Photo Credit: Rob Windfelder
The Flyers lost their first pre-season game to the New Jersey Devils by the score of six to zero. They were outplayed from the opening face-off to the final horn. Of course it’s just a pre-season game featuring a lot of players who eventually won’t be part of the line up on opening night but the same can be said of the Devils. In fact the other half of the New Jersey training camp squad was up in Montreal beating the Canadiens 4-2. The Flyers looked like a different team than the one we’ve been watching at training camp sessions. An honest evaluation of the effort? It was a mess.
Coots
A huge upside to the night was the return of Sean Couturier. It was his first game since December 18th of 2021. He looked sturdy and plenty involved in the action. It was very good to see after an extended rehab which involved not one but two back surgeries. Couturier is a valuable part of the Flyers team and it should be a huge plus to have him back.
Cam Atkinson was slated to be in the line up for the first time after missing the entire 2022-23 season but ended up not making the trip. Travis Konecny who missed camp on Sunday also was not with the team.
What went wrong
The team overall looked more than just flat. They were making so many ill-advised plays that resulted in odd man rushes going the other way. Cal Petersen was running a master class on being out of position. The Devils scored 4 goals less than six minutes into the game. Some of the prospects looked so tentative with the puck or even just getting involved in the play. The Devils were blowing right through them. They started with a lack of confidence that got worse as the game went on. Turning over pucks, losing battles, not finishing plays, blind passes to no one. It really wasn’t pretty and there’s no way to sugar coat it.
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Bright spots
Coots looked strong. Felix Sandström stopped 9 out of 10 shots in the 3rd period. The Flyers did manage to put on some pressure at the end of the second and third periods but they couldn’t sustain it. Joel Farabee and Matt Brown had some bursts of energy. Brown led the team with three shots on goal.
The hands down stand out of the night was Brendan Furry. He was an asset at both ends of the ice. Killing penalties, backchecking, forechecking, and creating chances offensively. Furry was a stand out at Development Camp, looked good at Rookie Camp, and now he’s turning heads at Flyers Training Camp.
Next Game: Flyers at Islanders Wednesday September 27th 7PM
