The Philadelphia Flyers started off with a bang last night. Sadly, the only fireworks were during the player introductions before the opening faceoff. After looking marginally okay in the opening shifts, and a heavy hit from Rasmus Ristolainen on Sidney Crosby got the crowd into the proceedings, things started to break down a bit. Then a lot. By the end of the evening, the Penguins destroyed the Flyers in every conceivable eye test and analytic. Flyers captain Sean Couturier said the club needed to wake up immediately, while Rick Tocchet didn’t have much explanation for what was a completely putrid performance start to finish.
Two things were obvious from last night. One was the Flyers looked like they spent the summer getting a little ahead of themselves. Believing what was said about them. Or their collective heads got much too big for anyone’s good. The other was that the Penguins had circled this game on their calendar since the schedule was released. They sought revenge for last spring. Mission accomplished. While they didn’t shake hands or eliminate the Flyers after opening night, the sour taste over the summer at being eliminated by Cam York and crew clearly energized the Penguins. Full marks to them for the beatdown. How the Flyers weren’t able to at least anticipate and come close to matching that intensity was problematic.
While the Flyers have almost no time to lick their wounds before they face the New Jersey Devils in what now seems like a far more important second game of the season than it should be, Philadelphia should now realize they aren’t that good to coast. Or, perhaps more succinctly, not as good as they thought they might be, this after playing two rounds of playoff hockey last year. Riding a wave of past glories results in a thunderous fall, one they should’ve felt over 60 minutes last night. And should still be feeling. However, there is plenty of time to right the ship, compete, and let the chips fall where they may. Nobody is going to feel sorry for the Flyers this year. And far more clubs are going to be ready for them, unlike last season when they might have snuck up on a couple of clubs down the stretch. The important lesson to take from Wednesday evening is that going through the motions accomplishes nothing. It’s a stark reminder that shouldn’t be forgotten anytime soon. If they go on a three-game or four-game winning streak after opening night, it should still sting.
This result should also hit harder than had Philadelphia been down 4-0, mounted a furious comeback in the third to make it 4-3, and lose 5-3 thanks to a Penguins empty-netter. The Flyers aren’t talented enough to play 20 minutes and expect two points — not that they played any of Wednesday’s affair. That’s not how this roster was constructed. Every player has a role, and needs to perform that role with pinpoint precision. Only then do they stand a chance at winning. Otherwise, 7-0 losses become far more routine, and this rebuild begins losing steam before its out of the loading dock.
It’s rare that the opening night could be a turning point in a season, but this might be a very sobering wake-up call to a club that has won nothing of true value in decades. It should be. If they don’t put the effort in, and simply rest on what they’ve done previously, they will be hard-pressed to get a sniff of the playoff hunt this season. The Flyers looked more like a draft lottery team last night than one ready to take the next step forward: no defensive structure, no plan, no synergy, no real energy. A complete no-show start to finish. Not good.
Glass should still be half full for the Flyers
Having said all that, there is reason for optimism, and not even Wednesday’s loss could persuade people that the Flyers are a sinking ship. Or a stinking ship for that matter. Porter Martone will learn from last night that he needs to play better. As will everyone else who played last night. The power play’s first unit looked marginally better than the second unit, even though they didn’t finish or execute. It’s a baby step, but a step forward. Dan Vladar never allowed that amount of goals since giving up eight while a member of Calgary in an 8-3 drubbing against Tampa on Dec. 12, 2024. He should rebound from this. Matvei Michkov looked not too bad, and far more energetic than this point 365 days ago.
Meanwhile, other little glimmers of hope included Noel Acciari winning 11 of 14 faceoffs (79 per cent), and Trevor Zegras being over 40 per cent on the dot (6-14 for 43 per cent efficiency). Again, not a lot to hang your hat on. But it’s evidence that the team doesn’t need some drastic change to resolve systemic issues. The issue Wednesday was there was no system in place.
Most importantly, the defensive system the Flyers utilized to near perfection last year has to return as soon as possible. And they have almost exactly the same personnel to get that job done. The approach (if one can kindly call it that) the skaters decided to use against Pittsburgh blew up in their collective faces. It’s not up for debate. A return to strangling the neutral zone, aggressive forechecking, and a drive to work will clear up a lot of the issues seen on opening night. If they return to this sooner than later, the rest should take care of itself. And as a whole, the Flyers didn’t forget to play hockey all of a sudden, even though they played the part on Wednesday night. It’s a damning indictment of what can happen when the effort is not there.
The talent is there to compete, but the willingness to work and win puck battles should be apparent in the opening 20 minutes against the host Devils on Thursday night. Any professional takes pride in their work, and is only too eager to redeem themselves if things go astray. The Flyers used their proverbial mulligan right out of the gate this season. A rarity for any team. This can’t (and shouldn’t) happen again. If anything, Philadelphia proved they were a resilient bunch last year, and shouldn’t need another trouncing to drive that point home.
Stats courtesy of NHL.com and ESPN.com.
