PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 15: An overall view of the arena is shown prior to the start of this afternoon's game featuring the Philadelphia Flyers against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center on April 15, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
It took just two games for Flyers fans to embrace this young team once again. Gone are the slow starts, gone are excuses, gone is a team that skates flat-footed. 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 team overall defense. For their efforts, with a win today the Flyers will be guaranteed no lower than the second seed, all they have to do is win.
Vigneault preached a five man defensive unit the day he was hired. After the Flyers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins (Exhibition), and the Boston Bruins, he made true to that promise. The Flyers played well defensively in the second and third periods of play in both games in particular. Of course, with some exceptions, but overall the Flyers played well in the third period to nail down both games and it goes back to work ethic, “That was the goal,” Vigneault said, “When we were at phase one in Philly and when talked to our group, we talked about what we needed to do individually and collectively to get back to that strong work ethic that we had, the high compete level and the execution to have success. Since basically November 1st and on, we’ve been with Boston and Tampa, the best teams in the NHL. We wanted to get back that. Prior to last night’s game, we talked about our work ethic and compete that we needed against the Bruins. I really thought in that second period and in that third period, everything except that last five minutes were they basically played six on five, I thought we played extremely well. We did the right things, the high percentage things. They did the things that permit you to have success on the ice.”
The Flyers finished the season series 3-0-1 against the Washington Capitals this season. The stars really performed well for the orange and black, for instance, Claude Giroux lit the Caps up for two goals and three assists in four games played, and Travis Konecny tallied three goals and one assist against the Caps in four games played. Shoot even Brian Elliott was stellar against the Caps this season, as he finished with a 2-0 record, 2.00 GAA, and a .926 Save Percentage. Moreover, Carter Hart was 1-0-1 against the Caps with a 1.45 GAA, and a .953 Save Percentage. Elliott was tabbed as the starter in this one yesterday by Vigneault, and the team is just confident in “The Moose”, “Ells has always stepped up to the plate whenever he comes in and plays,” Konecny said yesterday, “He’s played well against Washington. He definitely knows what he is doing. He’s got a lot of experience too this time of year. There’s no issues there for us.” “Moose has got a lot of experience,” Travis Sanheim said, “I think he will be ready to go tomorrow night. We’re going to be ready to go in front of him.”
The Flyers won the season series against the Caps by going 3-0-1 against this high scoring team. Hopefully, the Flyers Power Play will get it in gear, as they have yet to light the lamp with the man advantage in three attempts to do such. However, the Penalty Killing aspect of the Flyers Special Teams has been on fire, while killing off six penalties in six tries. The Capitals have players that know how to put the biscuit in the basket, so the Flyers can ill afford to get into penalty trouble in this contest they have to stay out of the box.
Travis Konecny vows to establish a net front presence that has been lacking in the two previous games since the restart of the hockey season, “I think that’s important in any game to be honest,” Konecny said, “It’s been one of the things we’ve been discussing and something that we have gotten away from a little bit. It’s kind of one of those things that it takes a lot of hard work to establish that net front presence. Just a matter of finding that extra gear to get there. It just comes down to the will and if you want to get there and play in the dirt areas. We’ve discussed it. I think moving forward we are definitely going to try to improve on that area.”
This game is a winnable game for the Flyers. If the Flyers win out they will grab the top seed in the Eastern Conference, all they have to do is continue to win. A victory against the Caps will come from the likes of Special Teams, and establishing a net front presence. They have to stay out of the box, and limit a good Goaltender Braden Holtby (Finished the season with a 25-14-6, a .897 save percentage, and a 3.11 goals-against average) from seeing shots by establishing a net front presence. Letttttt’s goooo Flyerssssss
