Photo Credit: Our very own Rob Winfelder
Wednesday night comes and goes, and the Flyers lost to the New York Islanders last night 2-1 in their second preseason tilt. There were lots of positives to take away from this game, in a sense that the Islanders had 12 skaters that could play in the NHL to the Flyers seven.
To start it off the goaltending of Felix Sandström was sharp once again. Not only Sandström, but Samuel Ersson, as well. Sandström made five saves on six yards faced, while Ersson made 12 saves on 13 shots faced. They were both pretty impressive with the rebound control and not only that, both goalies made timely saves. For instance, with both teams scoreless midway through the first period, Sandström flashed some leather on Mathew Barzal to keep the game scoreless with the Islanders on the power play. He made a really nice glove save against a player who knows how to put the puck in the back of the net. The backup goaltending spot to Carter Hart continues to be a key positional battle at camp, and it’s a tough one to measure right now.
Ryan Poehling and Tanner Laczynski are both vying for that fourth line Center position, and both played rather well last night. Poehling, of course, scored the lone goal and the first goal for the Flyers and the preseason. He made some really nice reads, skated well, and was dialed in from the drop of the puck. Scott Laughton and Noah Cates registered assists on his goal. Poehling was also 10-14 on draws. Laczynski was confident with the puck, transitioned well up the ice, was in tune with the game. He didn’t get on the score sheet last night, but these are some positives to take away. Laczynski was noticeable, and when he’s noticeable that means he’s confident.
Adam Ginning logged the most ice time out of all Flyers skaters last night with 22:27 of ice time. Ginning made the most of his ice time as he stood one to two players up at the blue line. That’s an area that I thought the Flyers should be improving for the past few years, it’s about time a Flyers defenseman makes it tough for skaters to enter their own zone. I thought both he and Emil Andrae made it tough for their opponents in the neutral zone to gather momentum or speed to enter their own zone. The nutrition is where a lot of plays happen, and they tightened that area of the ice up pretty well.
Was it pretty for the flyers? No, by no means it was not, they committed some penalties that the Flyers top brass I’m sure we’re a little upset with, in particular Samu Tuomaala’s high-stick in the first period. Although, Tuomaala played rather well the rest of the game. He’s still learning the game, these mistakes happen, but a lot of these prospects are vying for positions in a short amount of time, or small sample size.
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I do expect some roster cuts today, as the Lehigh Valley famous will open their training camp on Sunday October 1st. The current roster sits at 52.
