All good things must eventually come to an end. You just really wish it didn’t have to happen today, y’know?
It was indeed a bad time for the Flyers to play their first game in weeks, against a team that is not only their biggest rival but is one of the teams they happen to be chasing for the East’s final two playoff spots. But that’s exactly what happened, as Pittsburgh walked into Philadelphia and used a stifling defensive effort to beat the Flyers 4-1.
While neither team would manage to light the lamp in the first period, the game’s first twenty minutes were not short for entertainment, even if the hockey being played wasn’t exactly of the highest quality. Both sides had some odd-man rushes that they not only didn’t score on but failed to even get a shot off on. And both sides had two power plays that failed to amount to anything, with the best chance during any of them likely being a shorthanded Carl Hagelin breakaway attempt that was set aside by Steve Mason.
All in all, though the visitors definitely had the edge in that period — they had an 11-4 edge in shots on goal — neither team looked particularly strong in the opening frame. And that was certainly a harbinger of things to come for one team in the second period.
The Flyers managed to draw first blood about two minutes into the second, as noted offensive defenseman Radko Gudas scored his fourth goal in the month of March on a long shot from the blue line that changed direction right in front of Marc-Andre Fleury.
Goals in back-to-back games for Radko Gudas. He opens Saturday’s scoring. #PITvsPHIhttps://t.co/7eVLbL2kCY
— NHL (@NHL) March 19, 2016
That lead would only last about a minute, though, as Nick Bonino would make a great pass from the far boards on a delayed penalty to hit Trevor Daley by the post. Daley would beat Mason on a snipe to the upper-left corner to tie the game back up for the Pens.
From there, things would go south very quickly for the orange and black. Poor play in the offensive zone would prevent the Flyers from getting much offense going, but it was the team’s play in the defensive zone that was the real problem. It felt as though nearly every shift in the final 15 or so minutes of the second period saw the Flyers either turn the puck over in the defensive zone or aimlessly toss it out of the zone, routinely giving the puck right back up to the visitors.
The Flyers would ultimately go almost eight minutes in the second period without a single shot attempt, and in that time the Penguins would keep knocking on the door until it finally busted down with about three minutes left. First, the Pens would take the lead after Phil Kessel would force an offensive-zone turnover from Ryan White, which ultimately led to an open Carl Hagelin in the slot wiring a shot past Mason. And then, about ninety seconds later, a shot wide of the net from Chris Kunitz bounced off of the end boards and off of the back of Steve Mason’s skate, winding up in the net as Pittsburgh would double their lead.
The visitors would go into the locker room with a 3-1 lead after what was probably the worst period the Flyers have played in weeks.
The third period wasn’t quite as bad, as the Flyers kept Pittsburgh from generating a ton of pressure and had some periodic chances at Fleury’s net. But there still was not much doing for the home team offensively, and it was thoroughly unsurprising when they not only failed to score in the period but allowed the Penguins to pick up an empty-netter to seal the win at 4-1.
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One quick note: Michal Neuvirth was apparently supposed to start today’s game, but Ron Hextall said that he “wasn’t feeling right”, which is why Mason got the start. Probably not a big deal, as Neuvirth was dressed for the game. Still, with the Flyers having a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday, let’s hope this is nothing we’ll have to worry about.
Questions to Answer:
- Jake is back! How’s he look? Fairly quiet. Hakstol mostly used him in bottom-6 minutes and he was shuffled between the third and fourth line, and we didn’t hear much from him. He was welcomed right back to the top power play unit, but that whole group left a lot to be desired.
- The Flyers have mostly been going power vs. power in recent games, matching Claude Giroux’s line with the other team’s top line. That would mean a lot of Giroux vs. Crosby today. Does that happen? Nope, it was mostly Couturier’s line against Crosby’s. The Pens would end up getting the better of that matchup, though in fairness there weren’t many matchups today they didn’t get the better of.
- Historic day today, as Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Ryan White will play hockey without Chris VandeVelde for the first time in their careers. (This may or may not actually be true.) Can the fourth line do some good work with Laughton there in his place? Ooooof, no. The unit was a mess in the defensive zone, as was seen on Pittsburgh’s second goal of the game. Hakstol tweaked the lines a bit in the third period, but all in all not a good showing.
- Can the Flyers win the goaltending duel? Tough to answer. Mostly because the camera was in the Pens’ end of the ice so infrequently that I’m not really sure if Marc-Andre Fleury was actually on the ice. It wasn’t necessarily Mason’s best game, but he made a number of big saves and he’s pretty far down on the list of reasons the Flyers did not win this one.
- One point will, for at least a few hours, put the Flyers back in a playoff spot. Do they get it? Oh, piss off.
Comment of the Afternoon:
Best line at the bar today:
“If I had a shot for every one by the Flyers, I’d be going home sober.”
Whatever. This is the second or so bad game that the Flyers have played in roughly the past month or so. Shake it off and go beat the Islanders on Monday. Root for the Panthers tonight in the meantime. Go Flyers.
