GAME-IN-REVIEW: FLYERS 2 - PANTHERS 1
It wasn't very pretty, but the Flyers gladly skated off with two points last night after downing the Florida Panthers, 2-1, in Craig Berube's head coaching debut. Philadelphia benefited from a brilliant goaltending performance by Steve Mason, who stopped 33 of the 34 shots fired his way.
Mason made a pair of first period goals by Brayden Schenn and Braydon Coburn stand up, authoring no less than eight outstanding saves on tough chances. He had no prayer of stopping a Brad Boyes goal late in the second period.
Tim Thomas lasted just 7:31 into the first period last night, stopping 3 of 5 shots. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner suffered a groin pull on the sequence that led to Coburn's goal, and came out of the game. He was replaced by Jacob Markström, who played every bit as well as Mason in turning aside all 25 shots he faced.
I am a big believer that teams make their own luck, good or bad. All three goals scored last night came as a result of fortuitous circumstances but they still wouldn't have happened without offensive players in the right position to pounce.
Apart from the play of Mason and the two early goals, the Flyers' penalty kill was a big reason for last night's victory. The PK has been a team strength even when five-on-five play has been weak, and the penalty killing units came through again last night in killing all five disadvantages. Most notably, Philly emphatically killed off a four-minute disadvantage with a one-goal lead in the third period.
Max Talbot, who generated a pair of shorthanded scoring chances, was stellar on the penalty kill last night. So were Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux, Coburn and Nicklas Grossmann (four of his five blocked shots came on penalty kills). The Flyers are now 17-for-20 on the PK through four games.
On the flip side, the Flyers' power play went 0-for-5 last night, and did not get many good looks at the net along the way. Philly had seven minutes worth of power play time in the third period, and were unable to seize the opportunity to put a stranglehold on the game. Philly has started the season just 2-for-19 on the man advantage, which was another team strength a year ago.
Ultimately, I think the Flyers have too much talent spread across their two power play units for them NOT to get in synch and return to being a 20 percent-plus team in power play efficiency. Much of that, however, will depend on how long it takes Claude Giroux to get going this season.
The Flyers captain, who has been held pointless through the first four games of the season, has struggled offensively and defensively (in 5-on-5 situations) in the early going of the season. After the game, he insisted that his hand is OK but admitted his confidence level is down right now.
The struggles of the top line have a lot to do with why the Flyers have only scored five goals through their first four games. That ties a franchise-record for the fewest goals up to this point of the season.
Last night, Kimmo Timonen also had another rough game, at least in the first two periods. He is simply not moving well on his skates in defending transitional rushes and he's out of synch offensively as well. The four-time NHL All-Star is having trouble keeping pucks in the offensive zone at the point. Timonen took another restraining penalty last night, and was uncharacteristically inattentive and flat-footed on a sequence that led to a shorthanded breakaway by Shawn Matthias.
Timonen got off to a similarly slow start last season before regaining his form (despite nagging injuries) to win his fourth Barry Ashbee Trophy and rank among the NHL's top point-producing defenseman. He is as mentally tough as they come, and I thought he showed some of that mettle last night in stepping up defensively in the third period.
Looking again at something on the positive side of the ledger, I thought the Flyers did a somewhat better job last night of keeping their feet moving and supporting one another in puck battles in the trenches. There is still plenty of room for improvement in both areas, and there were still too many blown coverages and sloppiness in puck management at junctures of last night's game --mainly late in the first period and portions of the middle stanza.
After the game, Coburn said it best. The Flyers defenseman noted that while there are still areas that need improvement, last night's game was something the team can build from in practices and games to come.
Coburn also said that it was an encouraging sign that the team remained upbeat -- with a positive locker room message from Timonen and others -- despite giving up a goal with 6.8 seconds remaining in the second period. No one hung his head, and the team gave Mason his best defensive support of the game when defending the narrow lead in the third period.
"Winning is a process," said Coburn. "There's no time for negativity right now."
If the Flyers can simply get back to executing the basics -- consistently keeping their feet moving, supporting the puck, gap control, putting pucks in safe areas, backchecking, aggressive but not reckless forechecking, getting traffic at the opposing net -- they will give themselves a much better chance of winning on a more regular basis.
Last night was a step in that direction. A small step, perhaps, but forward progress nonetheless.
STARTING LINEUPS: ACTUAL VS. PROJECTED
Berube made changes to all four lines and all three defense pairings at the morning skate yesterday. which was conducted more like a full practice than a typical gameday skate (especially at the end of a three-in-four stretch of game nights). The team did 5-on-5 game simulations and special teams work at the end.
After the skate yesterday, Berube explained his decision to restore two regular pairings from last season (Timonen with Luke Schenn and Coburn with Grossmann) while placing Andrej Meszaros with Mark Streit. The new head coach and former assistant said that he thought Timonen-Schenn was the team's top all-around pairing a year ago and that Coburn and Grossmann have had past success as a shutdown duo. The final pairing is intended to emphasize puck movement.
The shuffling of forward lines was intended as another try at establishing some chemistry. Players such as Wayne Simmonds (now on Giroux's line) and Couturier had arguably their best games among the four played to date, although they did not score.
Here's a comparison of Sunday's lineup versus last night's:
SUNDAY IN CAROLINA
19 Scott Hartnell - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek
24 Matt Read- 40 Vincent Lecavalier - 17 Wayne Simmonds
10 Brayden Schenn - 14 Sean Couturier - 36 Zac Rinaldo
25 Max Talbot - 45 Kris Newbury - 18 Adam Hall
44 Kimmo Timonen - 5 Braydon Coburn
32 Mark Streit - 22 Luke Schenn
8 Nicklas Grossmann - 41 Andrej Meszaros
35 Steve Mason
[29 Ray Emery]
TUESDAY VS. FLORIDA
19 Scott Hartnell - 28 Claude Giroux - 17 Wayne Simmonds
10 Brayden Schenn - 40 Vincent Lecavalier - 93 Jakub Voracek
25 Max Talbot - 14 Sean Couturier - 24 Matt Read
37 Jay Rosehill - 18 Adam Hall - 36 Zac Rinaldo
44 Kimmo Timonen - 22 Luke Schenn
32 Mark Streit - 41 Andrej Meszaros
8 Nicklas Grossmann - 5 Braydon Coburn
35 Steve Mason
[29 Ray Emery]
Looking ahead to Friday's game against Phoenix, there is a pretty good chance that Rosehill will be back out of the lineup and Newbury will be back in. Otherwise, I suspect that last night's lines will roll over to the next game.
On the Florida side last night, the lines posted in the pregame projections were the same as the ones that appeared in the game. The only exception was that enforcer Krys Barch was scratched and Drew Shore took his place.
FIRST PERIOD: Key moments
Steve Mason got tested right off the bat last night, making a clutch stop against Jonathan Huberdeau after a turnover by Nicklas Grossmann in the opening minute. The immediate momentum save helped settle his his team down, as the Flyers generally had the better of play in the opening 10 minutes.
Before too long, the Flyers also had themselves a 2-0 lead.
At the 4:49 mark, Jakub Voracek (who looked last night like he's starting to regain his extra gear) motored into the offensive zone and fired a shot well wide of Tim Thomas' net. The puck caromed off the end wall right into the slot, as Thomas took himself out of position. Brayden Schenn, heading toward the net all along, was in perfect position to claim the bounce off the wall and stash it home for his second goal of the season. Vincent Lecavalier earned the assist.
At the 7:31 mark, Thomas hurt himself stopping an initial shot by Couturier. The 39-year-old goaltender sustained a groin pull and was unable to rise and get set as the puck looped out to Coburn, who alertly pinched up a long stride from the right point. From a bit of a tough shooting angle, Coburn guided the puck into the open cage.
The injured Thomas left the game immediately after the Coburn goal. Young goaltender Jacob Markström came in and pitched a shutout the rest of the way. Even so, the Flyers ultimately had just enough offensive output to win.
Both clubs killed off a minor penalty apiece in the opening period. Scott Gomez got an automatic penalty for closing his hand on the puck on the center ice faceoff directly after the Schenn goal. Timonen took a holding penalty on the shift after the Coburn goal.
The Flyers -- and Panthers -- were guilty of some sloppy play in the latter portion of the opening period, with Philly having a subpar final five minutes in particular. Mason had to make several more tough stops.
Most notably, Mason made a pair of ten-bell saves on Aleksander Barkov and Ryan Whitney to bail the Giroux line and Timonen-Schenn defense pairing out of a heap of trouble.
1st period stats
ATTEMPTED SHOTS: Flyers 20 - Panthers 21
SHOTS ON GOAL: Flyers 8 - Panthers 12
BLOCKS: Flyers 6 - Panthers 7
MISSED SHOTS: Flyers 5 - Panthers 3
POWERPLAYS: FLYERS 0-for-1, Panthers 0-for-1
FACEOFFS: Flyers won 10 of 18 (56%, led by Giroux's 6-for-9)
CREDITED HITS: Flyers 16 - Panthers 7
CHARGED GIVEAWAYS: Flyers 5 - Panthers 4
CREDITED TAKEAWAYS: Flyers 2 - Carolina 3
2nd PERIOD: KEY MOMENTS
Overall, the middle stanza of the game was reasonably equal but was probably Florida's strongest period and the Flyers' weakest.
As the period progressed, the Flyers did generate some offensive chances but Markström was equal to each one. Of greater concern from a Philly standpoint was some poor puck management by the Flyers and a general inability to string together consecutive strong shifts after they made a start toward getting momentum rolling.
An early period Flyers power play on a Dmitry Kulikov interference penalty nearly turned into a disaster. Timonen fumbled a puck at the blueline and then made a weak one-handed pokecheck attempt as Shawn Matthias shrugged him off and skated away on a breakaway. Mason stoned the Florida forward to preserve the lead.
A few minutes later, Simmonds made an initial good play to provide support and win a puck behind his own net but then made a bad one by putting it right out in front, where it got picked off. Again, Mason had the answer.
Markström came up with a couple of strong saves himself, including tough stops on Matt Read (on a nicely conceived give-and-go with Couturier) and Brayden Schenn. The game remained 2-0.
The Flyers killed off a pair of mid-period minor penalties -- Coburn for interference in front of his own net at 10:25 and Meszaros for cross-checking along the side boards at 13:33 -- as both the goaltender and penalty killing units shined.
At the 16 minute mark, the Giroux line had arguably its best shift of the game. Giroux made a nice play on the zone entry. Simmonds forced a Florida turnover and Panthers defenseman Brian Campbell was forced to hook Scott Hartnell as the left winger alertly pounced on the loose puck.
The Flyers were unable to capitalize on the ensuing power play.
It looked like the Flyers were going to take their two-goal lead into the third period, but some self-made misfortune struck at 19:53. There was a coverage support lapse and an initial blocked shot by Luke Schenn on a Campbell shot attempt went directly to a wide-open Boyes in the slot. Mason had no chance of stopping Boyes from roofing the puck from point-blank range.
Now it would be up to the Flyers to protect a one-goal lead instead of two.
2nd period stats - Period (40-min totals)
ATTEMPTED SHOTS: Flyers 16 (28) - Panthers 21 (51)
SHOTS ON GOAL: Flyers 10 (15) - Panthers 10 (27)
BLOCKS: Flyers 8 (12) - Panthers 4 (6)
MISSED SHOTS: Flyers 2 (7) - Panthers 8 (12)
POWERPLAYS: FLYERS 0-for-2 (0-for-3), Panthers 0-for-2 (0-for-3)
FACEOFFS: Flyers won 13 of 25 (19-for-34, led by Couturier's 5-for-7)
CREDITED HITS: Flyers 10 (30) - Panthers 10 (20)
CHARGED GIVEAWAYS: Flyers 1 (5) - Panthers 3 (5)
CREDITED TAKEAWAYS: Flyers 0 (4) - Panthers 2 (7)
3rd PERIOD: KEY MOMENTS
The Flyers managed to preserve the 2-1 lead the remainder of the game. They showed some aggression physically -- especially Simmonds, who was a hitting machine in the final stanza -- and generally kept Florida to the perimeter. Without a doubt, the highlight of the period and game for the Flyers was an outstanding four-minute penalty kill.
At the 2:48 mark of the period, Rosehill was called for a roughing penalty behind the play. I did not see what happened, as I was following the play as Florida moved the puck up the ice. Berube said after the game that he thought it was a weak initial call.
As Rosehill skated toward the penalty box, a fracas developed in center ice, initially involving Zac Rinaldo and Tomas Kopecky. Seeing that his side was outnumbered, Rosehill left the box to jump into the scrum to go after Kopecky. It was a pretty dumb thing to do, as it could have ended up being very costly to his team in the aftermath.
Referees Darcy Burcell and Kelly Sutherland conferred with each other and then skated over to Berube. After the game, the coach said the officials gave him a choice: a two-minute 5-on-3 disadvantage or a four-minute, 5-on-4 disadvantage.
Even Berube said after the game that this was a bit unusual for all the years he's been involved in the sport. It was a no-brainer, however, to pick the four-minute 5-on-4 instead of two minutes at 5-on-3. Rosehill got two separate roughing minors, and a 10-minute misconduct for not remaining in the penalty box area. Kopecky and Rinaldo got offsetting minors.
Philly did a magnificent penalty killing job, highlighted by a pair of shorthanded chances for Talbot. This segment of the game was a definite energy and confidence booster for the Flyers in defending the lead.
The Flyers spend seven of the final 10 minutes of the game on the power play.
At 10:01, Erik Gudbranson got a (well-deserved) boarding major and game misconduct for drilling Hartnell into the boards from behind.
The first several minutes of the power play whittled away with little pressure from the Flyers. The team generated a lot of offensive zone time in the final minute -- repeatedly feeding the puck to Mark Streit at the point -- but really didn't get many good looks at the net.
At 17:23, Whitney took a high sticking minor. The Flyers played this power play quite conservatively, primarily making sure that Florida didn't get any shorthanded chances on intercepted pucks.
There were just 37 seconds left in the game by the time Whitney exited the box. The Flyers did a good job at killing the remaining time off the clock without Florida getting their goalie to the bench and generating a last-ditch 6-on-5 push.
3rd PERIOD STATS: Period (Final Totals)
ATTEMPTED SHOTS: Flyers 17 (57) - Panthers 24 (68)
SHOTS ON GOAL: Flyers 13 (30) - Panthers 9 (34)
BLOCKS: Flyers 9 (20, Grossmann led with five) - Panthers 7 (16)
MISSED SHOTS: Flyers 2 (11) - Panthers 6 (14)
POWERPLAYS: FLYERS 0-for-2 (0-for-5), Panthers 0-for-2 (0-for-5)
FACEOFFS: Flyers won eight of 18 (27-for-52, 52%, led by Couturier's 9-for-15 and Giroux's 14-for-24)
CREDITED HITS: Flyers 6 (29, Simmonds and Rinaldo led with five) - Panthers 1 (12)
CHARGED GIVEAWAYS: Flyers 2 (9) - Panthers 1 (6)
CREDITED TAKEAWAYS: Flyers 3 (8) - Panthers 0 (5)
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OFFICIAL THREE-STAR SELECTION (Frank Seravalli, Phiadelphia Daily News)
#1: Steve Mason - Flyers
#2: Jacob Markström - Panthers
#3: Max Talbot - Flyers
My THREE-STAR SELECTION
#1: Steve Mason - Flyers
#2: Jacob Markström - Panthers
#3: Brayden Schenn - Flyers
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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
NHL.com
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POST-GAME QUOTEBOOK
FLYERS
Steve Mason on his approach to last night's game and ensuing performance:
"You know that is something that Reeser [goaltending coach Jeff Reese] and I talked about before and it was just to be ready. It’s a new system and things aren’t going to be coming easy right away especially without a real practice under our belts yet so it was something I was prepared for, but at the same time, and I’ve said it before, it’s all part of the position just to come up with pucks at key times."
Braydon Coburn on the team's mindset and the importance of the win last night:
"It’s our second home game of the year and we did some good things. But we definitely want to go back to improve on some things. This is a journey we’re on here together and I think we have good players and we just have to gel and glue."
Coburn slightly rephrasing his answer to a similar question:
"There is a family feeling on this team, there really is. We want to play for each other. At the same time, we're in the business of winning hockey games, and when you don't win, changes get made. We know that winning is a process and we need to go through that process together if we're going to be successful."
Craig Berube on the Flyers overall performance:
"At times we played great, but there are still some things to improve on. It’s a learning thing, and we’ve got a ways to go."
Berube on the Rosehill incident early in the third period:
"I thought the initial call was a weak one. What he did after that, well, it's unacceptable and he knows that."
Berube to a follow-up question by Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski on whether he "has any punishment planned" for Rosehill:
"What do you want me to do, spank him? ...[Pause]... Stupid question. Get lost!"
PANTHERS
Kevin Dineen on his team's overall performance:
“You can sit there; there’s always different ways to look at a game. At the end of it we’re not displeased with the way we played but you don’t win the game. We need to find a way to finish those off and to turn those momentum pushes into some offense and eventually that turns into points.”
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