After earning at least one point in 3 consecutive games for the Flyers, they fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning twice in consecutive meetings, 7-2 and 5-1. Let’s look into what went wrong, from who was missing and what was missing.
Saturday: 7-2 Loss
The Flyers were without Bobby Brink and Travis Konecny did not play after Brink’s injury in Tuesday’s game against Anaheim and Konecny’s 2nd-period exit on Thursday against Toronto. Konecny looks to be on the mend, yet he left yesterday’s practice after taking a puck to the knee. He was on the ice for an optional morning skate today and will be a game-time decision. Bobby Brink was also on the ice this morning, but will sit out for a third consecutive game as he looks to return at full capacity later this week. Despite not being eligible to come off injured reserve until this Wednesday, Drysdale was also present at morning skate. It is likely that he and Brink will return by Thursday’s game against Pittsburgh on the road.
After Vladar started in net the last 3 games, Sam Ersson got the start against the Lightning. The game was a career-worst performance for him in games he played the full 60 minutes, making 16 saves on 23 shots and ending with a .696 SV%.
The Bolts kicked things off early with Nikita Kucherov receiving a cross-net pass from Brayden Point, just missing Ersson’s glove at 1:49. The goal came from a bad turnover from the Flyers coupled with a bad moment of misplacement from Cam York to leave Ersson out to dry, despite it being a horribly missed blocked shot from the goalie.
Just minutes later, Garnet Hathaway tipped the puck out of the air and into the net for his first goal of the season. This was just a brief moment of positivity, though, as Nikita Kucherov was able to regain the lead for the Bolts and made Sam Ersson 0-2 on saves early on. Hathaway was able to keep up his own momentum and drop the gloves against Declan Carlile, winning the fight and earning himself 2 thirds of a Gordie Howe hat trick. The rest of the period was uneventful, with the Bolts successfully killing off Philadelphia’s first powerplay and the Flyers killing one for the Bolts sending them into the second period.
The Flyers started things off in the second with frequent line changes, seemingly changing shift-by-shift. The ripple effect of losing some key guys was starting to show, yet Michkov and Grebenkin were able to continue their individual upward momentum and make some serious chances during their first shifts of the period. This kicked things off for the Flyers in what could have been a comeback, as they truly seemed to be the dominant team for quite a chunk of the second period. Hathaway had a serious shot for his second goal of the night at 11:01, yet it went wide to maintain the 2-1 lead for Tampa Bay.
In a messy, 3-shot sequence for Tampa Bay, Nick Paul was able to secure a rebound in the back of the net for a 3-1 lead for Tampa.
Despite a horrifyingly poor performance in the first period, it didn’t hold a candle to the lack of effort in the 3rd. Goncalves and Hagel earned two unanswered goals for Tampa, who held a brief 5-1 lead. Goncalves then went off for high-sticking, where Owen Tippett was able to secure one in the back of the net to make the Flyers 1-for-2 on powerplays for the evening. Unfortunately, Yanni Gourde and Goncalves again were able to score two minutes apart to give Tampa their final 2 nails on the coffin for the 7-2 win.
Not only was there below-average goal tending against a talented team, but Philadelphia played sloppily at some key points. They came out giving up far too much possession, and ended the night the same. Some of the early minutes could be chalked up to new pairings given our injuries, yet they were able to pull things together for the second when Tampa only had a 3-1 lead. Had they played consistently, they could’ve caught up and at least sent things to overtime. Instead, they fell apart in the third to give Tampa 4 goals on 8 shots. Although Tampa Bay is a great team, the Flyers need to be able to at least have a fighting shot if they want to continue to be a serious playoff contender.
Monday: 5-1 Loss
There isn’t much different to say about this one. Konecny was able to return, yet that wasn’t enough stability for Philadelphia.
Shockingly, besides an early goal for Tampa Bay at only 01:10, the Flyers started out much stronger than Saturday’s appearance. Late in the first, both Couturier and Zegras had serious chances, yet it wasn’t enough to get past Jonas Johansson. Despite Tampa Bay securing the lead, the Flyers played a physical first period and greatly improved their possession of the puck, winning 12 faceoffs compared to Tampa’s 4.
Although the Flyers continued to dominate the faceoffs 11-2 in the second, a strong challenge for them on Saturday, they continued to give up too many turnovers and played defenseless against Tampa’s takeaways. Jake Guentzel was able to deflect a shot into Philadelphia’s goal at only 33 seconds in. Just a few minutes later, Rodrigo Abols went off for tripping, giving Brayden Point the setup for a powerplay goal to give the Lightning a 3-0 lead. Point did need help off the ice after Sanheim landed on his leg, just a month before he is expected to play in the Olympics.
After a scrum between Sanheim and Bjorkstrand caused for two minutes of 4-on-4, Dvorak took an odd-man breakaway for an unassisted wrist shot to give the Flyers their lone goal of the night.
On a delayed penalty, the Flyers generated many good chances, getting the crowd pumped as they went into a powerplay. In true Flyers fashion, they failed to generate any shots on net and Tampa Bay easily killed the powerplay.
After a series of penalties for both teams, a call against Nick Seeler for interference gave Brandon Hagel the perfect opportunity from the left circle, advancing Tampa’s lead to 4-1.
The physicality kept up in the third, as both Abols and Grebenkin instigated two parallel fights, with Grebenkin’s being secondary to Abols. Grebenkin and his opponent, Nick Paul, received game misconducts. These were just some of Philadelphia’s 46 penalty minutes from the night. Both Hathaway and Konecny served minor penalties throughout the third.
Vladar was pulled with plenty of time left in the third with the hope Philadelphia could regain some traction and earn a quick few goals, yet it only resulted in a goal by Nikita Kucherov to give Tampa the 5-1 win.
While there were certainly some improvements from Saturday’s game, the Flyers were still unable to close on nearly any of their chances, as they simply failed to generate many legitimate opportunities. More than anything, their powerplay suffered nearly worse than ever, going 0-2 and barely generating any chances even with the man advantage. They truly were outplayed by Tampa Bay, something they need to be able to at least fight against if they’re looking towards a playoff run.
The Flyers are back on the road tonight as they face the Buffalo Sabres (24-16-4) at 7:30. The Flyers will have to generate more chances for themselves, which could be a struggle hitting the road for back-to-back games in separate cities, yet they’ll have to adjust to it to continue being playoff contenders. Vladar will likely get another start as Jamie Drysdale looks to return. There hasn’t been much talk about Bobby Brink, but I would expect to see him back for tonight or tomorrow night’s showing against Pittsburgh.
Philly's Next Shift 