RECAP: Flyers Trounced by Bruins 6-1
The Flyers looked for revenge against the Bruins on Saturday night. The line up was basically the same with Raffl being moved alongside Hayes and Farabee heading down to the fourth line. The Bruins were with out the services of Matt Grelcyk who was replaced by Connor Clifton. Tuukka Rask was given the night off with Jaroslav Halak getting the start.
For what ended up being lopsided, the game started even with neither team getting dangerous chances. That would change when Mark Friedman picked up a hooking penalty. The Bruins were able to control the offensive zone face off after an extended scrum.
They sent the puck cross ice for a point shot/pass that Bergeron intercepted, moved to his backhand to tuck it under the pad of the sprawling Hart, giving the Bruins the lead
The period would end with the Flyers trailing 1 -0. They were aggressively positioning on the forecheck, but were unable to win the battles necessary to retrieve the puck. The Flyers, as in the last meeting, had several instances where easy zone escapes turned into turnovers that opened the door for unwelcomed excitement. The Flyers were outshot 10 -4.
The second period started with a flurry, with Hart robbing Bergeron at point blank range. Less than a minute later Kevin Hayes intercepted a pass just outside the Flyers defensive blueline which he worked up to Jake Voracek. Voracek was able to shoot low towards net and Hayes was able to deflect it past Halak. The Flyers had tied the game at one, and they proved again they are quite dangerous in transition.
The tie would not last long. Less than two minutes later, they would suffer again from poor defensive zone coverage. Boston gained the blue line and Charlie Coyle was able to hold off Ivan Provorov. Coyle sent a blind pass to the front of the net where an unchecked Craig Smith wristed it into an open net past a prone Hart who seemed to have lost site of the puck. The game was tied for only seventy-six seconds and the Bruins took a 2-1 lead.
The Flyers would again fail to cover well in their zone. Hayes was dumped in his own end and went to seek retribution outside of the zone. Unfortunately, the puck would find its way into the defensive zone after Hagg stopped a Bruins player at the blue line.
The puck was pushed along the wall below the faceoff dot where Gustafsson was unable to win it from Trent Fredric. Fredric centered the puck to a waiting, and uncovered, Coyle. Coyle was able to deflect it over the shoulder of Hart.
It was another play where the Flyers made at least three miscues and this time it ended in a goal. The period would end with the Bruins up 3-1.
The Flyers needed to start the period with urgency to crawl back into the game. Led by Giroux, the Flyers were able to string together a few good shifts that seemed to give the Flyers some life. It would not last long, as Gustafsson lost a puck battle in the slot to Bergeron who found a wide-open Brad Marchand on the door step who was able to put it in the net. The Bruins had now scored their fourth goal.
Things would go from bad to worse for the Flyers. After Friedman got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Marchand was able to wrist a shot from the right circle past Hart on the short side. Though the shot was a laser, it was a goal Carter Hart would likely want to retry. It was now 5 -1 Bruins.
Marchand’s line mate Bergeron would strike next, also on the powerplay. Marchand would unleash a slap shot from his right circle that Hart was able to stop, but he was unable to control or track the rebound. Bergeron, unmarked, was able to grab the rebound at the side of the net and poke it past the confused Hart. Bruins would lead 6-1, and that score would hold to become a final.
The Flyers played poorly, without intensity, and with plenty of mistakes. After a loss in the previous game the team did not really give an effort that would have won on many nights. The team will have a few days to try to get things together before facing New Jersey on January 26.