Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Where things stand
The Metropolitan Division standings are tightening like a noose around the Flyers neck. This was supposed to be an easy stretch of games and the team has gone from stumbling to crumbling. The chips are officially down. The Flyers point production in the standings have gone all but stagnant and it seems every other team in the division is on the move. This is the time of year where you start looking back at the games that got away from them during the course of the season and you realize that every game counts and every point mattered.
Philly vs New York
The game started out much like many as of late. You are not exactly sure which version of the Flyers you are going to get. As the teams are sizing each other up and feeling each other out you are just waiting to see which way it is going to break. The play was going back and forth both teams were looking high energy and the pace was crisp. Egor Zamula left the ice bleeding and the crew came out to shovel things up. The night had an uncertain feel to it.
The Flyers struck first. Noah Cates made a heads up steal in the neutral zone and carried the puck into the Islanders zone. He sidestepped to give himself just enough room to squeeze a wrist shot past the defenseman. The shot beat New York netminder Semyon Varlamov glove side 4:57 into the game. Not sure if Varlamov was screened or just caught off guard but it didn’t matter, the Flyers were on the board.
Nick Seeler who had just returned to the line-up this past Saturday was looking rested, strong, and puck hungry. Jamie Drysdale returned to the line-up tonight after missing several games. Drysdale is quick and crafty. He also looked like he was feeling just fine. These two being back should give the Flyers a boost on the blueline.
Breakdown
This past week it seems like every time the Flyers suffer any kind of breakdown it results in a goal. Matt Martin scored 12:23 into the 1st period. He picked up a slow motion pass that just sat there in the slot waiting for him to arrive. The lack of coverage left the Flyers looking surprised by a play that came together so very slowly.
Seconds later Sean Couturier was checked to the ice in the corner of the New York zone. He got up and headed straight towards the tunnel. The Islanders broke up the ice and into the Flyers zone. Bo Horvat let go of a wrister from the dot that beat Samuel Ersson high blocker side.
Ersson did not have much of a reaction to the shot. He truly looks overworked in his position. He has unexpectedly been asked to carry a lot on his shoulders this season and for the most part he has really done a lot for his team. The workload is just grinding him down. You have to remind yourself sometimes this is the guy’s rookie season.
The two Islander goals came 18 seconds apart. They happened so quickly they were announced at the same time. New York had the lead at the end of the 1st period 2-1.
Stop the presses
You are expected to maintain a certain amount of decorum upstairs in the press box. No audible rooting or reactions, keeping conversation to a minimum, that type of thing. The last time a big buzz spread through the place was when the Cutter Gauthier trade broke in the middle of a period. Everyone was reacting to their devices at the same time. Tonight there was a pretty audible reaction when the 2nd period was about to start and Ivan Fedotov came down the tunnel with his mask on.
The recently arrived physically imposing Russian goaltender took his place in the crease and began warming up sliding side to side in the cage. Many had wondered if he would get the start tonight. It was a big surprise to see him take over after a two goal 1st period. But like I said earlier, the chips really are down and this team needed something to shake them out of this current funk. Enter Ivan Fedotov.
His first contact with the puck was handling a routine dump-in. The crowd erupted into a thunderous applause as he did so. Philly has been dying to get a look at this guy. It took so much to get him here. It took so long and then it happened out of nowhere totally by surprise.
The Flyers had stepped up the intensity and were focused on tying the game. You might expect them to be a little conservative and focus on supporting their new netminder. Nope. They were looking for the stretch pass, the break outs, the opportunity to press things in the offensive zone.
Travis Sanheim got the puck at the red line and broke into the New York zone through traffic. He fired a shot that beat Sorokin high glove side to tie the game at two 43 seconds into the period.
The first dangerous chance Fedotov faced was actually an extremely dangerous chance. A New York Islander clean breakaway from Mathew Barzal. Baral came in all alone and unchallenged. He took his shot glove side. Fedotov made the save. The puck popped out of his brand new NHL approved trapper and he dropped to the ice to cover the rebound. The place went nuts.
He made his second big save on a wrist shot from Kyle Maclean. The chances kept on coming for the Islanders and Fedotov continued to shut them down. At one point Tyson Foerster totally left the baby on the bus in the offensive zone. The Islanders immediately charged up the ice with the puck and a 2 on 1 developed. Fedotov again with the save.
He appears very comfortable handling the puck as well. Because of his size it takes him no time at all to get behind the net to stop the puck when it is wrapped around the boards. At one point when the Flyers were shorthanded he stopped the wrapping puck behind the net and then dumped it himself the length of the ice. His huge frame covers so much ground. At one point the Islanders had the puck behind the Flyers net. Fedotov had a skate on both posts ready for a stuffer attempt from either side.
The Islanders out shot the Flyers 17-3 in the 2nd period. Fedotov turned away 16 of 17 shots. The on ice officials missed three golden opportunities to call the Islanders for interference against the Flyers. Eric Johnson took the worst of it getting boarded headfirst into the side wall with no penalty called. Johnson was still trying to recover when Anders Lee scored on a deflection to put the Islander up 3-2 before the end of the 2nd period.
The Flyers hunkered down in the third playing with a renewed intensity. They offered their new netminder a lot more support in the final period and outshot the Islanders 19-3. The Flyers really needed to at least get one point out of this game. Morgan Frost put a rebound of a Jamie Drysdale shot from the point behind Sorokin with just 9.6 seconds left on the clock.
Up and down
The sport of ice hockey can be cruel sometimes. You can go from the top of the world to under the bus in a matter of seconds. That is what happened to Morgan Frost tonight as he lost control of the puck in his own end at 1:20 into the five minute overtime period. Brok Nelson picked up the misplayed puck and scored the game winning goal. The Flyers had to settle for just one point at a time when points could not be any more valuable to the team.
Tortz
After the game Flyers head coach John Tortorella was very candid about how unhappy he was with his team’s performance.
Tortorella cut the first question short to respond “soft“. Asked about Fedotov coming in cold he said “Terrific, he’s the only guy that played“. Asked about “trusting your team” he replied “You’re finding things out here, ok, when the games are at a whole different plane”. “It’s still regular season right but it’s a whole different plane so we’re finding things out”.
He was asked about using the word “soft”. “Not the whole game and not the whole group. There are certain people that, they don’t have a clue how to play or just don’t have it in them to play in these type of situations”. “We have to figure out as far as what we are going to become as a team here. That was embarrassing the 2nd period for the Philadelphia Flyer uniform, the way we played, embarrassing”. “High marks the way we came back in the 3rd, some guys”. On Fedotov he said “totally impressed, I put him in a hell of a spot”.
Up Next: A few days off for the Flyers to try and pull it together and save this season. We’ve seen this group dig deep and find a way over and over. This is a real challenge and time is getting short.
