Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
1) Tall Order
The Flyers are already fighting an uphill battle and a win Tuesday night against a division rival would have been a real boost both in positioning and momentum. Unfortunately the red hot Blue Jackets also had a say in how this game played out. Columbus won this match-up in regulation by the score of 3-2.
The Jackets currently sit in 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division. They have gone 19-3-4 since hiring new head coach Rick Bowness on January 12th. They’ve gone from last place to 2nd in the span of 26 games. This shows you two things. The Flyers had their work cut out for them, and anything is possible.
2) Frustration
One of the things that makes this loss so frustrating is the fact that the Flyers did a lot of things right in this game and still ended up with nothing to show for it. They came out with a game plan and executed it well in the opening period. They outshot Columbus 10-3. Philadelphia Captain Sean Couturier scored the first goal of the contest.
Rasmus Ristolainen fired a shot from the point. Christian Dvorak picked up the rebound and fed a perfect pass across the slot through traffic to Couturier. All Coots had to do was tap the puck into the gaping net.
The Flyers were putting plenty of traffic in front of the net, picking up rebounds, and creating extra chances in close. They did not allow the Blue Jackets to relegate them to the perimeters. When the horn sounded at the end of the 1st twenty minutes the home crowd gave their team a solid round of applause.
Columbus snapped out of their funk at the start of the 2nd period and scored two goals in the first 2:28 seconds. Columbus also scored a strange goal early the 3rd period. Mason Marchment snuck a puck through the tiniest sliver of daylight by the short-side post. Vladar didn’t even react to the shot. The puck was in and out of the net so quickly that play continued as if it never happened. Eventually play was stopped and the goal was awarded after review.
3) Goaltending
It’s hard to overstate just how valuable Dan Vladar has been to the Flyers this season. That being said this game was not his most solid performance. He was not terrible. But on a typical Dan Vladar night he would have stopped two out of the three Columbus goals. By most standards he played fine but compared to his usual self it was an off night.
At the other end of the ice Jet Greaves played a spectacular game. He made several huge saves in the 1st period denying the Flyers the opportunity to build a lead while they had all the momentum. He stoned Owen Tippett on a clean breakaway. And stopped Noah Cates on a penalty shot. He put up a solid performance and was awarded the 2nd star of the night behind team mate Zach Werenski who had a goal and an assist.
4) Missed opportunities
Breakaways, a penalty shot, odd man rushes, there were plenty of opportunities for the Flyers to run away with this game. Jet Greaves had a lot to do with the outcome but there were times where the Flyers just could not catch a bounce. At one point the Flyers were creating havoc around the Columbus net. Noah Cates ended up at the top of the crease with the puck and a gaping net in front of him and it just would not go in.
5) Nothing to learn from this one
It would be unfortunate if this game were to give this Flyers team the wrong impression. Even though it was unsuccessful, their approach to this hockey game was on point. They were not looking for that picture perfect scenario which can lead to a reluctance to shoot the puck. There wasn’t the “too many passes” perfectionism. They were getting traffic in front, getting pucks to the net, picking up rebounds, and plugging away.
This approach could have done them a world of good on many a night this season. Columbus is smoldering right now. Their goalie had a solid outing peppered with fortunate bounces. The Flyers hung in there and put forth a valiant effort as time was running out. Jamie Drysdale scored one from the point with Vladar pulled for the extra attacker. They came close to getting the tying goal. They kept banging at the door till the horn sounded.
This Flyers loss was frustrating not because they came out flat, but because their plan should have worked.
Up Next: The Flyers host the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday night at 7PM.
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