Photo Credit: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Fortunately for the Philadelphia Flyers both the Capitals and the Red Wings lost in regulation so the squeaky tight race for a playoff spot remains in suspended animation for the rest of the evening.
Timing
Professional ice hockey is a sport where a fraction of a second can totally be the difference. During this six game Flyers winless streak their overall play is being impacted by tiny bits of time and space. Tonight’s 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres was no exception to that rule. The Flyers out-shot the Sabres 34-19, even so many of the Flyers best chances did not end with a shot on goal. The Flyers would get right to where they wanted to be in perfect position, with the puck and the goaltender right where they wanted them only to shoot wide of the net. This seemed to happen over and over again in this game.
It is hard to pick the team apart too much tonight, they obviously played better than their opponent but things still were just slightly off. It has to be said Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played a fantastic game. He was exactly what Buffalo needed to skate away with this win. He passed all the big tests just when they needed him most.
The Flyers did a lot of things right but things were just slightly off. Shots missing the net, passes arriving too early or to late, little things that kept the Flyers from solving the challenging goaltender. Travis Konecny looked a little ahead of the pace of the game. Owen Tippett looked a little behind it. They were not off a ton, just enough to set thing off kilter.
Tippett has been hesitating ever so slightly before releasing shots. Just long enough for defenders to get a stick or a shin pad in the way. The Flyers do this all the time on the power play but it’s not usually Tippett’s thing. He scored the Flyers second goal on a one-timer from the point tonight. It was a shot with zero hesitation and a ton of force behind it that hit Luukkonen and still sailed into the net. During this winless slide the Flyers are second guessing themselves and not taking enough shots exactly like that one.
Discipline
The Flyers started out this game they way they would if they were playing one of the better teams in the league. Their discipline had definitely reappeared. When they play teams that they are supposed to beat handily, like the Blackhawks, Montreal, etc. they don’t play as regimented and they have ended up getting burned. Tonight they started out breaking up entries, relegating Buffalo’s play in the offensive zone to the perimeters, and heavily supporting their goaltender. These are things they need to do every night no matter who they are playing.
Tage Thompson scored the first goal of the game. He was fed the puck in the right circle. Marc Staal had given him way too much time and space to plan his attack. He walked in on Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov. Thompson waited, Fedotov committed to the wrong side, and Thompson tucked the puck around his pad and into the net.
Targets
Nick Deslauriers was not in the line-up again tonight and sometimes it appears that without Big Nick around certain Flyers end up as targets. Travis Konecny is the Flyers most prolific scorer and has proven to have become a favorite target of teams around the league especially went the threat of retaliation has been depleted. With 15 seconds left in the 1st period Henri Jokiharju cross checked Konecny face first into the boards behind the Sabres net. We see players getting jumped for throwing clean hits in the league today. No one did anything about the hit on Konecny. Jokiharju was given a minor for roughing. Not cross checking or boarding. Attempted murder may have been a more accurate charge than roughing.
Joel Farabee went up the tunnel not once but twice tonight. The first time for a slash on his hand (not called). The second for a high stick to his face that drew blood (also not called). Much to his credit he kept coming back to the game.
Noah Cates tied the score at one goal a piece 9:07 into the 2nd period. The Flyers were absolutely swarming in the Buffalo zone. The Sabres could not clear the puck. It was a sustained possession in the offensive zone during which the Flyers were changing lines while keeping the Sabres bottled up. Luukkonen was keeping the Flyers at bay until Noah Cates beat him with a wrister far side.
You gotta play till the horn
The Flyers were running this game. The Buffalo netminder was keeping it even. With just under five minutes left Rasmus Dahlin used a Flyers as a screen and beat Fedotov with a wrist shot high blocker side. Then as time was running out with only five seconds left in the period a stretch pass led to Jack Quinn beating Fedotov with a clean wrist shot from the slot high blocker side. That quick it was 3-1 Buffalo.
Luck
This was such an important game for the Orange and Black. All of their hard work this season has put them in a place where they are still in the running to take a playoff spot with only five games left in the regular season. They have taken a huge slide losing their last six in a row. It is a gigantic stroke of luck that their competition has not been able to take advantage of their slide. They are still here in the running.
Owen Tippett scored his decisive goal to make it 3-2 with 10:41 left to play. With 6:01 left in regulation Jack Quinn ended the scoring for the night making it a 4-2 victory for the Sabres. Fedotov made the initial save but gave up the rebound which Quinn easily tucked between the pad and the post. Fedotov was in no position to deal with the secondary shot. …which brings us to the main take-away of the night.
Goaltending
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was superb we’ve already covered that. On the other hand, as much as it pains me to say it, Ivan Fedotov certainly was not.
We can start with the list of things you will hear tomorrow. He just got here. The rink is smaller here and the angles are different. He has to adjust to the NHL game. He’s been through a lot. All of these things are true. So is this, the Flyers have five games left and they still have a shot at a playoff spot.
I know the eyeball test is not always the most accurate way to evaluate a player. Fedotov looked fine in his time in the net the other night. We are as unfamiliar with him as he is with us. You can not fairly evaluate a player based on one game. Especially after their first NHL start. You have no idea what else is going on in that individual’s life. His dog could have died this morning we don’t know, but after seeing his performance in the net tonight I am worried about his dog.
It wasn’t just the goals, it was his positioning, his rebound control, his high risk puck handling, the list goes on. He has proven himself in the past and hopefully he takes to the NHL style and settles in and excels as time goes on. I am afraid this is not the plug and play solution we were hoping for and the Flyers do not have time for experiments or adjustments. Hopefully Samuel Ersson got some rest. We are going to be asking a lot from him this week.
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