The Flyers take on the New York Islanders, and there was not much to get excited for if you are a Flyers fans. The Islanders defeated the Flyers 4-0 in game 1. There was lots to take away from this game, so let’s get into it.
Flat Like Paper
Coming off a big series win, the Flyers were coming in with a ton of momentum, feeling great, and ready to score-or so we thought. The number one team in the Eastern Conference came out playing poorly, what people saw a lot of last series. Not generating many chances and getting beaten on every play. Carter Hart can only do so much, and he has already done plenty for this team. The Flyers have to hope things will get better, or they are in for a short series. Fortunately, the Flyers haven’t lost back to back games since January 7.
Hard Pressure
The Flyers came out after the first period with fire. They won the puck possession battle that period and spent a good majority of the time in the offensive zone, but ended up with nothing to show for it. They were consistent with shots on net, and moved the puck well. The Flyers played with a certain edge in the second period for sure. The Flyers will need to continue the kind of play moving forward.
Defense Wins Championships
Islanders are undefeated when entering the third period with a lead, and Game 1 they did exactly that. Head Coach Barry Trotz has a defense that shuts down opposing teams, and finds a way to suffocate them. This is similar to what everyone saw with the Flyers in the first series. Sadly, the Flyers were on the opposing side of this scheme tonight. The Islanders were very disciplined, as they did not allow the Flyers a Power Play opportunity until 5:21 left in the third period when the game was already out of reach. The Isles played an extremely tight defensive hockey game, as to be expected. It’s going to be crucial for the Flyers to get goals and most importantly, the first goal of the game. The Islanders are here for a reason and their shut down defense is a big part of that- It’s a Goaltenders dream.
Alain Vigneault:
“I expect more out of Coots, and his line.”
Claude Giroux:
“The first period we had was the worst one we had in the bubble. We have to play better.”
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it
I knew that this series against Islanders will be really frustrating to watch, as a Flyers fan! And it will remain the same, really boring to watch and Islanders score the goal”s needed to win, and this will continue until our best players wake up! Coots has been poor, which is crucial to our success, and Hayes also, but that does not surprise my, cause he was really poor before in playoff”s with Winnipeg year ago! So we must try to get our Captain going and play him between Konecky and Farabee, and play Hayes in third-line, and hope some luck, and the level of our play will pick up soon, because our play in playoff”s this year has been much worse than what it was in regular season!
A goaltender can steal you one series, like Carter Hart did against Montreal, but our luck will simply run out, if the level we are playing do not pick itself up!
We have to play every period like we did in the second period! Need our Captain to lead by example like all the other great captains do! We can win this series but a must win Wednesday