Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
The Flyers lost to the Vancouver Canucks tonight (this morning) by a score of 6-2. For the second game in a row the blow out score does accurately represent what took place on the ice. The final two goals were into the empty net but despite that fact the game never really seemed within reach.
What went wrong?
The Flyers had the advantage in shots but it was still a pretty easy night in the net for Vancouver goaltender Arturs Silovs who recorded his first NHL win. To boil it down the big picture looked pretty much like this. Vancouver played a solid game in front of their own net. The Flyers were left nibbling around the edges in the offensive zone. On top of that there were lots of shots that were either blocked or just missed the net entirely. Either way the Canucks managed to keep the Flyers from making a whole lot of attempts from dangerous areas. Vancouver spent the night trying to hit their wide open guy who was always somehow waiting uncovered right in front of the Flyers net.
It’s understandable that the Flyers might look a bit low energy as time was running out on their second beat down in a row. Understandable but still disappointing. It’s been rare this season to see this team just kind of roll over and pack it in. They’ve been through many a tough night where they somehow found the energy to keep pushing uphill till the final horn.
Tonight with Carter Hart pulled for the extra skater and the Flyers on the power play they still looked resigned to the fact that the night was already over. The hustle that you might expect to see in that situation was just not there. The trade deadline is just two weeks away. Who knows what’s going on behind the scenes but these last few games they just did not seem focused as a unit. The NHL season is long and grueling and has many ups and downs. The Flyers desperately need to find their way back to the ups.
Standouts
Travis Konecny looked much more like the TK we have gotten used to seeing this season. He had the hustle, speed, and tenacity that has been his signature. Ivan Provorov had a strong offensive game skating pucks deep into the Vancouver zone and getting some good chances. Morgan Frost also had a lot of jump tonight making things happen and scoring one of the Flyers two goals. Goals have been rare for the Flyers as of late. Speaking of rare goals, for a little while tonight it seemed as if Justin Braun had scored his first goal since April of last year. Later in the game after further examination it was discovered that Braun’s shot actually ticked in off Scott Laughton’s stick on the way by.
Extra Credit:
Another surprise tonight came from Carter Hart during his post game interview. Hart was asked what he saw of a particular shot. His answer, “You saw it”. The question was asked again slightly rephrased to which Hart responded “Ok next question please”. His tone was fine but it was a bit out of character for the always humble and very polite young goaltender. It was almost as if someone had handed him John Tortorella’s copy of the script by accident.
Up next: the Calgary Flames will host the Flyers this Monday afternoon at 4:00 PM
