After the Flyers’ complete trouncing at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres, it sometimes helps to find a silver lining. Even without Sean Couturier, they managed to win the corsi battle for the first time this season, one of the few pluses associated with the night’s effort
First Period
Flyers CF:17 CA:18 CF%: 48.57
Right from the puck drop something did not look right with the home team. Things were not clicking like they were in the first two games. The Sabres, on the other hand, looked really strong with focused effort. The Sabres dominated the Flyers so badly, I did not believe what Naturalstattrick.com had reported in shot attempts. A manual audit count revealed a nearly identical result.
The feel of the period was much different than the Sabres slight corsi edge indicated. It seemed like the deficit could have easily been three goals, considering the Sabres failed to cash in on some great opportunities including a two on none with the puck on Eichel’s stick.
Second Period
Flyers CF:21 CA:19 CF%: 51.61
The second period was the Flyers first “corsi win” of a period though it did not feel like one. They did seem a bit more in sync than the in the previous period, but over all it was a disaster. The Sabres would score three goals in the period, two of them at 5 v. 5. This was enough to chase Hart from the crease.
Even with the Flyers owning an advantage in shot attempts, the team never really threatened outside of a Myers shot off the post. The Sabres dominated the period, in virtually every other aspect of the game and filled the score sheet as proof.
Third Period
Flyers CF:13 CA:12 CF%: 52
Down 4-0, in a game where they did not have much mojo, the Flyers mustered a good effort in the third period. It is hard to say if the Sabres were taking their foot off the gas, or if the Flyers were playing better. They Flyers were able to get a shot past Carter Hutton but only after Brian Elliott softy had increased the Sabres margin to five.
In the third period, the Sabres left the impression they were just running out the clock, and only tried to score when they had the man advantage.
Corsi Winner
BUF Jeff Skinner CF:20 CA:10 CF%: 66.67%
Skinner, a constant thorn in the side of the Flyers, was buzzing all night. He managed to pick up 5 CF units in the 57 seconds he played with Eichel, most it coming from their unsuccessful 2 on none chance.
Skinner always seems to play well against the Flyers, and Monday was no different, even though he did not record a point.
Corsi Loser
BUF Tage Thompson CF:5 CA 16 CF%: 23.81 %
Thompson would seem to be the statistical loser this evening, being 11 shot attempts to the negative. But this was not the case, Thompson was not on the ice for any goals against, and only conceded a single high danger chance.
Thompson was sent out against Hayes and Giroux for most of his night. The Flyers’ pair’s play picked up as the night progressed, but neither player found the scoresheet. Despite what Thompson’s CF% looked like, keeping the Flyers’ big line silenced was certainly a win.
Conclusion CF:51 CA:49 CF% 51
Like game 1 and game 2, corsi paints a picture that is far from reality. Looking at corsi without context, it could be interpreted that this was a hard fought game with the Flyers having a slight edge in possession. Given the teams respective goaltending situations, I would have surmised a close Philadelphia win with Hart being the difference.
In reality the Flyers never looked competitive in this game. Carter Hart was chased from the crease and any chance for victory was gone by the end of the second period. Even with a “corsi win” it is hard to feel good about last night’s effort.