Philadelphia Flyers: Corsi Line Report Versus Bruins
By Marc Naples
Playing in Boston Wednesday, the Philadelphia Flyers ultimately prevailed over the Bruins after some twists and turns.
The Flyers came out playing well, and Bellemare got them on the board first with his first goal of the year. The lead didn’t last very long, and Claude Giroux had a period he’d like to forget. Giroux made a bad no-look backhand pass to create the Bruins first goal. Later in the period, he took a 4-minute high sticking penalty, on which power play the Bruins would score again.
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With the game 2-2, the first big turning point occurred at the end of the first period. Zac Rinaldo injured Sean Couturier with a high hit. Rinaldo got a 5 minute penalty and kicked out the game. On the ensuing 5-minute power play in the second period, the Flyers looked terrible. They barely generated a shot, and conceded a short-handed goal. Another bad goal by Steve Mason 5 minutes later, and the Bruins were up 4-2.
Just when it looked like the Bruins were going to pull away, Steve Mason made an amazing glove save on the goal line. Within 4 minutes, goals from Giroux and Simmonds tied the game. Giroux would add another on the power play in overtime to claim the victory for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Forwards
Matchup Notes
- The Flyers were forced to scramble their lines after the Couturier injury. The 4th line is the only on that stayed completely intact the whole game.
- The Giroux line played against Marchand-Bergeron-Connolly, and Chara-McQuaid.
- The Couturier line was supposed to play against the Eriksson-Krejci-Pastrnak, although Read and Simmonds saw plenty of those guys.
- The Laughton line, featuring RJ Umberger tonight with Brayden Schenn injured, mostly saw the Bruins third line.
Takeaways
Although Giroux had the nightmare first period, I’d say he made up for it with a goal in the third to start the comeback, and rocketing in the overtime winner.
Overall it was a good night for most Flyers lines, as the chart shows. On the Laughton line, Gagner added another goal, and Umberger played his best game of the season in my opinion.
Lastly, Voracek was double-shifted a bit in the 3rd playing with Read and Simmonds, which reduced his Corsi % significantly.
Defense
Matchup Notes
- Streit-Schultz played against the Bruins top line.
- Del-Zotto-Gudas was most likely to see the Marchand-Bergeron-Connolly.
- Medvedev-Schenn almost exclusively saw the 3rd and 4th lines of the Bruins.
Takeaways
The first thing to note is a good Corsi % for Streit. Also note that when Streit-Schultz were out together (the paired column), their joint Corsi % remained strong. The big variance comes with the extra time Schultz saw against the Bruins top players without Streit. In the second period, Schultz took 3 shifts with Luke Schenn against the Bruins top line. In those shifts, the Flyers lost the Corsi 0/5, and conceded a penalty.
It is also great to see Medvedev with another great night, albeit against the Bruins weakest skaters. Given Schultz’s struggles the last two games, and Medvedev’s sustained excellence, it might be time for Medvedev to start taking on more important duties for the Philadelphia Flyers defense.
Highlights
Next: Umberger and Gagner Need to Play