The Flyers made a quick trip up to Montreal this evening for the second of their preseason games, getting into the mix just about the rest of their big names who had not yet been able to debut. It was a difficult day on the whole and a choppy game which ensued, and while the Flyers were admirably able to rally part of the way back from the deficit they fell into, they found themselves outmatched in this one, and fell to the Habs by a 4-2 margin.
The Basics
First period: 0:53- Cole Caufield (Hutson, Suzuki), 9:58- Florian Xhekaj (Thorpe, Tuch)
Second period: 11:11- Anthony Richard (Gilbert), 16:05- Nick Suzuki (Slafkovsky, Caufield), 17:35- Owen Tippett (Dvorak, Sanheim)PPG
Third period: 19:46- Arber Xhekaj (unassisted)SHG,EN
SOG: 21 (PHI) – 23 (MTL)
Some Takeaways
Rust, matchup imbalance showing
This was a game that was, in truth, stacked against the Flyers from the start. With an off day scheduled for Monday, the Flyers schedule for today included a morning skate for the game group at the practice rink in Voorhees, a longer lingering around so that Rick Tocchet and the rest of the coaching staff could run the second larger session with the non-game group which carried them into the afternoon, and only after that did they jump on their flight to Montreal. Add into that the fact that this was a roster overwhelmingly comprised of players making their preseason debut and with a much less significant group of NHL veteran players going up against just about the full strength of the Canadiens’ NHL squad, and this was always going to be a tough one for the Flyers.
And, all in all, this team looked every bit the rusty and travel weary, often outmatched group that we expected. And while things did improve as the game went on (more on that later), the first period in particular was a lower energy, disjointed affair, as the Flyers struggled mightily to keep pace and connect with each other enough to get much going in the way of offense. Now, it’s only preseason and a slow start therein isn’t necessarily something worth overly reading into, but it was still a tough one to watch unfold, all the same.
Alex Bump settles in
This game was, without a doubt, something of a strange one for Bump. One of the players most anticipated to make an impression as camp goes on and he presses on in his push for an NHL roster spot, Bump had to work his way through a bit of an uneven showing. And he was put in a difficult position from the start — playing on a line with Jett Luchanko, who he had some mixed results with in the Phantoms’ postseason, but even more notably, with Nic Deslauriers, who offered nothing in the way of speed matching or offensive support, he was part of a trio that just wasn’t working from the start, and he looked a little stifled for it. But as the game went on (and after Deslauriers was taken off the ice for five minutes after a fight) and Bump was moved off of that line, things started to come for him a little bit more — his play seemed a little more active on the whole, and he was able to create a pair of excellent chances for himself. It wasn’t a perfect showing, as he also had a couple of instances where he was pushed off the puck a bit more easily than he likely would have liked, but he was able to get things trending up by game’s end, and he’s in a better position heading into his next opportunity, whenever that might be.
Goalie drama emerges already
It wouldn’t be a Flyers season without some kind of drama surrounding the Flyers’ goaltending situation, and that came up in a big way early in this one. At his post-practice availability this afternoon, Rick Tocchet said that Sam Ersson would be getting the start in this one, and was intended to play through the full game, as the team seemed committed to giving him a chance to knock off all of his offseason rust all at once. This, though, went out the window when Ersson let in two sort of soft goals to put the team in a hole early, and ultimately found himself pulled from the game at the first intermission.
Now, it’s been reported that the plan was always to have Ersson play one period only in this game and there was some miscommunication which led to the suggestion that he would play the whole game — though the suggestion seemed pretty clear from the room after practice, when Tocchet was asked directly if Ersson would play the whole game, and he said “yeah.” But maybe that’s still not what he meant to say, or perhaps that was the plan as of this morning and the plan changed at some point in the meantime. At the very least, it was not a great way to kick things off optically, nor the best chance to allow Ersson to find his footing.
Kolosov time again
The early removal of Ersson meant that Aleksei Kolosov was again called upon to play a pair of periods
(after getting the first two in their preseason opener), and stepped up nicely in this more or less relief showing. Kolosov made a handful of impressive saves, showcasing his post to post quickest and able to track shots and take away space laterally, and it was an effort which amounted to him being nearly perfect in this showing, as he stopped 12 of the 13 shots he faced — though we’ll place a bit of extra emphasis on that nearly perfect label, as the goal he did allow, though not the easiest shot to face (as it effectively came as being shot through two Flyers skaters in front), was one that Kolosov might have worked a little harder to square up for. But, all told, this was a positive showing for Kolosov, one where he was able to flex what he might be able to bring when he’s at his best, even if it came wrapped up in a reminder that he’s still a little raw in the end.
Anthony Richard steps up as a game breaker
While the Flyers seemingly struggled to get their offensive game going in the first, but the Flyers got a big play from Richard to break open their scoring for them, at last. Using his ability to cut through traffic and his separation burst to create more space for himself, Richard was able to come up with a huge play to pull away from a quickly gapping up Montreal defense and create a breakaway chance for himself, on which he was able to crash the net and beat the Canadiens’ goaltender one-on-one. It was a great little play, a reward for a speed game which had been working well pretty much all game, and a clutch moment not unlike those that Richard has come to be reliable in providing for the Phantoms.
Richard’s chance at making the Flyers’ roster right out of camp remains something of a long shot, but he certainly made it clear what his skillset can offer in bursts, at the very least, at this level, and how he got to be a dominant player at the AHL level as well.
Rodrigo Abols stands out
If there was one skater who consistently stood out for the Flyers across the whole of the game, it would be Abols, who built really nicely on his somewhat uneven showing in Sunday’s game on Long Island. He might not have ended up on the scoresheet in this one, but he did remain much more engaged from start to finish, using his frame and mobility to create a bit of chaos, and saw his offensive game popping even more — he led the team in shots on goal with three, and set up a couple of good looks for his linemates on top of that.
And this positive impression feels particularly notable, as it would seem that Abols has turned the heads of the coaching staff — Tocchet said as much after today’s skates, acknowledging that he wanted to get Abols in for another game right away after Sunday’s showing to see what he can do with a chance to play a handful of games in a row, if he can keep his game consistent beyond where adrenaline might carry him. There’s still a long way to go before any roster spots are claimed, but Abols is doing well to keep himself in that mix.
