The Flyers flattened an elite Tampa Bay Lightning team, and have won the first seed in the East after crushing Tampa 4-1. Two days after defeating the Washington Capitals 4-1, they come back and win the East with Carter Hart between the pipes. A lot of credit has to be given to Head Coach Alain Vigneault and his experienced coaching staff, as well as, Carter Hart and the overall team defense.
Vigneault said this past week, “In today’s league if you are going to generate some offense, whether it would be on the rush or whether it be through offensive zone time and possession and cycling the puck, you have to have the involvement of the D’s. If you don’t, your offense is going to be predictable and maybe easier to defend against. That defense jumping up, jumping early and being a part of the attack, being a part of the rush, being a part of the offensive zone play is a must to generate a little more confusion out there. Our guys understand the different times, the right times to do it. They are doing it well at this point.” The Flyers excelled today as they limited a dangerous Lightning team to just 17 shots in the second and third periods combined, and the Flyers team defense also limited prime scoring chances. The Flyers did a great job at handling the stars of Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, Victor Hedman, Pat Maroon, and Ondrej Palat. This young Flyers defense was and has been quite impressive throughout the entire Round Robin Tournament. Hart played well once again, and he just appears to be cool as a cucumber between the pipes, while making the tough saves look easy. Just look how hockey is fun again in Philly:
Flyers Scoring:
NAK (1)- Ghost, Grant
NAK (2)- Coots, Farabee
Farabee (1)- Ghost, Coots
Pitlick (1)- Empty Netter
What more could fans ask for in this tilt. The Flyers and Lightning had to shake off the rust, and get prepared for the grueling playoff run that lies ahead. The fans of Philadelphia and abroad can smell a Cup coming soon, rightfully so. This Flyers team is loaded with depth up and down the lineup. Ivan Provorov and Matt Niskanen didn’t have their best games, and they would admit it. However, they weren’t terrible either, they just looked a little slow. Provorov is just so good at transitioning from defense to offense, that it’s hard to see him not have a good game, as it could be an average game for other defensemen. The Travis Sanheim-Philippe Myers pairing continues to be trusted by Vigneault in different types of situations, and thankfully Sanheim is ok after a scare in the second period (He did return to the game).
Ghost was phenomenal. He accounted for two of the Flyers three goals, and just had jump in his skates, his swagger is back. He played well defensively, and it lead to great offense. Ghost answered the bell in what would be his second playoff intense hockey game of the season. Ghost showed off his shot from the point, and his nasty wrist shot.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel hit everything that moved, and potted two goals. He was possessed tonight, and really showed the World why prospects need time to develop. He potted two goals, and makes Flyers fans thankful he didn’t get scooped up off waivers last Fall. A great second line in Laughton-Hayes-TK played very well again today. Especially, in the third period. All in all, this game proved that the Flyers are ready to rock and roll, and are worthy of being noticed.
Hart was absolutely astounding. He was just so calm, and cool at the podium answering question after question. If it wasn’t for Hart in the first period they could have been tied 2-2 at the end of one, as Hart made two good breakaway saves. He answered the bell once again, and this should give Philly fans a lot of confidence moving forward in terms of their Goaltending.
Lastly, the Flyers Penalty Kill was phenomenal once again. The Lightning finished the game 1-3 on the Power Play, and really couldn’t generate much offensively with the man advantage. Teams finished the Round Robin Tournament 1-10 against the Flyers with the man advantage. This appeared to give the Flyers life, and some jump in their skates tonight. The Flyers Penalty Killing Unit killed off eight straight Power Plays before Tampa cracked them.
Alain Vigneault:
“Those two breakaway saves in the first were huge. That’s an elite team, they pressed.”
“The NHL did an amazing job at putting all this together.”
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