Philadelphia Flyers left wing Scott Laughton (21) celebrates his second goal with left wings Joel Farabee (86) and James van Riemsdyk (25) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Over the past twelve games of the season the Philadelphia Flyers have reverted to some of their old bad habits and have had trouble closing down games in the 3rd period. This is something the club was very good at doing in the 2019-2020 NHL season. However, now that significant time has passed, the team seems to have lost the ability to close down games when the tension rises. Sure, a lot of this could be attributed to the loss of Sean Couturier so early into the season and maybe even point to the fact that Matt Niskanen is no longer with the big club. Both of these players were instrumental in improving the Flyers team defense last year. However, good teams play their system and that requires the team to play a relatively mistake free game to ensure victory. Over the past 12 games we have not seen that for 60 minutes or even 40 minutes of the game.
Having said that, with every game there has been progress. With the Flyers playing, the very talented, Washington Capitals and having four games behind them that saw them blow a lead to either lose or win, it was critical the Flyers hold on to their lead in this one. The X factor in this game is that the Flyers were able to welcome back, Sean Couturier and inevitable restructure their offense to provide a better attack. While the shots were heavily skewed the Capitals way, the game was never out of reach for the Flyers. Where the Flyers have failed of late, Couturier inevitable stepped in to score the game wining goal just 15 seconds into the 3rd period and the eventual 7th, an empty net goal. With a 7-4 victory over the Washington Capitals, it was clear that this game could have gone the way of the past few games if Couturier had not stepped in. Without a doubt he was a difference maker and hopefully that becomes contagious again.
Couturier’s strong game was also married with a strong team effort that saw the Flyers limit the mistakes in the 3rd period overall. When it came to breaking, they only bent, giving up some key chances, but never letting up the backbreaking goal. On this night, the team held strong and added 3 goals to close things out. Check out my breakdown on everything that helped the Flyers hold up strong and what we can all expect moving forward.
Like and subscribe if you want more of this content!
Check out our Flyers Nitty Gritty Team Store!
