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Flyers-Kings recap: Well, that wasn’t very fun

By Nick Som |
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 05: Travis Sanheim
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 05: Travis Sanheim

The Philadelphia Flyers proved unable to summon the offensive firepower of the previous night, getting shut out by the Kings in the second game of the year.

After putting up five goals in the season opener, the Philadelphia Flyers fell back to earth in a big way in game #2. Behind a strong performance by Jonathan Quick, the Los Angeles Kings shut out the Flyers 2-0.

If you looked only at the final score, you’d probably guess that the Flyers’ offense was particularly putrid on Thursday night. In reality, the Flyers were generating quality chances for much of the game, especially in the third period. But the Flyers needed to turn a few of those chances into goals, and their failure to do so was ultimately their downfall.

Related Story: Comparing the 2017 Flyers opening night roster to 2016

Game observations

  • The Flyers actually destroyed the Kings in the scoring chance battle, creating 44 chances to the Kings’ 31. But once again, chances aren’t the same as goals. #Analysis
  • The team’s possession numbers on the night received a huge boost from their aforementioned dominant third period, generating 28 shot attempts and allowing only 13. The Kings were comfortable with sitting back and playing a conservative brand of hockey with a one-goal lead, and the Flyers were unable to punish them for it.
  • Michal Neuvirth was the clear star of the game for the Flyers- his .926 SV% for the game doesn’t do him justice. The biggest highlight is below, but his solid play all night kept the Orange and Black in the game.
  • The fourth line is quickly becoming the Flyers’ best line of forwards, quality of competition notwithstanding. Taylor Leier, Scott Laughton, and Michael Raffl once again led the entire team in 5v5 Corsi For. On one hand, it’s great to see such an effective bottom line. But on the other- if this is the bottom line, why are all of the other lines so unimpressive?

    • Least impressive of all was

    Nolan Patrick

    ‘s line, who for the second straight game posted the worst possession metrics on the team (by far). Paired with

    Jordan Weal

    and

    Wayne Simmonds

    , the line needs to get some chemistry going, and fast.

    More from Broad Street Buzz

  • Travis Sanheim played his first NHL game, taking the place of Brandon Manning! Unfortunately, it was decidedly not a debut to remember. Sanheim looked tentative all night, understandable for a rookie in his first game, and committed a double minor for high sticking. It’ll get better, Travis.

    • Most Fly

    Michal Neuvirth, without a doubt. The numbers don’t show it, but he looked so much more confident and effective than Brian Elliott did in the opener. Here’s hoping he can keep in going as the season progresses.

    Least Fly

    It’s hard to single out one player as disappointing, when this truly felt like a team loss. So I’ll go with the powerplay, who went 0 for 5 after scoring on the first three opportunities in the season opener.

    One-Sentence Takeaway

    Combine a slow start and bad shooting luck with the second half of a back-to-back, and that’s how you get shut out.

    Next: Flyers-Sharks recap: Welcome to Wayne's world

    (Stats via Natural Stat Trick)

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