In what has been seems like common theme the Flyers escaped New Jersey with a win while being severely out chanced by the opposition.
First Period
CF:11 CA:19 CF%: 36.67 %
This was not a great period for the Flyers, but they had two breakaways in the first three minutes and several high danger chances throughout the period. The Devils were settling for shots from beyond the circles without the benefit of screens. The Devils had more shots but they were not overly dangerous. Even the Devils’ goal was not from a super dangerous chance, it was just a great shot that rang in off the post. The Flyers would end the period tied at 1 with the newly promoted Nate Prosser scoring on a rebound at the goal mouth.
Second Period
CF:9 CA:19 CF%: 32.14 %
The second period followed a similar pattern as the first with the Devils generating a large amount of shot attempts but mostly from the outside. The Flyers, conversely, had difficulty generating sustained offense. Worse yet the Devil seemed to generate a number of odd man rushes taking advantage of turnovers just inside the offensive zone.
They were able to survive these chances mainly from the lack of Devils’ execution rather than superlative defense but it also severely titled the shot attempt metrics to the Devils advantage.
In an odd bit of corsi mechanics, the Flyers corsi was actually worsened by the fact that they did not allow goals. Each of these odd man rushes could generate 3 or 4 shot attempts for the Devils. Had they scored on their initial opportunity, the subsequent follow up chances never happen.
Third Period
CF:13 CA:10 CF%: 56.52 %
The Flyers resembled the good team of last year for the first time this season in the third period. The team was putting puck in deep and winning the puck from the Devils consistently. The Aube-Kubel/Bunnaman/Raffl line played aggressively on the forecheck and pinned the Devils in their zone on multiple occasions eventually leading to a Raffl tally and a lead.
Once they got the lead, they played the role of a defensive counter puncher, waiting for the Devils’ to over commit or make a turnover while keeping players back to thwart their rushes.
Corsi Winner
NJD Matt Tennyson CF:14 CA:6 CF%:70.00 %
Tennyson spent most of the night supporting the Hughes and Zajac lines. He was active offensively and defensively was a key in feeding pucks to the Devils two best lines.
Corsi Loser
PHI Scott Laughton CF:3 CA:14 CF%:17.65 %
Laughton spent over 8 of his nearly 12 minutes matched up against the Devils top two lines centered by Hughes and Zajac. The corsi numbers are not encouraging but the end results were impressive, as Laughton kept the Devils top line off the board.
Laughton has become a key defensive cog in the absence of Sean Couturier and has spent much of his time on ice matched up against the other team’s best line, and all things considered, any night you keep the other team’s top lines from scoring is a good night.
Conclusion
CF:33 CA:48 CF%: 40.74%
If you are detecting a trend when it comes to shot attempts and corsi% for the Flyers, you are not alone. The Flyers lost corsi% overwhelmingly, but still managed to pull out a win. Carter Hart was the better goalie on the evening, and considering the shot differential, he needed to be in order for the Flyers to have a chance. Without Hart playing well the Flyers’ do not win this game.
The Devils’ appeared very fast and threatening through the neutral zone every time the Hughes line was on the ice. But for all the speed and slick moves they made, they were not able to beat Hart. The one goal that was allowed the defense was in position, although Gustafsson played it badly, and it was just a super shot.
The aggregated corsi numbers really don’t tell the story of the game, but the numbers for the pivotal third period do. The Flyers seemed to flip switch in the period and were determined to win. They were in control, dictating play, rather than hanging on for dear life. They had not shown this since the opening series against the Penguins.
The Flyers goals were all scored from the door step, with the Devils’ goalie trying to recover from a previous threat. In each case there was sustained possession by the Flyers, even though they were not attempting shots. Could this be a stratagem, that they are purposely working on slam dunks rather than low percentage shots? It is something to look for in their next tilt.