating loss? It certainly is for us fans, that's for sure. But we have to hope -- to expect -- that these guys will get over it quickly.

There's a lot more hockey to be played, so let's take care of business and get this thing back to the Steel City.

Programming note: I'm planning on attending practice at the Skate Zone Saturday morning, so there should be a full rundown of things go sometime tomorrow night. (it's supposed to be beautiful out tomorrow, so emphasis on that night part). Follow me on Twitter (@BroadStHockey) for up-to-the-minute reports from practice. See, Twitter is good for something....

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Its been however many hours and Im still pissed about the penalty at the end of regulation. You dont call penaltys late in the third period unless its blatant. You simply can’t. Thats an unwritten rule for all sports during the playoffs but especially Hockey The hooking call against Staal was at best questionable, at worst complete bullshit. I dont even remember which one of our guys it was but he was trying to poke the puck loose and Staal literally grabbed his stick and wrapped it around himself trying to draw a penalty. it was so bad that even the Pittsburgh cheerleaders masquerading as the Versus commentators said it was a terrible call. the Flyers got frustrated about that bad call and they allowed the Pens to tie the game and ultimately win it.

The Flyers ultimately took penaltys in OT when they absolutely could not afford to do so and that was what did them in. But i stand by my position that the game never should have even gone to overtime. You dont call hooking with 4 minutes left unless a player lassos an offensive player with his stick. that clearly wasn’t the case. I feel really bush league blaming the officiating but Its beyond frustrating that the Flyers played a great game and gave up a late goal on an absolute bullshit hooking call.

But nonetheless it happened and we gotta keep the faith. we have three home games left and we showed that we can win in Pittsburgh. We’ve come back from being down 2-0 against Pittsburgh before (Keith Primeau anyone). And while Primeau isn’t on the ice, I’m feeling some Retro Flyers-Penguins here. This team isn’t better then us. They outplayed us in game 1 and then got some lucky bounces at the end of game 2. You have to think that the bounces will start to go our way in our own building. we can do this.

on another note, has anyone heard of this one player for the FLyers, I forget his name because he hasnt done anything this series but he wears #48. He’s supposed to be really good in the playoffs but all I’ve seen him do is shy away from contact with any opposing player. has anyone seen or heard this #48 who’s name escapes me? is he hiding in the locker room with his 6.5 million dollars?

by njh3293 on Apr 18, 2009 8:21 AM EDT reply actions

It’s easy to blame the refs but you have a 46 goal scorer that blew an empty net that would have sealed the game. You can point at border line calls all day but at the end of it you have to acknowledge that your boys didn’t take care of the stuff they can control. You had a PP in OT and instead of converting you took another PIM. Unless the players did everything they could to win that game then you can’t resort to blaming the refs.

(BTW, 48 drew the OT PP by going to the slot and getting roughed up… gotta say, though, from the outside that contract keeps looking better and better)

by Rob Parker on Apr 18, 2009 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions

what kills me

is that we played a great disciplined game with outstanding goaltending and still lost. while the whistles do tend to go away toward the end of the game (or they should), one kind of just knew that the pens were going to get another chance. this is not a complaint.

fleury and biron last night put on a clinic. biron’s toe-save in the first was equal to MAF’s carter robbery in the third.

as for giroux’s penalty-that kind of play happens almost every time someone touches the puck. that was more equipment failure than giroux having gorilla strength wrists. stupid composite sticks. still, it was a penalty.

if any one reading this will be at the game tomorrow, please be relentless in your support. this team is down. they need you. we’ve been down 0-2 before to this organization and have accomplished amazing feats.

World F#$king Champions

by psudrozz on Apr 18, 2009 11:38 AM EDT reply actions

I agree with most of this. Giroux breaks the guy’s stick and that is an automatic call. It hurts but like a puck over the glass there is no room for judgment by the ref. I thought Biron probably should have saved that GWG. Whoever the Dman on top of the crease was (Kimo?) did a great job of taking the cross crease pass away and all Biron had to do was square up to Guerrin on a bad angle. Somehow the puck got through him, game over. Other than that Biron did have a good game.

The part I disagree with is your characterization that the whistles should be put away toward the end of a game. If it is a PIM in the first it is a PIM in OT, or it should be. A PPG counts equally at any time of the game and to give PPs early but not late hurts the integrity of the game. I’d rather see them swallow their whistles on marginal calls throughout the entire game, not just late. NHL players are going to continue to draw PIMs like Staal did as long as the Refs keep calling them. I hate watching NHL guys decide to clamp a stick under their arm rather than fight through a check. It is already happening but soon it will be rampant.

by Rob Parker on Apr 18, 2009 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Completely agree. If the refs consciously called less penalties in overtime and everybody knew it was an unwritten rule, there would be MORE ambiguity to penalty situations than there already is.

Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog
Because the Broad Street Subway is orange for a reason.

by Travis Hughes on Apr 18, 2009 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Not Much Else To Add...

There’s not much else to say that hasn’t already been said. Fleury’s stop on Carter was amazing, but at the same time, Carter could have (and should have) put that puck a million places on that net where Fleury wouldn’t have had a shot at stopping it. We should have gone up 3-1, and should have stolen home ice. Instead, we get that iffy call on Carter for “hooking,” when I think it should have been Staal called for holding, but what can you do. Despite how great Carter is, I hope that missed layup doesn’t haunt us for years to come…

by CTFlyer on Apr 18, 2009 11:59 AM EDT reply actions

It's easy for us to say.

When we’re watching the game on TV, we think, “Why didn’t he aim for another place?” See, the puck was not completely flat on the ice and Carter just tried to get it on net. A save like that happens at least once every playoff year.

Besides, if Carter took the time to aim it, MAF would have been over to stop it anyway.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Apr 19, 2009 1:00 AM EDT up reply actions