Philadelphia Flyers Split Weekend Games: Stats and Analysis
The Philadelphia Flyers had an up-and-down weekend, suffering a defensive collapse against the Leafs but edging out the Wild. Stats and analysis:
Sigh. Against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Philadelphia Flyers‘ defensive woes reached new heights.
It didn’t start out well, as Nazem Kadri slipped around Michael Del Zotto to score on the Leafs first shot of the game. The Flyers recovered from this problem however, with a highlight-reel goal from Travis Konecny. Running largely even in possession, the Flyers even got themselves a lead, 3-2.
Things crashed and burned in the 3rd period. The Flyers’ defense began to come apart, and Mason couldn’t come up with any saves that his team needed. The result was 4 straight 3rd period goals for the Leafs, and an ugly loss for the Flyers.
Forwards
- Couts Line Again. The Couturier line didn’t have their best game in terms of possession and chances, but they did score the Flyers’ only even-strength goal.
- Old First Line. An older-look first line of Schenn-Giroux-Simmonds led the Flyers in ice time and scoring chances. Simmonds notched 2 goals, although both were in special teams situations. Otherwise, Simmonds led the team in shots, while Schenn threw his weight around with 6 hits.
- Bottom-6 Still a Mystery. Michael Raffl was a healthy scratch, while Chris VandeVelde was a surprise inclusion. Lyubimov was also in the lineup. Regardless, the Flyers keep shuffling the bottom lines with little success.
- Limited Success for 3rd Line. Another new 3rd line deserves some credit for their performance last night. VandeVelde, Cousins and Weise did quite well in possession and quality of chances.
Defense
- Ghost Grounded. After 2 games with a more talented defense partner, Shayne Gostisbehere was returned to hands of a possession anchor in Nick Schultz. The result was a PP assist for Ghost when away from Schultz, but -2 otherwise with an ~40% Corsi.
- Gudas and MDZ Reunited. Dave Hakstol reunited his workhorse top pair from last season with Michael Del Zotto and Radko Gudas. It didn’t get off to a great start with the Leafs first goal, but they performed okay otherwise. Gudas, in fact, led the team with 24 total minutes and was the only defenseman to finish in the positive at +1.
- Mann Down. Brandon Manning has been one of the Flyers best surprises this season, but the Hakstol’s search for reliable defense this season led to Manning being a healthy scratch. Don’t expect this to last for long, particularly after this meltdown.
Goaltending and Special Teams
The Philadelphia Flyers’ search for reliable goaltending very much continued in this game. Steve Mason ultimately conceded 6 goals on only 23 shots, failing to come up with timely saves. Even if no one goal conceded was particularly egregious, this is not good enough for wins.
On special teams specifically, there were quite a few special teams goals. Simmonds scored an early power play goal on a deflection for the Flyers, and he followed that up with an excellent shorthanded effort in the second period to give the Flyers the lead at 3-2.
That work was largely undone when the Flyers allowed 2 power play goals, as well as a shorthanded goal. The shorthanded goal was a real killer, making a 4-3 game 5-3. Claude Giroux turned over the puck and Mason couldn’t come up with the save.
The Philadelphia Flyers looked to rebound from their collapse in Toronto in a home matchup with the Minnesota Wild. It certainly didn’t start out right, as the Flyers conceded a goal only 20 seconds into the game. The Flyers pushed back hard, with 17 shots on goal in the first period and a seeing-eye goal from Brandon Manning.
The teams again traded goals in the second period, making it a tie game despite the Flyers outshooting the Wild 29-14. Unlike the Toronto game however, Steve Mason (relieving Michal Neuvirth who left with an injury) had a very strong period 3rd period. This allowed the Flyers to win the game via a power play goal by Brayden Schenn after a great pass from Wayne Simmonds.
One day after allowing 6 goals, the Flyers matched a season low in goals allowed at 2, for a 3-2 win.
Forwards
- Raffl In, Lyubimov Out. Michael Raffl returned to the lineup from his somewhat baffling healthy scratch against Toronto, while Roman Lyubimov was removed. This new combination of Raffl, Read and Bellemare was one of the Flyers’ strongest on the night.
- No Even-Strength Goals from the Forwards. This wasn’t a game with a high volume of even-strength scoring chances for the Flyers, and in fact no Flyers forward scored at even strength.
- Low ice-time for Giroux. Claude Giroux saw one of his least busy games of the season, playing 13:20 overall.
Defense
- All About the Defense. The story of this game for the Flyers was all about the defense. Defensemen scored both even-strength goals, while Mark Streit didn’t score but led the team with 5 shots on goal.
- Defensive Pairs Rolled Back. Dave Hakstol cut short his experiment with the defensive pairs against the Leafs, restoring Manning to the lineup in favor of Schultz. This also meant the pairs went back to Manning and Gudas as the top pair and Ghost with Del Zotto.
- Gudas and Manning Carry the Load. Radko Gudas didn’t have the best possession numbers in this one, but he and partner Manning led the way in ice time playing over 22 minutes each, as well as combining for 12 hits.
- Del Zotto Trying to Get to Speed. After missing the first several weeks of the season, Michael Del Zotto is still trying to get up to speed. He was beaten again on the Wild’s second period goal, but he did rebound by making nice plays to start and finish the sequence for the Flyers’ second goal.
Goaltending and Special Teams
This was one game where goaltending and special teams sealed the win for the Flyers. Michal Neuvirth initially got the start after Mason’s poor game against Toronto, but he left the game after 1 period with an injury.
In relief, Mason played a very good game. He was particularly strong in the 3rd period, making key saves right down to the wire. With Neuvirth out several weeks, the Flyers really need the old Steve Mason back.
While Mason finally delivered the goaltending, the Flyers power play continues to be very hot. They scored the game winning goal on the power play, while piling up 9 shots in 3 power plays opportunities.
Next: Flyers Fall Short to Wings
Up Next
The Philadelphia Flyers return to action Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators. Ottawa has been a bit of a surprise this season, sitting 3rd in the Atlantic division primarily on the strength of stingy defense. While they don’t score very much, Erik Karlsson is one of the best offensive defenseman in the NHL in several years, so the Flyers must keep a lookout for him.