According the NHL, Ivan Provorov is not a top 20 defensemen. The Flyers do it all d-man let his play do his talking.
For many of us Flyers fans, the pandemic had forced us to wait for many things that we would have wanted to put off anyway. Haircuts, family gatherings with distant relatives, dental appointments and the like.
One thing that we wanted to see, like yesterday, was the ascension of the Flyers’ Ivan Provorov to a true number one defensemen. By the end of the Flyers playoff run, we got to see just that.
Things did start slowly in the playoffs for Provorov, he seemed to be bothered by partner Matt Niskanen’s struggles in the first half of the playoffs. Provorov stayed relatively passive during this time, to the point that the Sanheim/Myers pair looked to be the team’s top defensive pairing. Once Niskanen regained some of his form, Provorov started to assert himself and looked very dangerous.
Provorov led the Flyers in ice time, with 415 minutes, over 50 minutes more than the next closest Flyer, Travis Sanheim. He led the team in powerplay minutes, penalty killing minutes and finished second behind Myers in 5 on 5 minutes. The sheer number of minutes proves the value and versatility of Provorov. He does everything for the team, and he is the top choice to it.
Like all the Flyers defensemen, the advanced metrics were not kind to Provorov, but that is what happens when a team is outshot 729 – 803 for the playoffs. Phil Myers was the only player over 50 percent.
Provorov would finish third amongst the defensemen at 47.22%, trailing Myers and, surprisingly, Justin Braun. While playing tough minutes against the best the competition, and trying to compensate for a struggling partner, the defensemen registered a +3-goal differential at 5 on 5.
Provorov was able to provide some offense to the team. He led the defense corps with 8 points in sixteen games, six of those points coming at even strength. Given the disparity in minutes at even strength, it could be argued that we should have seen more production from Provorov. The criticism is valid, however once Matt Niskanen regained his footing Provorov was much more effective.
Through game four of the Canadiens’ series, where Niskanen was at his worst, Provorov had 2 point in 7 games. In the nine games after, Provorov picked up six points and looked much more dangerous.
But it was not a completely rosy story offensively. Provorov was part of the inept powerplay and his play was a sizable reason for the struggles. Provorov did nothing “wrong” per se, but he did not really try to exploit the man advantage either. Rather than take a calculated risk by moving into a high danger area, Provorov waited at the point dutifully, and watched the power play sputter.
It may seem a trivial criticism, attacking someone for doing an adequate job, but that is what separates the good from the great. At even strength we saw the great Provorov, on the powerplay, he was just doing his job.
Provorov proved to be the Flyers’ best defensemen, and amongst the best in the league. He excels in every area of the game and has shown the ability to dominate at times. The coaching staff shelters him from no one and it is getting to the point where teams are changing their game plans when Provorov on the ice.
The Islanders, whose relentless and nearly constant forecheck severely hampered the second and third pairs, stopped aggressively forechecking Provorov after game two. He was able to absorb or avoid the pressure and the Islanders must not have thought challenging the defenseman was worth the risk.
As good as Provorov was at times, he was not stellar on the powerplay and he has to lose some points there. It is hard to break out when the entire powerplay unit is in a malaise, especially for defenseman, but the young defensemen could have been more assertive and aggressive in his efforts to score.
It would have been a great time and place to step up, but Provorov played it by the book, safe, smart and conservative.
While it seems that the NHL has been slow to appreciate Ivan Provorov, that is their loss. Maybe there were not enough highlights for the NHL, but the game is so much more than the highlights, and Provorov does it all incredibly well.
While Provorov’s play may be understated, his importance to the team is not, and expect the secret excellence of Ivan to be the talk of the NHL this season.