Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Flyers assistant coach Rocky Thompson said something the other night after the loss in St Louis that really stood out. He said “quite frankly it looks like some guys in here don’t even care, they’re just not trying”. All season the Flyers have been giving their all in games where they are clearly outmatched. They have at the very least remained competitive against some of the better teams in the league. Have some players lost the will to try or even care anymore? On a team who’s saving grace has been their determination and their ability to stick together that is a huge accusation.
Flyers vs Stars
The Flyers came into this game as the underdog which is not uncharted territory for them this season. The Stars are a superior team looking to hit the 100 point mark with a win tonight. The Flyers have not won a game in Dallas in almost ten years. So it’s another uphill battle to say the least. The upside is Carter Hart is playing his first game back after missing several with an undisclosed injury.
The Flyers held their own in the first period up until the final two seconds. Jason Robertson scored his 44th goal of the year on the power play with 01.8 seconds on the clock. His first shot attempt from the top of the circle was blocked by Nick Seeler. The rebound dropped right back onto his stick and he ripped a rocket past Carter Hart.
The dreaded second period
The second period again dictated this game for the Flyers. Joe Pavelski scored right off the bat making it a 2-0 deficit 1:04 into the second. At 8:53 Colin Miller scored on what looked like a pretty innocent shot from the top of the slot. Ivan Provorov was the only Flyer back and it may be a bit too easy to blame him for the goal. There was still plenty of room between the shooter and the net. Provorov has to be careful in that situation not to screen Hart or deflect the shot.
You can give Provorov some blame for next goal which happened just two minutes later. Hart dished the puck off to Provorov behind the net with Palvelski already coming at him he misplayed it and the puck ended up on the stick of Jason Robertson right in front who scored his 45th goal of the season.
Haunting words
It’s halfway through the second period the Flyers are suddenly down 4-0 and I start wondering who was Rocky Thompson talking about? Which guys sitting on the bench wearing that Flyers logo right now just don’t care anymore? Was this just something a coach says to get guys fired up, or is there more to it than that? Cause I’ll tell you, Flyers Fans will put up with a player slumping as long as he’s trying to work through it. They’ll root for a team that is outmatched as long as their giving it their all. Coatsey even said it during his retirement speech, it’s been a bad year but he is proud of how the team has carried themselves during it. I think a lot of fans can relate to that. We know what a tough position these players are in. However not caring and not trying is something that just will not fly.
Philly loves hockey
Philly is a great hockey town not just because of the Flyers. Thousands upon thousands of people in Philly and the surrounding areas are actively involved in the sport at so many different levels. The Flyers are only part of their hockey lives. Kid’s little league schedules dictate most of their family’s free time during hockey season. The Snider Program, neighborhood leagues, high-school leagues, collegiate level, sled hockey, adult leagues, beer leagues, shinny, open hockey, all of these things are taking place all day every day.
You have people setting their alarms to get up in the middle of the night just to get ice time and paying money to play simply for the love of the sport. So when you hear that someone living the dream is done caring it’s infuriating. Someone making a fortune representing this city in the most elite hockey league in the world can’t well up the gratitude to try anymore?
Thompson said he “was not going to call out anybody individually but your teammates know and you know”. If that is more than just an inspirational talking point it needs to be addressed decisively. Tortorella said a while back “there needs to be subtractions”. You hate to give up on anyone but if that is where their head is at it’s unacceptable. And it’s a virus. They can’t let that spread through the team when they are doing so much to try and turn the entire organization around.
Ok back to the game
Kevin Hayes scored his first goal in 24 games at 13:16 of the second period. Owen Tippett made a nice feed from behind the net and Hayes knocked it home short side. The bleeding seemed to stop there. It was the end of the scoring for the night. The Flyers came out looking much better in the third period. Their pace was quicker, they were finishing checks, and their coverage was much better. Carter Hart looked like he settled in as well. However the Flyers had dug themselves a hole in the second period that was just too deep to climb out of.
Luke Glendening was called for interference after putting a hit on Scott Laughton. JVR didn’t like the hit and got into a scrum with Glendening. It was an awkward fight that went on for a while but only garnered roughing penalties. But at least it showed he cared. At this point with only four games left in the season that’s all you can ask for.
Final score: Flyers 1 Dallas 4. Next up: Friday night at New York Islanders 7:30
