The Flyers’ shootout loss to the Boston Bruins was a see-saw battle with momentum swings for both teams. The Bruins were able to consistently dominate corsi, but the Flyers must feel like the game was theirs and they gave it away.
First Period
CF:8 CA:16 CF%: 66.66
It was good start for the Flyers who featured to new additions Friedman and Bunnaman to the line-up. They seemed to have the better of the positional play, but were waiting for quality shots rather than just shooting the puck. But they lost the momentum and their jump after Giroux picked up a tripping minor.
The Flyers would end the period tied largely on the strength of Carter Hart’s goaltending. Hart was tested often with high danger chances and they deserved to be trailing at the break.
Second Period
CF:8 CA:12 CF: 60.00%
The second period was the Flyers’ best period from a corsi perspective and on the score board. They potted two goals, both effectively on the powerplay, as the 5v5 goal came immediately on the heels of an expired penalty.
Hart was tested again this period but was able to bail out the Flyers, the forwards in particular, who seemed to have issues marking all night.
The defensive pairings would be in disarray after losing Friedman to a tangle with the Brad Marchand, and the ice. Friedman’s face was the big loser in the encounter. There was no penalty on the play.
Third Period
CF:13:CA26 CF%: 66.67
The Flyers had a difficult start to the third period. Poor defensive coverage, and turnovers in their own zone led to 2 quick goals against. Neither of the goals could be pinned on Hart , but he did seem shaky after the Bruins’ burst.
The Bruins were carrying play, as reflected in the corsi totals, but this was exaggerated by the sheer number of unforced mental errors the Flyers made. They would weather the Bruins shot storm, gain the puck and be looking to transition to offense, only to make a mental mistake, fail to leave the zone and start the defensive cycle all over again.
This process repeated itself several times in the third period.
Corsi Winner
BOS Kevan Miller CF:28 CA:4 Corsi%: 87.50%
This is truly staggering statistic. The fact that the exploitable Miller was on ice for 4 shots attempts against is astounding. But it is nothing compared to the 28 shots attempts for while he is on the ice.
I don’t think Miller was noticeably better than the rest of the Bruins. He recorded a secondary assist, 1 shot, 2 PIM and 2 hits. It was a nice night by Miller, but I would not rush out to buy his rookie card just yet even with an astronomical corsi night.
Corso Loser
PHI Connor Bunnaman CF:4 CA:18 Corsi%: 18.18%
It was a tough night for Bunnaman. Three of his eleven minutes 5v5 came against Bergeron and Marchand. He was out attempted 9-0. He was out chanced 4-0 by Charlie Coyle, and turned a puck over in his own end that led to Coyle’s goal.
Conclusion CF:29 CA: 55 Corsi%:34.52
Without context, corsi would indicate that the Bruins dominated the Flyers, and easily won the game. In reality Philadelphia, who did not play well, escaped with a point. The shot attempt numbers do not paint a particularly positive picture for the Flyers, but I do not think it was the sole reason for the loss.
Lost in the damning corsi numbers was the fact that Flyers were winning and likely would have taken the game if not for the mental mistakes.. Be it Bunnaman’s bad clear, Sanheim’s icing, Laughton’s needless penalty, there were several pivotal plays that cost them. Even with a lopsided corsi deficit, this was a game the team could have and should have won.