One of the guys was a waiver claim on the March 6 trade deadline. Another went from being a top-six forward with the Flyers to accepting his fourth-line role as a hard-working, physical presence who would take his share of faceoffs and kill penalties. The third guy? Well, he had one goal all season, was a healthy scratch for portions, and looked to be a player Philadelphia might try to part with this coming offseason.
Meet Luke Glendening, Sean Couturier, and Garnet Hathaway, the Flyers’ highly impressive, physically punishing, and hard-working trio that changed Game 2 on Tuesday night, and possibly could’ve turned the series with one game-altering shift.
With just under eight minutes to go in the second period, and after the Penguins had the previous 11 straight shot attempts, the line of Garnet Hathaway, Sean Couturier, and Luke Glendening were in their own end for a defensive zone faceoff.
The ice was tilted towards Philadelphia’s end, with lots of shots and traffic in front of goaltender Dan Vladar. But the score remained 0-0. After initially losing the faceoff, Jamie Drysdale rifled the puck out of the zone seconds later. And as has been the case since the Olympic break, the fourth line went to work.
Hathaway flew down the ice, took a good angle, and beat the Penguins defender to the puck. A wraparound try was stopped by Stuart Skinner but it took a bit of the momentum away. Then Glendening threw a hit, then Couturier won a puck battle behind the boards. It wasn’t anything magical, just having the will to beat the opponent. The Flyers kept Pittsburgh in their own zone. After over a minute — and with the fourth line able to keep the puck in the zone while still making a complete line change for fresh bodies — the Penguins finally cleared it.
However, it wasn’t a deep clear, enabling the line of Christian Dvorak, Porter Martone, and Travis Konecny to regroup and go right back in. Seconds later, Konecny’s shot was deflected but the puck went to Martone who scored, giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead. And they never looked back.
Nobody on the fourth line registered a point on the goal. Yet their hard work, physicality and experience made Pittsburgh’s life difficult for about 40 to 50 seconds. Minutes later, Hathaway scored a short-handed goal thanks to Owen Tippett’s work, and that essentially put the nail in the Penguins’ coffin Tuesday night. If that wasn’t enough, the empty netter featuring all three getting on the scoreboard capped off a highly impressive game.
Some good stats on a rope-a-dope night
The Flyers had a team Corsi For percentage of 29.41 per cent at the end of Game 2, including a third period that saw them at just 16.67 per cent. Pittsburgh was in the offensive zone for long stretches, but the Flyers kept the Penguins to the outside, with the structure never wavering. When it did, Dan Vladar was there to bail them out.
But on the flip side, there were some good numbers when it came to the fourth line. Hathaway had two-thirds of his point total for the season with a goal and an assist on Luke Glendening’s empty-net goal in the third (with Couturier getting the primary assist). Meanwhile Couturier was 8 for 13 in the defensive zone on faceoffs, and going 13 for 18 overall (72 per cent). On the other side, Sidney Crosby was a miserable 12 for 31 (39 per cent), including just one for six in his own zone. “The kid” probably delivered more crosschecks and slashes in Game 2 than he did anything else.
Another key to the victory was using the body. After being outhit 41-40 in Game 1, the Flyers kept using the body on the older Penguins, delivering 60 per cent of the checks on the evening (48-32). Although the stats said Couturier had zero hits, Hathaway had seven and Glendening had one. The trio also combined for four blocked shots. And, of course, both Couturier and Glendening were on the ice for nearly seven minutes combined on the penalty kill, leaving the Penguins more clueless and ineffective with the man advantage.
Rick Tocchet praises veteran Garnet Hathaway
After the game, head coach Rick Tocchet lauded Hathaway for his attitude during his up-and-down season.
“He’s one of the guys I’m proud of because there were some games where I did not play him,” the coach said. “He never cried, or bitched, or pouted. He came to the rink, he was in one of the coach’s room or my room looking at video. He’s on the ice early, I just love guys like that. He knew, and there were probably times where he was upset, and I told him you should be upset because sometimes you’re not playing. But he took it and he’s really played two good games for us in the sense that he’s added that aggressive forecheck type of thing. And he’s a team guy. When he’s not dressed, he’s the first guy to give high-fives to the others. So that’s infectious. It’s good for the young guys to see that.”
It’s probably no secret that the three players with the most NHL playoff experience are Couturier, Hathaway, and Glendening. They will never be mistaken for Porter Martone, Trevor Zegras, and Travis Konecny. But in the minutes they’re given, they are more than holding their own. And they seem to be playing with an urgency that comes with being in the league for a long time, knowing time is finite, and wanting to maximize this opportunity for all it’s worth.
The hit Couturier delivered in the first period of Game 1 settled things down on the bench, and got Philadelphia on track. And that one shift last night changed the course of the game. All through hard work and winning one-on-one battles against a team on the other side that looked as confused in their own end almost as much as they did when they had power plays.
Nobody can say how the remainder of this series pans out. But if this trio of unsung players continue to ply their craft this efficiently, the hole that the Penguins currently find themselves in after two home losses looks like it could get a bit deeper.
