The Flyers defensive pairing of Philippe Myers and Travis Sanheim has been superb in these playoffs. This young pairing isn’t super new to Flyers fans, as they were seen shutting teams down on the blue line before the pause. Fortunately, they have picked up where they left off, and are really playing some good playoff hockey for the Flyers, “I think we complement each other well on the ice. He’s fun to play with and make some plays,” Myers said in training camp.
For Myers, he made his playoff debut and tallied a beautiful snipe in his first playoff game against the Boston Bruins in the Round-Robin Tournament. He skates like the wind, and when he gets caught in his own deep he can catch up to any player. Simply put, his skating a superb, as well as, his overall hockey sense.
Myers is being trusted by Head Coach Alain Vigneault as he continues to play top lines, and is being trusted in late game situations. This could be one reason for him being enthused with so much confidence. His gap control is impeccable, as he continues to take away space from his opponents. This puts more pressure on his opponents, thus forcing them into making uncharacteristic mistakes, “He’s big,” Myers said of Sanheim, “He can skate. I have full confidence when I’m out there with him.”
Flyers Assistant Coach Mike Yeo has spoken out on his confidence in the pairing back in training camp, “I think Sanny has looked outstanding all camp and that was the best Phil Myers has looked today,” Yeo said after practice three weeks ago. Myers said it gives him confidence knowing coaches like Yeo have confidence in him.
Myers and Sanheim have played together previously in the AHL, so they are very familiar with one another. It should come as no shock that this pairing has rocked in the early going of the playoffs. At the end of the day Myers complements Sanheim, and Sanheim complements Myers, “I think the intensity is going to be as high as it’s ever been for me during a hockey game,” Myers said of the playoffs. For his efforts, he is second in the NHL with a plus 7 in his Young playoff career