Flyers-Flames recap: The universe is a cold, cruel place
By Nick Som
The Philadelphia Flyers keep finding new ways to lose, this time blowing a 3-1 lead to the Calgary Flames and falling 5-4 in overtime.
Another day, another loss for the Philadelphia Flyers, their fourth in a row. They fell 5-4 in overtime to the Calgary Flames. Despite looking ten times more dangerous than they did in two games against the Wild, a lack of discipline and bad penalty killing ultimately defeated the Flyers.
The Orange and Black led 3-1 after the first period behind goals from Sean Couturier, Brandon Manning, and Jakub Voracek. However, three second period powerplay goals by freaking Sean Monahan erased that deficit. Nolan Patrick‘s second career goal (!) kept the Flyers and Flames tie at 4 heading into the third, and the deadlock would hold for the rest of regulation. Then overtime began, and well, you know the rest.
Losing sucks, but the Flyers’ seemingly endless ability to find new ways to lose is what hurts even more. Some of it is just bad luck, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the Flyers are not a deep enough team to weather the unfortunate bounces. Mike Vecchione and Danick Martel, your time is fast approaching.
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Game observations
- No, this wasn’t a game that Brian Elliott will be telling stories to his kids about. But ultimately, none of the goals the Flames scored can really be blamed on him. Three came on the powerplay, one was a Johnny Gaudreau breakaway, and the last was the result of an unstoppable cross that ended the game. The Flyers had faith in Elliott before, and that shouldn’t have changed after today.
- The PK units, meanwhile, left a lot to be desired. The Flames were cooking with the man advantage all afternoon. The Flyers’ first mistake was winding up in the penalty box, but they needed to do a better job of closing off lanes and limiting opportunities after the deeds were done.
- Jordan Weal missed today’s game, and was replaced by Michael Raffl on the de-facto second line. Raffl had a solid game, despite the middle lines continued struggles to score at even strength.
- Don’t forget, Nolan Patrick scored a goal! It was a beaut too- a little backhand flip in tight quarters that put the Flyers up 4-3. Great to have you back, kid.
Next: Longtime Flyer Mark Recchi inducted into HOF
The Flyers will host the Vancouver Canucks next on Tuesday night. Will Dave Hakstol and Ron Hextall make some adjustments to the lineup/roster? Whatever they decide, this team needs to be jump-started, and fast.