The last time the Flyers faced the Detroit Red Wings was a magical, historical night. Scott Laughton scored four goals and Alexsei Kolosov looked unbeatable in a lopsided 4-1 victory. Last night, the Flyers weren't so lucky. Despite starting with an opening goal by Travis Konency in the first minute of the game, the Orange and Black blew chance after chance and fell 6-4 to Detroit.
This game hurts because it felt so winnable. Unlike many losses this year, the Flyers played good, clean hockey. They were only penalized twice during the game, both in the first period. However, Detroit's first goal came from a power play during a four-minute high-sticking penalty to Owen Tippett.
Philly's first goal came thanks to what John Tortorella has been preaching all season: playing good defensive hockey. Sean Couturier stole a pass along the boards and shifted the puck to Joel Farabee. Farabee found a streaking Konecny, flying down the center of the ice all alone. Konency took the pass and squirted it between Alex Lyon's legs for his 16th of the year. It would be Philly's only lead of the night as J.T. Compher would score on the power play near the end of the period.
That's when Detroit began to roll as the Red Wings owned the second period. Alex DeBrincat would score halfway through the second period on a three-on-one pass that Sam Ersson had no way of stopping. You can't put a goalie in that position, and Ersson was let out to dry after Flyers' nemesis Patrick Kane intercepted a poor pass by Cam York to lead to the goal. York would be benched after this goal, skating a season-low 12:49. We'll see if Emil Andrae checks back into the lineup.
The Flyers would tie it back up just 25 seconds later. Noah Cates battled for the puck behind the net and shuffled it over to Nick Seeler. Seeler found Tyson Foerster who was at the top of the circle. Foerster then ripped a shot that Cates tipped in behind Lyon. At this point, despite the tie score, you can already see why the Flyers were going to struggle as Philly had six shots on net compared to Detroit's 13.
Things Fall Apart
The collapse began with four minutes left to go in the second. Compher took a face-off and flipped it back to Michal Rasmussen who let it rip. Ersson never saw the puck as it blasted right by him. That's the sort of shot Ersson needs to be ready for and he was not set up for it.
Two minutes later, Travis Sanheim was sandwiched between two Detroit players on the left side. The puck got away from him and squirted out. Laughton then collided with Ryan Poehling and the puck got loose before finding its way to Joe Velano. Velano raced up center ice with Christian Fisher on a two-on-zero breakaway, passing the puck back and forth before Velano gave Detroit a two-goal lead.
Rally And Collapse
Poehling would redeem himself just four minutes into the third. Couturier fired off a shot that Lyon blocked. Poehling was racing up towards the crease, grabbed the rebound, and flipped it in before Lyon could react. And 90 seconds later, the Flyers struck again. Tippett showed off some of his fancy footwork that has us all excited when he is on the ice. He outmaneuvered two defenders, crossed in front of the crease, and beat Lyon for a nice goal. The game was tied and the Flyers looked good.
Then Kane struck again to break the Flyers' hearts. Left alone near the top of the circle during a change, he fired off another shot that Ersson had no chance of stopping. An empty net shot by Lucas Raymond sealed the deal and put the game out at the end.
Game Takeaways
Ersson looked rusty. Two goals were ones that he could've stopped. I don't know if he is still trying to get his game back in shape after being out for a month. This is the worst I've seen him play.
However, it isn't all his fault. Three of the goals can be attributed to poor defensive play. Kane should never, ever be left alone and unattended. Even if he is 36 years old, he is still dangerous and he proved it. Two of the goals came on multiple odd-man rushes that the defense allowed. Both of those goals made Ersson look silly, but he wasn't to blame. When you have to watch three men all by yourself with no defenders showing up, you can't do anything to stop that goal.
Likewise, the penalty kill, so strong at the beginning of the year, has been falling apart lately. In the last 10 games, the penalty kill unit has given up nine goals.
Finally, when the Flyers shoot, they score. In 19 shots, they found the net four times. Most of those shots, however, came in the last five minutes. The team had just 12 shots with 12 minutes left to go in the game. Someway, somehow, they need to get this offense going. Let's hope they can get it going tonight as they face the Los Angeles Kings at home.