The Philadelphia Flyers had two things on their agenda last night: Honoring Paul Holmgren and Rick Tocchet by inducting them into the Flyers Hall of Fame, and avenging a loss to the Calgary Flames. The team was successful on both fronts, earning two much needed points behind stellar goaltending. The Flyers are in a tough stretch in their schedule and picking up wins during this time will be key to making a push for the playoffs in a very tough division.
Before the puck dropped, Flyers alumni, the current rosters, and family members honored two of the toughest players to play for a franchise known for physicality. Paul Holmgren has been involved with the team for 40 years and has held nearly every position in the front office. Rick Tocchet was a major contributor for 1980s era teams that nearly won a Stanley Cup and ended his tenure with the Flyers as the all time Penalty Minutes leader. Both players were well deserving of their spot in the rafters and the Flyers Hall of Fame.
The last time these two teams met, the Flyers were on the second game of a back-to-back and their third game in four nights. It was a tall order to face one of the top teams in the league while dealing with that schedule. The difference was clear as the Flyers were skating much better and able to handle a relentless forecheck from Calgary.
The star of the game for the Flyers was netminder Carter Hart. He’s faced two of the toughest teams in the league in his last two starts and held them both to one goal. They both were incredibly tough goals to stop: one batted out of mid-air and the other a deflection. His puck tracking is incredible to watch and he has clearly worked on his glove side.
With the recent news that Ryan Ellis would be out long-term, the defense corps really needed to step up to cover his absence. Justin Braun has been a key to this team’s play, pairing with Ivan Provorov and being a presence all over the ice. Nick Seeler has been doing the small things that help the team: getting pucks on net and clearing the crease after the whistle blows. He has definitely earned his spot while Ellis recovers. The biggest development on the blue line is the steady improvement of Rasmus Ristolainen. He was a force last night tallying nine hits, three blocked shots, and an assist. If the Risto/Sanheim pair can keep improving and limit mistakes, Rasmus will make a case for the Flyers to extend him.
On a night of celebration, Kevin Hayes made his home debut and scored a huge goal for the Flyers to tie the game. After Ristolainen was able to keep the puck in the offensive zone, he made a deft pass to Hayes who scored on his own rebound. As soon as the puck crossed the line, Hayes pointed to the sky in honor of his brother Jimmy who recently passed away. Hayes will be sending that puck to his nephew Beau who is anxiously awaiting it.
There were some negatives to the Flyers performance last night. The most glaring was the power play going 0-6 and not being able to capitalize on an extended 5-on-3. With a team that has a lot of talent, this is an area of their game that needs to be fixed in a big way. The Flyers are currently 26th in the league and scoring at a 15.6% rate with the man advantage. The offense has also cooled off 5-on-5, so it is imperative that the team figure out what is going wrong and correct it.
After both goalies carried their teams to overtime, it only took the Flyers 45 seconds to secure the second point. Sean Couturier carried the puck in on a 2-on-1 and fired a low shot from an angle that set up a big rebound. On the other side of the ice was Cam Atkinson who is not afraid to put the puck on net. With Couturier hoping for a big rebound, Atkinson was able to fire the puck into the open net left by Jacob Markstrom.
For the team to make a run at the playoffs, there are a few things that need to be improved upon. The Flyers need to find the net more both on the power play and 5-on-5. The team can’t ask Hart and Jones to hold teams to 1 goal or less every game. The team also needs to work on zone entry, too many times they tried to dump the puck in against a goalie that plays the puck well. If the offense can wake up, the team will be a dangerous opponent for anyone in the league.
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