Why the Flyers won their First Round Robin Game
To begin, in his first NHL playoff game with the Flyers, young star Carter Hart stood strong in net with 34 saves on 35 shots. Even with the pressures that comes with starting in net during the playoffs, Hart remained unphased and up to the task. He was square to every shooter and made the big saves when he needed to.
Hart also played a large part on the success of the penalty kill which went three for three on the evening.
As we witnessed the other night in the Pittsburgh-Montreal series opener, goaltending can have a huge impact on a series. With that said, Hart will be a vital piece of the puzzle in this playoff push for Philadelphia. As he did throughout the season Hart provided solid, smart, and consistent play in net. Hopefully the 21 year-old can keep up his solid play throughout the playoffs.
Like he did for much of the season, Alain Vigneault rolled all four lines due to solid contribution and smart play from each. Of course with a game like this, it is important for all players to get minutes and get up to speed coming off of the break. Nonetheless, it did not seem like any of the lines really lost their mojo.
Especially noticeable today was the Flyers fourth line of Michael Raffl– Nate Thompson–Tyler Pitlick. Raffl who unfortunately would leave the game late with an injury, had a great game notching a goal and assist. Pitlick continues to impress Flyers fans with his gritty hardworking style of play while Thompson was able to find the score sheet as well.
The Flyers top players had an impact on the game as well. Scott Laughton and Kevin Hayes teamed up for a game. Other top players impacted the game via shots, takeaways, and/or good active sticks.
Albeit a young defensive core, the Flyers back-end collectively had a solid performance. Their positioning, physicality, and offense was noticeable throughout the game. Flyers fans, along with Jaroslav Halak, had the pleasure of seeing the cannon that is Phillipe Myers’s shot. In fact, we got to see it five times. Not to mention one of them being a complete snipe top shelf on Halak.
Prior to his goal Myers skated right through the neutral zone and had absolutely no idea of passing. However, best of all was the timing which saw the Flyers answer the only Bruin goal eight seconds later. Robert Hagg‘s physical presence made for a perfect fit in this match-up with the Bruins who play a skilled and heavy game. While some Flyers fans were surprised or unhappy with Hagg in the lineup, he certainly played like he deserved to be there.
The Flyers picked up right where they left on in between the dots as they yet again dominated the faceoff circle. The final percentage saw the Flyers win over half the draws at 53% with Derek Grant, Claude Grioux, and Thompson winning over half their draws. Sean Couturier and Hayes both fell shy of the 50% mark winning 48% and 44% of their draws respectively. In order to have success in the postseason this will be a crucial stat that the Flyers will need to continue to dominate.