The Flyers were coming off of a strong stretch winning five of their last six games. Pittsburgh got thoroughly spanked 7-2 by the Leafs in their last outing. The Pens came into this game shaking off that loss, and they did a bang up job of doing so defeating the hosting Flyers 5-1.
No team wins every game. No goalie stops every puck. No player makes every shot. In fact that’s the very nature of the sport. An ice hockey forward is going to fail way more than they are going to succeed. Most of your moves are not going to work but you need to keep making them till you get through. Most of your shots are not going to be goals, not by a long shot. But you gotta keep shooting. You get knocked down, you get back up.
The Flyers need to shake off this loss and prepare for the Sabres on Wednesday night. Yep tonight was a drubbing but they can’t dwell on it. There no time for that.
Dan Vladar
Flyers netminder Dan Vladar’s feet touched the earth tonight. He has been a surprise breakout so far this season and he’s been a big part of the team’s success thus far. He has played above expectations night after night. Tonight he was as human as the rest of us. You could tell from his body language that he was frustrated by his performance.
Little things about his game were off and not what we’ve become accustomed to seeing from him. His positioning, his puck-handling and rebound control, everything was just a bit off. This sport is far less forgiving for goaltenders, you have to be near perfect all the time. Some nights you’re just not.
The first goal of the game came just as a Flyers power-play was expiring. The Penguins came charging into the Flyers zone. Bryan Rust teed up a shot from the slot. Vladar made the initial save but uncharacteristically fumbled the rebound.
Who was standing right on the doorstep to pick up the loose puck? None other than guy who has scored more goals against the Flyers than any other player in franchise history. Sidney Crosby took advantage of the situation to add one more to his total giving his team the early lead.
Tyson Foerster
Tyson Foerster scored the Flyers only goal of the game on a power-play to tie the score 5:36 into the 2nd period. Trevor Zegras passed the puck from the slot to Travis Konecny at the side of the net. Konecny threaded the pass to Foerster who fired a wrist shot from the circle that ticked in off of the blade of Tristan Jarry’s skate. Foerster now leads the Flyers with 10 goals this season.
Bad news
Less than a minute later Foerster sustained an injury that sent him straight up the tunnel clearly in a lot of pain. He took a slapshot from the slot and immediately dropped to the ice. He didn’t make contact with anyone, no one was even near him. It was the action of taking the shot that somehow caused the injury. Foerster shoots right meaning his right hand is at the bottom position on the stick. His right arm was dangling as he skated directly to and up the tunnel.
Foerster did not return to the bench for the rest of the game. No further information was available on his condition at the time of this writing.
Missed opportunity
The Penguins put themselves in a bad situation at the top of the 2nd period. Erik Karlsson took a tripping penalty at 3:40. Connor Clifton went for interference at 4:23. Kris Letang was called at 5:36 for high sticking. It was during the delayed call on Letang that Foerster scored the Flyers only goal.
The Flyers had a considerable amount of 5-on-3 power-play time. Half of Pittsburgh’s defensive core was in the box. This was a bit of a turning point in the game. The Flyers went 1-for-6 with the man advantage on the night. Compare that to the Penguins who scored three straight goals on the powerplay going 75%.
Crosby, Rust, and Novak all scored power-play goals. By the middle of the 2nd period the Penguins were off and running away with the score. Our old friend Kevin Hayes put the final nail in the coffin ripping a backhander on a breakaway with just 4:27 left in regulation.
The Flyers cancelled Tuesday morning practice immediately following the game. Last week was a busy and successful week. Lots of travel, the holiday, and 5 games in 8 days including a back to back. But the thing is the schedule doesn’t get any easier in December. There’s no time to waste. They need to put this loss behind them, regroup, and forge ahead.
Extra Credit: It should be said that Tristan Jarry did play a solid game in net for the Penguins. He stopped 28-of-29 shots, he played the puck well, and he was a big part of the reason his team was able to dominate tonight’s contest. Next up, Flyers vs Sabres in Philly Wednesday night.
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