WRAPUP: FLYERS BLANKED AGAIN, LOSE 2-0 TO BLUES
Two nights after coming out on the losing end of a 1-0 overtime decision against the LA Kings, the Philadelphia Flyers came up empty again as they dropped a 2-0 game to the St. Louis Blues at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday night.
The positives: The Flyers held the Blues to just one shot for the first 22:01 of the game, two shots until 27:58 and 16 shots for the game. Philly outshot St. Louis by an 11-1 count in the first period and, in the second period, looked strong in killing a four-minute penalty. Philly sporadically generated good scoring chances, particularly a new trio of Nick Cousins and Wayne Simmonds flanking Sean Couturier. As the game progressed, however, the good looks at the net significantly dwindled.
"They are a tight hockey team. They played well defensively in the back end. If you don’t move pucks the right away, they smother you. They get in there in front with two-three guys," Flyers defenseman Mark Streit said.
"It’s the same like in the PP; you’ve got to move the puck right away. Get it on top, get it over and try to spread them out. I think we just didn’t play it very well. We’ve got to come up offensively. We have to find a way to spread teams out, to use our speed and skill and create score chances. Tight games this time of the year, it’s tough to create but we still have to find a way to get scoring chances to score goals."
The negatives: The offense generated few flurries around the net and apart from a handful of outstanding saves, St. Louis goalie Carter Hutton was not truly tested as the Flyers battled to come back after a bad-bounce goal by Paul Stastny (challenged unsuccessfully for an offside on an earlier keep at the blueline). In the third period, a Kenny Agostino breakaway goal provided additional insurance and the Flyers didn't get nearly enough quality chances despite an 11-4 shot edge. For the game, the Flyers had 22 shot attempts blocked.
"It goes back probably the last 10-15 that we’re probably not scoring a whole lot of goals," Brayden Schenn said.
"Obviously in this league we know you have to play good defense, but you also have to score goals and we’re just not doing that right now. We’re not generating enough Grade A opportunities, maybe shooting away or flipping pucks too much, we need to open up the ice and use all parts of the ice, after that chances will start coming."
Philly went 0-for-4 on the power play and looked unimpressive in doing so. There were few quality chances except for an early one for Andrew MacDonald joining the rush.
"It wasn’t good tonight and it wasn’t great last game, either. So, that is something that you’ve got to work on there. I think everything is a little bit too slow; we got to move the puck way quicker. We’ve got to move bodies quick around and we need to open them up and get pucks to the net, it’s not a secret," Streit said.
"I think we’re too stagnant nobody is really moving and try getting in the lanes. Everybody’s getting great at it. We’ve got to move pucks and we’ve got to move bodies, try to spread them out and get pucks to the net. Then it will be OK but after a game like that it will be hard getting anything going offensively.”
Michal Neuvirth had a hard-luck game in goal on a night where he saw just 16 shots. He had no chance on the wicked deflection goal that made it 1-0. The Agostino breakaway goal, scored top shelf, was one where the shooter deserved credit.
Travis Konency rejoined the lineup after a two-game absence as a healthy scratch, playing right wing on Brayden Schenn's line. He later suffered an injury in the second period and was unable to finish the game. Matt Read was a healthy scratch as was, for the third straight game, defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.
The line of Cousins, Couturier and Simmonds started the game for Philly. Neuvirth caught a long dump-in that was heading wide of the net at the 16-second mark for a quick stoppage. The Flyers first chance came at the 1:24 mark as a side-angle shot by Jakub Voracek had Michael Raffl going to the net. Raffl poked at the puck but was unable to jar it loose from Hutton.
The Giroux line generated some extensive offensive zone time plus a relatively harmless point shot with Voracek lurking in the vicinity of the net on a shift that ended at the 5:03 mark. Shots through 5:25 were 3-0 in Philly's favor as the Blues iced the puck. St. Louis iced the puck against at 5:45.
Cousins stirred the pot near the player benches and a still-peeved Ryan Reeves, further goaded by Andrew MacDonald, took a blatant slash at MacDonald in the neutral zone -- directly in front of the referee -- at 6:08. Up went the arm and the Flyers went on the game's first power play.
The first power play unit was unable to get set up. The second unit, given only about 20 seconds late in the advantage, did little better.
St. Louis whistled a couple shots wide of the net and had one dribble in weakly that was not credited as a shot. The Couturier line then generated a bang-bang chance at the other end. Shots were officially 6-0 Flyers with 8:27 remaining in the first period.
As time ticked down near eight minutes left in the first period, Giroux from the slot and Raffl from the doorstep had scoring chances but could not solve Hutton. The Flyers went back to the power play at 12:09, Jaden Schwartz was sent off for tripping.
MacDonald joined the attack on a power play rush and was robbed by Hutton. The Blues were retroactively credited with a shot on a pre-penalty dribbler moments after Neuvirth came out of his net and steered a puck aside. With the teams back at full strength, Dmitrij Jaskin hit the post.
With 1:58 left, Hutton swallowed up a deep slot shot by Simmonds with no rebounds. It was 11th save of the first period. Kenny Agostino put a puck through Neuvirth, but wide of the post, in the final minute.
First period shots were 11-1 in Philly's favor. Per the Elias Sports Bureau via Flyers' media services manager Brian Smith, the last time the Flyers held a team to just one shot in a period happened in the third period of their January 3, 2015 game on the road against the New Jersey Devils (a 5-2 Flyers loss). The last time Philly held an opponent to a single shot in the first period was March 8, 2011 against the Edmonton Oilers; a 17-1 shot edge helped along by five-minute power play resulting from a Ladislav Smid boarding penalty. The Flyers won that game, 4-1.
On a mini 2-on-1 in the opening half minute of the second period, Hutton made a shoulder save on Cousins. The Flyers came out on the wrong end of a bad offside goal as the Giroux line had puck possession in the Blues' zone and a puck was clearly held in by Radko Gudas.
Neuvirth was credited with his second save of the game as Carl Gunnarsson and a forward crashed the net. Shortly past the four-minute mark, Cousins was robbed on a 10-bell save at the doorstep on a near tic-tac-toe connection off the rush Shortly thereafter, Konecny's leg buckled and he went awkwardly into the right corner boards and seemed to favoring a shoulder as he went off gingerly to the bench. He returned later in the period.
Hutton swallowed up a side angle shot by Simmonds at 5:54. A TV timeout ensued. Shots were 4-2 Flyers at this point of the period.
MacDonald broke up a would-be odd man rush for St. Louis, causing play to go offside. A turnover on a top-line breakout resulted in the Blues' first real in-close chance but Neuvirth denied David Perron in close. The Blues won the ensuing right circle faceoff and Neuvirth fought off traffic on his fourth save of the game.. The Flyers won the next draw in the left circle and got the puck out of the defensive zone briefly only for the Blues to go right back in the attack. Agostino took an extra poke at Neuvirth after the whistle. Radko Gudas and Perron received offsetting roughing minors in the ensuing scrum at 8:43.
Play moved to 4-on-4. Shortly after the teams returned to full strength, St. Louis went on its first power play, as MacDonald was called for a high-sticking double minor at 11:06 as he clipped ex-Flyer Scottie Upshall.
Simmonds, after breaking his stick, swept a clear with his glove. Neuvirth fought off a screen for his seventh save. Two more saves ensued. Agostino limped very slowly and painfully off the ice after friendly fire caught him in the leg with time ticking down to the final 10 seconds of the MacDonald penalty.
After the penalty ended, though, the Blues then scored a puck luck goal on their 10th shot of the game as Stastny's skate redirected a Shattenkirk point shot that was heading wide of the right post. The Flyers challenged on the basis that the puck came out just over the blueline and was brought back in offside by Carl Gunnarsson before the goal sequence. The on-ice good goal call was upheld for lack of a conclusive replay. Stastny's 15th goal of the season, scored at 15:22, was assisted by Shattenkirk and Alex Steen.
The Giroux line had a couple bounces go their way on attempted clears by the Blues but could not get a shot on net. Second period shots were 11-4 in the Blues' favor in the second period (15-12 Flyers overall).
Konecny did not return for the third period. Per Flyers GM Ron Hextall, the player's condition would be updated on Tuesday.
The Flyers won the opening faceoff of the third period but the puck was accidentally iced by Ivan Provorov. No harm ensued as the Flyers won the draw cleanly in the defensive zone and broke the other way. Simmonds fed MacDonald off the rush for a perimeter shot. On the next shift, Gudas fired a long distance shot on net and later stood his ground at the offensive blueline on a bouncing puck and leveled a St. Louis checker.
At 2:10, the Flyers' top line paid dearly for a turnover in the offensive zone. Agostino was sent off on a breakaway by Perron and top-shelfed a shot over Neuvirth's glove for his 1st NHL goal of the season and second of his career. Jori Lehterä received the secondary assist.
A momentarily open shot for Dale Weise in the right slot closed off quickly and got blocked. Third period shots were 4-1 Flyers through the first six minutes. Neuvirth snared a side-angle shot at 6:27 for his 12th save of the game.
Taking a pass from Simmonds, Cousins chipped a side-angle shot on Hutton. At the other end, Neuvirth came out to challenge and cleanly stopped right circle wrister by Berglund. Streit had a decent look at the net on a play set up by Cousins with traffic in front but fired wide of the post.
Cousins drew a tripping penalty on Reaves with 8:09 left in the third period. Voracek fired well wide of the net on a one-timer try. The Flyers switched units (except for Giroux, who remained on the ice) midway. The top unit returned with 27 seconds left. A sudden whistle with nine seconds left ensued oddly on a long rebound. Play remained in the St. Louis zone.
With 2:38 left, moments after Couturier was knocked down, Gudas upended Parayko and a ruckus ensued near the Blues bench. Gudas got a roughing minor and Parayko received a double minor. The Flyers pulled Neuvirth for a 6-on-4 attack.
Provorov prevented a possible empty net goal for Perron with a big hit in the neutral zone. Hutton then made stops on Giroux and Streit as time ticked down to 49.3 seconds left. Running out of time, the Flyers accidentally sent a puck out of the offensive zone.
Final shots were 26-16 in the Flyers' favor and 11-4 in Flyers' favor in the third period. The Flyers have an off-day on Tuesday and then will prepare to play the New York Islanders (6-5 overtime winners against Toronto on Monday) at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.
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FLYERS ALUMNI UPDATES
* On Sunday, the Flyers Alumni surprised the kids at the Wissahickon Skating Club in Philadelphia with a "rink takeover" event. The Alumni held a celebration for the kids and then presented them in the locker room with jerseys to wear out on the ice for the SQA American vs Ice Dogs game.
* During Monday's game between the Flyers and Blues at the Wells Fargo Center, the Alumni had a similar surprise for the Quebec Pee Wees:
* On Sunday, Feb. 12, a group of Alumni will be at the Blue Cross River Rink for a public skating session during Flyers Day at Winterfest. For more information,
click here.
* The following day, a group of nine Flyers Alumni will depart for Russia to begin a three-game tour that will take the team to Moscow for an outdoor game in Red Square as well as to St. Petersburg and Kazan. I will be accompanying the team on the tour, documenting it day-by-day in diary fashion for
FlyersAlumni.org. While it is unknown if Vladimir Putin will play in one of the games, there will be some notable Russian hockey names, including Alexei Yashin, playing on the Russian side as well as Russian players who are Flyers Alumni suiting up in the sharp-looking black and orange jerseys that the Alumni will sport for the tour.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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