In desperate need of two points, the Flyers faced the second-worst team in the NHL Saturday night, and came out with the most disappointing loss of the season, falling 5-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks. This was the Flyers’ fourth consecutive loss, and off the heels of a Thursday defeat to lowly Montreal, a crushing loss in a game the Flyers had to have.
The Basics
First period: 2:01 – Lukas Reichel (Tinordi, Athanasiou), 17:00 – Philipp Kurashev (Bedard, Vlasic)
Second period: 0:17 – Tyson Foerster (Hathaway), 17:28 – Nick Foligno (Kurashev, T. Johnson)
Third period: 9:09 – Joey Anderson (Reichel), 14:33 – MacKenzie Entwistle (Anderson, Kaiser)
SOG: 31 (PHI), 24 (CHI)
Some Takeaways
A frustratingly slow start
The Blackhawks are incredibly bad – sitting with 49 points and now only seven road wins on the season – so, naturally, the Flyers got off to a terrible start to this one. A wrap-around goal from Lukas Reichel two minutes in, and then a Philipp Kurashev shot on a rush put the Flyers in an early deficit to Chicago. A rare Scott Laughton fight couldn’t even get the team going, as the Flyers were lifeless to start, and later lifeless to finish.
Foerster nets his 20th
Well, one positive from this game came off the stick of Tyson Foerster, as the rookie scored his 20th goal on a snipe from the slot. Rushing into the zone just 17 seconds into the second period, Foerster’s goal looked to give the Flyers much-needed momentum (it didn’t!). Foerster’s goal moved him into a tie with Wild center Marco Rossi for second in rookie goals, and put him just behind Connor Bedard’s 21 goals.
Power play (shockingly) kills the Flyers
It’s beating a dead horse, but the Flyers power play feels extra worse lately. These last two games, the powerplay has not just been unable to swing the momentum in the Flyers direction, but it’s given the momentum right back to the opponent. In the second period, when the game was actually up for grabs, the Flyers two power plays were abysmal. Little chances, poor puck movement, not much sustained offensive pressure. It really killed any and all momentum they obtained from Foerster’s early-period goal.
To make matters worse, the Blackhawks cashed in on their one power play chance in the second, putting the Flyers back down two heading into the third. The Flyers have been able to escape this season with a awful power play unit – but it appears the power play is fully catching up to them at the worst possible time.
The Flyers are gassed
After going through the gauntlet, Saturday’s game against Chicago marked the Flyers 15th game of March. The Flyers have played a heavy amount of hockey the last month, and combined with the demanding style the Philadelphia system expects, it’s possible the Flyers are worn down. Even John Tortorella was sure to mention his team’s fatigue postgame.
By this team’s roster construction, the Flyers really cannot afford to be tired. They don’t have the high end talent to be able to coast through any games in this league, and having their A game is perhaps the only way for this team to consistently win. That holds true, apparently, even against bottom of the league opponents like Chicago and Montreal.
Couturier in the doghouse, again?
Sean Couturier appears to have upset John Tortorella once more. After a failed attempt to pinch around the 12 minute mark of the second, Tortorella gave the captain an earful on the bench. Couturier only saw five shifts in the entire second period, even as the team grew increasingly desperate as the game went on.
The depressing Eastern Conference race
The one saving grace for the Flyers? No one in the East wants to be in the playoffs, it seems. Looking around the race, the Red Wings and the Capitals each picked up a point in overtime losses, and the Islanders were beaten 4-1 by the Lightning. The Flyers are making it difficult with losses to Chicago and Montreal, but it is certainly far from over, considering just how terrible everyone is around them.
Is Fedotov a possibility?
It’s sudden, and it’s a pivotal game versus the Islanders, but would the Flyers turn to Ivan Fedotov on Monday? Sam Ersson has been given a heavy workload this season, specifically this month, and it appears he’s running out of gas like the rest of the team. It’s a risk, as Fedotov is an unknown and he just arrived in Philadelphia this week, but perhaps the Flyers throw Fedotov in and hope for a late-season jolt to a team running on fumes. It’s more likely he gets a game next weekend against either Buffalo or Columbus, but it’s certainly a possibility for Monday. Regardless of who’s in net, they’re going to need all the energy they can muster for a must-win game against the Islanders.
