The Flyers dropped their third game in a row making their preseason record 1-3. After beating the Islanders in a marathon shootout in the opening match they have been struggling. This game did look better than the last two but it should have. The Flyers had a good amount of big names on their roster, Boston did not.
Traditional knowledge says, don’t worry it’s the preseason. People are worried anyway. This game looked better than the two previous unfortunately the final outcome was the same. If the Flyers were doing their darnedest and coming up short that may prove to calm some nerves. But they’re not.
They’re coming out flat. For guys trying to break into the NHL there’s not a whole lot of passion or drive. They go at each other harder during sessions at camp. But there were some upsides to this game so let’s get into it.
Philly vs Boston
Samuel Ersson got the start in net for the Flyers and played the entirety of the tilt. Just over seven minutes into the game Jeffrey Viel took a goaltender interference penalty. A small scrum kicked up behind the net as the Flyers stood up for their goaltender. This led to the Flyers first power-play of the contest.
The first power-play unit was spending a lot of time working the puck around the perimeters without getting any traffic in front. The second unit was much more effective keeping prolonged pressure in the Boston zone.
The Flyers did get some traffic in front of the net, surprisingly it was a defenseman. Christian Dvorak got the puck to Travis Sanheim who snapped it home from just outside the crease. The Flyers drew first blood 8:57 into the contest with an encouraging power-play goal.
Christian Dvorak
Dvorak was one of the bright spots in this game. He set up the first goal and was noticeable in a good way all night long. He was a standout and finished the night with a team leading five shots on goal.
A costly slip-up
The Flyers were one second away from getting to the first intermission with a one goal lead. Alex Bump was taking the puck behind the Flyers net. He was watching for incoming traffic and did not seem to notice that the puck was not settled on his stick. The puck drifted away from him and ended up on the stick of Bruin John Beecher alone in front. Beecher slid the puck through the legs of a surprised Sam Ersson to tie the score at 19:59 of the 1st period.
The Bruins took the lead 3:57 into the 2nd period. Dalton Bancroft fired a shot off of Nick Seeler. He picked up his own rebound in the slot and fired it past Ersson to put the Bruins ahead 2-1.
Nikita Grebenkin tied the score at two 7:12 into the middle period. Trevor Zegras bounced the puck towards the front of the net. Matvei Michkov took control at the side of the net and sent a pass airborne that Grebenkin batted out of the air and into the net.
Trevor Zegras
After starting off the sequence that led to the tying goal Trevor Zegras scored the go ahead goal 13:04 into the middle period. Michkov threaded a pass to Zegras who was at a bad angle at the side of the net. He snapped a laser high over Bruins goaltender Michael DiPeitro to give the Flyers a 3-2 lead. This was Michkov’s second assist of the night. It was also the Flyers 2nd power-play goal of the contest.
A strange turn of events led to a Nikita Grebenkin penalty shot. Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei broke his stick which led to Grebenkin alone with the puck in front of the Boston net. Lohrei threw the shaft of his stick at the puck to interfere with Grebenkin’s shot.
In the NHL you are not permitted to play the puck with a broken stick. Oddly enough you are also not allowed to throw your broken stick at the puck. Grebenkin hit the post on the penalty shot.
Defense
For the second time in as many games a Flyers netminder was tasked with facing a 2-on-0 breakaway. Georgi Merkulov made the pass across the slot to Dalton Bancroft who scored his second goal of the night to tie the score at three with 4:02 left in the 2nd period.
3rd Period
The Flyers were held scoreless in the final period. The only goal came off the stick of Boston forward Jeffrey Viel. The goal was very reminiscent of the final tally in the Capitals game on Thursday night. Veil skated in down the left hand side he blew past Helge Grans and cut into the middle to beating Ersson with a wrist shot with 6:15 left in regulation.
The Flyers ended up on a power-play with 3:16 left to play. After gaining control of the puck the Flyers pulled their goaltender to bring on the extra attacker. Even with the two man advantage the Flyers could not mount a dangerous attack and time eventually ran out. Boston won this match-up by a final score of 4-3.
There were some positive takeaways in this game. Things were definitely headed in the right direction at least. The cuts will keep on coming and the sooner the better. The Flyers need to get their core up to speed. There are players on this current roster who know their days are numbered. It’s just a matter of time and time is exactly what the Flyers need at this point. October 9th will be here before you know it.
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