Flyers Hit End of the Road in Edmonton

Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob WIndfelder

Tonight was the final night of the Flyers Western swing and chances are they are more than ready to come home. This game ended 5-2 in favor of the Oilers but for most of the game it was not out of reach. Not on the scoreboard at least.

The Oilers were a much sharper team than the one that visited Philly this Fall when the Flyers beat them 4-1 and Connor McDavid didn’t register a shot on goal. Tonight McDavid had a five point game, one goal and four assists. Edmonton outplayed the Flyers but Carter Hart kept this game from getting totally off the hook when the score was still close. Hart made some huge stops. Although he did let five in he did stop 31.

Edmonton made the most of their chances. There was nothing haphazard or sloppy about their approach. Their passing was crisp and they were finding ways to out-number the Flyers at even strength all night long. McDavid’s goal had him breaking through the Flyers zone and tricking Travis Sanheim off of his own feet before beating Carter Hart five hole. This was the only goal of the 1st period. The Oilers looked slick but the Flyers were holding it together.

Zach Hyman scored 8:12 into the 2nd. McDavid set him up with a behind the back pass from the corner. It was the 900th point of McDavid’s career. Less that three minutes later Sean Couturier lobbed a pass from the Flyers zone to Joel Farabee who tapped it ahead to Travis Konecny. TK skated in alone on Stuart Skinner and beat him glove side. Marc Staal who has not been in the line-up for a bit scored the Flyers second goal tying the score at two.

The turning point

After the game a lot of focus seemed to zero in on this next play. The Flyers were killing a penalty with the score tied and one minute left in the period. Travis Konecny attempted to pinch the puck out of his own zone at the blue line. His feet got ahead of his hands and he was leaving the zone without possession of the puck. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins eventually ended up with the puck and put it behind Carter Hart.

You can put the blame on Konecny here if you need to but his aggressive penalty killing has been a real key to the Flyers success this season. It really wasn’t the most egregious or dangerous chance he has taken. It just didn’t work out this time. After the game TK said about the goal “we’ve got to smarten up a bit and realize who we’re up against.”

The breaking point

Leon Draisaitl beat Hart with a slapshot from the top of the circle 1:27 into the 3rd and the game and things went from bleak to bleaker. Nugent-Hopkins scored his 2nd goal of the night at 11:19 to make it 5-2 and this one was officially out of reach. Bleak, bleaker, bleakest. There was no final push, Hart remained in the net as time ran out, and the Flyers Western road trip unceremoniously came to an end.

When the Flyers left Philly they were the talk of the town. This trip historically has been hard on the team this year was no exception. They’ve dropped 5 of their last 6 games. They need to keep this trip from sticking with them. That has also historically been an issue. They can’t let this derail what up until this point has been a surprisingly successful season.

No excuses

After the loss to the Flames on New Year’s Eve Flyers coach John Tortorella wanted to accept no excuses for what was happening. The travel, the sickness, the schedule. He did not want to hear any of it.

Tortorella does not have small aspirations. He plans to rebuild the Flyers into a successful playoff team. Keeping that in mind travel can not be an issue. The schedule can’t be an issue. The deeper you go into the playoffs the further you travel, the harder the schedule, the bigger the pressure. This team is coming along just fine but in the grand scheme of things they are just getting started. They have come a long way in the past year but there are still many lessons to learn. Before Tortorella got here the Flyers were a decimated organization. It was in tatters. Rebuilding this team involves a whole lot more than just swapping out players.

Extra Credit: This trip was not the end of the world. It was another bump in a long road. If the Flyers can bounce back, learn from it, and work through it they will be a better team because of it.