Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Well, it certainly wasn’t flat. The Flyers came out with an obvious change in attitude after an underwhelming performance on Tuesday night against Carolina. They came out with a physical presence throwing checks whenever the opportunity presented itself. Of course every team wants to score first but in the case of this year’s Flyers that first goal has been key to their success on many occasions.
The problem here is the fact that the New Jersey Devils are a talented team that will sting you if you let your guard down. Jersey had the Flyers fighting for every single square inch of ice. Both teams were hungry for that first goal and it was New Jersey who got the bone.
Who’s barn is it anyway
Younger Philadelphia Fans may not be aware of just how out of place it is to have so many fans of the opposing team in your own building. Over the past few years more and more fans from the surrounding areas make the trip to Philly to support the visiting team. The more seasoned Flyers Fans remember an arena that was solidly sold out for years on end. It will be interesting to gauge the success of The New Era by how many seats eventually become unavailable for visiting fans to purchase.
When Alexander Holtz scored the first goal of the game 3:10 into the 1st period it was shocking to hear just how many Devils fans there were in the building. Not every fan wears a jersey to the game so you don’t really know just how many out of towners are in your barn until a puck goes in the wrong net. All night long there were competing chants of “let’s go Flyers/Devils”. By the way this is something that no one should ever get used to.
Special teams
We got to see the Flyers in almost every situation possible tonight. There were plenty of penalties in this game and 5 on 5 play seemed hard to come by at times.
The Flyers did a fine job killing penalties tonight and actually scored a pair of power play goals. They have been working on the power play which has been dismal this season and a problem for years now. It is like a generational problem and they really need to figure it out. Different players, different coaches, year after year it has been a weak spot, it doesn’t make sense.
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Jack Hughes scored the Devils second goal of the game with just under five left in the 1st. Carter Hart did not seem his regular focused self letting in 2 goals on just 6 shots. That goal snapped him out of it and he was more than solid as Jersey continued to challenge him throughout the night.
The hit
At 16:15 Garnet Hathaway absolutely nailed Luke Hughes with a hit that many argue was totally clean. Not dirty, just devastating. The officials did not see it that way. Hathaway was given a 5 minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. Hughes left the ice for concussion protocol but did return to the game.
The Flyers killed off the five minute major. At one point the Flyers were playing keep away with the puck leaving the Devils scrambling for possession with the man advantage. Jack Hughes was quarterbacking the Jersey power play from the right corner. He was spending a lot of time just holding the puck there waiting for options to open up. The Flyers defense seemed ok with just letting him hold onto the puck in the corner as valuable seconds ticked off the penalty clock. Why not?
Joel Farabee sits
Joel Farabee logged just two shifts and less than one full minute of ice time before earning the ire of head coach John Tortorella. Farabee sat the rest of the game. Even with Hathaway being ejected Tortorella stuck to his guns and voluntarily proceeded with two forwards missing from the line-up. Farabee has been a valuable asset to the team this season but it’s not out of character for Tortorella to get his point across without worrying about the short term ramifications.
Last season he benched both Travis Konecny and Kevin Hayes in a game where JVR had already left with a broken hand. TK bounced back and went on to have a banner year. Hayes appeared somewhat “checked-out” from that point on. Farabee looked upbeat and involved in the rest of the game. He worked the door, celebrated the goals, and remained focused on the game and supportive of his teammates.
Carter Hart
The Flyers outshot the Devils 47 to 34 but the difference there was quality vs quantity. Many of the Flyers shots were from outside the danger zones with no traffic in front. The Devils chances were almost always dangerous. Carter Hart was called on to make clusters of saves while his team struggled to clear the zone. Some of his stops were flat out spectacular.
The comeback
Morgan Frost scored a power play goal to make it 2-1 midway through the 2nd. Tyler Toffoli scored the Devils lone power play goal 4:31 into the 3rd. The Flyers found themselves with five minutes left two goals down and time running out.
Sean Walker put a slap shot behind Jersey Goaltender Akira Schmid to bring the Flyers within one. With less than a minute left and Carter Hart pulled Tyson Foerster tipped in a Scott Laughton slap shot to tie the game at three. The Flyers Fans were plenty loud at that point no doubt about it.
Unfortunately the overtime period lasted all of 28 seconds before Luke Hughes, who had taken the big hit earlier in the game, beat a sprawling Carter Hart with a wrist shot to end the game.
The Flyer skate away with a hard-fought point and the satisfaction of coming back in a game that until the final moments seemed out of reach. The Flyers sticks have not been clicking as of late. Goals have been few and far between. Hopefully this late game flurry and the power play goals will restore some confidence moving forward.
Next Up: The Flyers face off against the Penguins in Pittsburgh Saturday night 7:00 PM. It is the first game of a home-and-home series. Game two is Monday night in Philly.
