Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
The Flyers were in Tampa Bay on Monday night to face the Lightning. It’s been a bumpy ride so far for the Orange and Black and every game is a chance to turn that around. Tampa is always a tall order for the Flyers and this game would be no exception.
Risto is out Barkey is in. It was Vladar vs Vasilevskiy. This was Vladar’s 1st appearance in the Flyers net since opening night when he allowed 7 goals on 38 shots which is out of character for last season’s MVP. Here’s a quick recap then some thoughts on the situation.
Philly vs Tampa
The Flyers came out looking sharp going stride for stride with the Lightning keeping Tampa from registering a shot on goal for the first seven minutes. If you been following the plot you already know that is a huge departure from how things have been going.
Vladar was soon tested. Things turned around in the second half of the period. The Flyers had to kill two penalties, they stopped shooting the puck, and Vladar was called on to make several challenging saves.
The Flyers netminder stood up to the test for the most part. His adept lateral movement came in handy as Tampa was moving the puck well side to side especially on the man advantage.
With 3:55 remaining in the first Tampa scored off a faceoff in the Flyers end. A wrist shot from the slot was deflected in front by Brayden Point giving the Lightning the 1-0 lead going into the 1st intermission.
2nd Period
Seventeen seconds into the 2nd period Tampa broke into the Flyers zone with the puck. Vladar’s glove looked a bit frozen as Pontus Holmberg fired a wrist shot top shelf from the right circle. That quick it was 2-0 in Tampa’s favor and they’re confidence was really starting to show.
Tyson Foerster scored his first goal of the season at 7:22. Foerster fired a puck through traffic. It hit somebody out front and deflected into the net. The goal was as greasy as they get but they all look the same on the scoreboard. 2-1 Tampa.
The Flyers got their first man advantage of the night after a scrum at 10:03. Tampa’s agressive penalty kill allowed the Flyers no time or space to get anything started. They did not register a single shot on the power-play.
The Flyers got their second man advantage with 1:33 remaining in the period. They created a couple good chances on this one but to no avail.
3rd Period
Things were wild and loose at the top of the third. There was a fight. Then a waived off Tampa goal for goaltender interference that left Vladar flat on his back. Then a Michkov high sticking penalty that put the Lightning back on the power-play. This was all in the first four minutes.
Play was up and down back and forth, both teams attacking offensively. Trevor Zegras had a double doink off the crossbar and post that refused to go in. Denver Barkey looked good in his return. You can’t attempt to dump and chase without players like Barkey who get to the puck fast and relentlessly dig for it.
Porter Martone took a shoulder to the dome that sparked an elbowing penalty. Martone was pulled up the tunnel by the spotter for a check-up. He did eventually return.
The Flyers were totally in this game dispite being outshot 33-13 with three minutes left and somehow only down by a goal. Tampa caught Vladar scrambling after Jiricek got deeked out of his shorts and Ilya Mikheyev put the puck in the net. 3-1 Tampa.
The Flyers pulled the goaltender for the extra attacker with 2:00 remaining in regulation. Martone returned for the final minute. The Flyers were working it but could not get the puck to the net. The Lightning scored an empty netter with seven seconds left on the clock. 4-1 final.
Thoughts
You don’t even need to count the preseason anymore to say that the Flyers have definitely fallen into a pattern. When you do count the preseason and view the entire situation as a big picture it’s even more substantial. This is not going to fixed with a couple tweaks or a guys night out.
This is pretty much the same line-up that made it to the second round of the playoffs last season. In fact there’s been a few upgrades. They look disjointed and unprepared. The power-play went 0-for-3 tonight and that’s almost not worth mentioning at this point.
Aside from game 1 their goaltending has been really strong. It’s been the only reason they’ve even had a chance in these games. Vladar made many difficult saves in Tampa. He faced 36 shots in this game. Joseph Woll played really well in his two starts. He faced a total of 84 shots over two nights. And took the opponent to overtime both games.
Now combine that with the fact that the Flyers totaled 14 shots on goal in this contest. That’s their lowest total so far but in these first four regular season games they are averaging under twenty shots per game. Meanwhile they are giving up an average just under forty shots per game, 39.25 to be exact. The goalies have been making these games look a lot closer than they actually are.
Shots on goal can’t tell you everything about a game but in this case it can tell you a hole lot. The Flyers offence is lacking, the defense is ineffective, and the goalies have been standing on their heads.
If the Flyers were skimping on defense to create chances you might expect them to be giving up this many shots on goal.
With such low shot totals you would expect to see a defensive mindset that is keeping the other team at bay. And you’re not. Not even close. They are not trading one for the other. They are failing at both ends of the ice. If there are systems in place nobody’s following them.
After the game Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet had this to say, “There’s not enough compete in this group right now and that’s on me.” “It starts with me, this team is way too comfortable.”
Next Up: Thursday night the Flyers are in Ottawa to face the Senators.
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