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Meltzer's Musings: Gut-Check 3rd pd deconstructed, goalies, CHL Playoffs

March 29, 2018, 4:40 PM ET [120 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
MELTZER'S MUSINGS: MARCH 29, 2018

1) The Flyers needed each and every one of their 34 blocked shots in Thursday's game in Colorado, especially in the third period. Under the circumstances of travel across three time zones in 72 hours, playing a third tough game in four games, the accumulated fatigue and the desperation of the Avalanche to find a way to get the game to overtime if not win in regulation, the third period was guaranteed to be tough sledding before the final stanza even started.

If you don't think every other NHL team playing under the same set of conditions would have had some scary moments trying to nail the game in the final period of the road trip, you don't watch enough hockey outside of the Flyers. These are human beings out there, not robots.

From a Flyers standpoint, the first 14-plus minutes of the third period in Wednesday's game in Colorado were managed extremely well. Keep in mind again that this was a road team playing its third game in four nights and going up against a desperate and more rested opponent who is far more used to contending with the mile-high altitude of playing in Denver. The Flyers could hardly have gotten the game to its latter stages in better fashion, except if they'd been able to capitalize on a power play chance with an opportunity for a much-needed insurance goal.

The Flyers shifts were kept short, the Flyers generated their fair share of time in the Avalanche zone, most of the play in the defensive zone was kept to the perimeter, the passing and shooting lanes were closed off quickly and defensive clears and zone exits were blissfully uneventful.

However, the final six minutes of the game, especially the last four, were sheer torture from a Flyers standpoint. Players got caught on several seemingly endless shifts hemmed in their own zone and most of the guys on the ice ran out of gas. Thankfully, they willed themselves to keep on blocking shots and Petr Mrazek took care of the rest.

Shayne Gostisbehere did not see another shift in the game after being out for a very long 1:36 (14:24 to 16:00) shift. Likewise, neither rookie defenseman Travis Sanheim (final shift from 13:04 to 13:57) nor Travis Konecny (who had been stuck out on a 2:33 shift from 14:38 to 17:11 and was utterly out of gas) saw the ice again late. Rookies Nolan Patrick (final shift from 13:57 to 14:31) and Oskar Lindblom (final shift from 13:57 to 14:38) were also spectators for the final five-plus minutes of play. Scott Laughton, whose line had a tough 1:02 shift from 12:02 to 13:04. Out-of-favor veteran Dale Weise played his final shift from 13:04 to 13:57. Jordan Weal came off for the final time at 12:36 after a 40-second shift.

This was not entirely unexpected even with the Flyers being at the end of a tough road trip and locked in a very close game. For one thing, Hakstol and most NHL other coaches prefer to tab their veteran defensive role players and top-line vets in such late-game situations. For another, the sheer length of the ensuing shifts, further prolonged by multiple failed clears and a couple of icing infractions served to shorten the bench simply because there was almost no time to come up for air.

From 16:00 to 18:10, Andrew MacDonald was unable to get off the ice for a change. Jori Lehterä and Matt Read were out from 16:00 to 17:31. Unable to change earlier on a shift that started at 14:38, Konecny finally got to the bench at 17:11. Ivan Provorov was out for a ridiculous 3:27 (14:24 to 17:51) before he finally was able to get off for a brief rest.

Radko Gudas was out from 18:10 to 19:20 (1:10). Brandon Manning was out from 17:51 to 18:35 (44 seconds). Provorov, whose recovery times are staggeringly short but who was tested to the absolute limit, had been out again from 18:35 to 19:20 after his marathon shift. With Gudas and Provorov back to the bench and neither Gostisbehere nor Sanheim entrusted to take one more shift, that left MacDonald and Manning to manage the final 40 seconds of the game. Lehterä also played the final 40 seconds. An out-of-steam Read's 1:31 shift was followed by another 1:07 (18:13 to 19:20) before Philly got a desperately needed stoppage.

Sean Couturier was on the ice from 17:31 to 18:35 and then again for the final 40 seconds of staving off Colorado's 6-on-5 attack. Wayne Simmonds also played the final 40 second but he'd had an almost too-lengthy rest (from 13:04 to 19:20) before it. Claude Giroux, who was hunched over his stick and fighting for air, had 42-second and final 40-second shifts within the final 2:29 of the game. An equally spent Jakub Voracek was out on the ice from 17:11 to 19:20 (2:09).

If there had been even a few more seconds left on the clock by the time the Flyers iced it with 3.8 seconds left, Colorado may very well have scored to force OT. Thankfully for the Flyers, they were able to step up defensively one final time despite the deadly Nathan MacKinnon having a great look at the net off a clean faceoff win by Gabriel Landeskog.

2) The Flyers will now have their final three-night schedule break of the season. At this time of year, rest is more valuable than practice time. The team will not be on the ice again until a practice on Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, the team hosts the Boston Bruins at the Wells Fargo Center.

3) It is unfortunate to have to say this, but it is hard for the Philadelphia Flyers (or any NHL club, for that matter) to rely any further on Michal Neuvirth to be on their NHL roster in any capacity, whether it is as a split-time starter or as a backup.

Neuvirth is simply far too injury-prone and too hot-and-cold in between the inevitable injuries. The sad part is that he has shown he can steal games and periodically rattle off a series of dominant performances before the next outright clunker or injury. There's no questioning the physical gifts. Neuvirth is capable of making some astounding saves. If one made a subjective list of the top five toughest saves made by a Flyers goalie this season, arguably three of them were authored by Neuvirth despite him appearing in only 22 games.

Just back into the Flyers lineup for the first time since exiting with a lower-body injury (suspected to be a groin pull) the team's Feb. 18 game against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, Neuvirth was very sharp in goal for a period-plus in Thursday's game in Colorado. Then he suffered another injury and left the game.

Going forward beyond this season, the Flyers have a tough decision to make with Neuvirth. His yearly series of injuries -- which have plagued him throughout his NHL career -- make it ill-advised to keep him around and cross fingers that he'll finally stay healthy for a full season or close to it. Neuvirth has had three significant absences this season alone, and that doesn't even count his fainting episode and concussion late last season that happened nearly one calendar year ago.

Neuvirth is signed for one additional season. He doesn't have much trade value to speak of due to the injury history. He's not a great buyout candidate, even if he is healthy (teams cannot buy out injured players). The $1.5 million of cap savings next season would also carry a replacement cost to bring in another goalie plus $750K in dead cap space for 2019-20. The other option, short of mutual termination (which seems unlikely), is to bury him the AHL next season. However, with Carter Hart on his way and one of Alex Lyon or Anthony Stolarz -- both restricted free agents this summer -- likely to serve as an NHL/AHL swingman and split-time goalie with Lehigh Valley, that may not be a good option, either.

4) While there is no official return date yet for Brian Elliott, the word over the last week or so is that he should be on target to be cleared to play sometime over the final few games of the regular season. Core muscle surgery can be tough to return from in peak form the same season but, if Elliott is truly close to 100 percent, it is an upgrade in goal that would give back to the Flyers a reliable, if unspectacular, starting option.

Petr Mrazek has been extremely erratic since coming over from Detroit. Even in stopping all 17 shots he faced in Colorado in relief of Neuvirth and starting his Flyers stint with three straight solid games (including a shutout), he still only has a save percentage of .890 in 15 appearances for the Flyers to date. He's a guesser/gambler and not very big, although he is quite athletic and an above-average puckhandler. When Mrazek has been sharp, he's looked very good but he's gone off the rails a little too often and a little too unpredictably within games to feel much comfort with him in net.

In the meantime, Lyon has shown tremendous competitive will and has authored some big saves, but the rookie has also been a bit fortunate on overplays and rebounds that didn't end up in the net. His overall performance has been commendable, but not strong enough to where he'd be a clear choice as a playoff starter.

*************

FLYERS PROSPECT PLAYOFF UPDATES

* OHL: The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds completed a first-round sweep of the Saginaw Spirit on Wednesday with a 5-3 win in Saginaw. The Greyhounds did not get much of anything going for the first 30 minutes of the game but eventually their superior firepower won out, led by a hat trick by Tampa prospect Boris Katchouk.

Flyers prospect Morgan Frost did not have his "A" game going on Wednesday but still recorded a point. Uncharacteristically, he made some low-percentage plays with the puck that went for turnovers. Normally reliable without the puck, he had a defensive miscue that was erased by goalie Matthew Villalta. Frost took a pair of minor penalties (his third and four trips to the box in the series) and was on the ice for two Saginaw even-strength goals (+2, -2). However, Frost had a nifty power play assist on the second Katchouk goal, which gave Sault Ste. Marie a 3-1 lead heading into the third period. He had one shot on goal.

For the series, Frost record seven points (two goals, five assists) in the four games and was plus-four. He also went 37-for-68 on faceoffs (54.4 percent), recorded a game winning goal in game 2 and a game-winning primary assist in game 1.

The Greyhounds, who posted a 55-7-6 record in the regular season (tops across all three CHL leagues), are the first team in the OHL to clinch their first round series. They will await their next opponent.

* OHL: After trailing their series with the Kitchener Rangers, two games to zero, the Guelph Storm have battled back for a pair of wins on home ice to send the series back to Kitchener tied at two games apiece. In Game Four on Wednesday, Flyers 2017 second-round pick Isaac Ratcliffe scored a pair of goals (his second and third of the series) to take second-star honors. He has five points in the four games played to date.

Kitchener captain Connor Bunnaman had an assist -- his first point of the series -- and went 5-for-10 on faceoffs in Game Four. For the series, Bunnaman has gone 21-for-34 (61.8 percent) on the draw.

Game Five will be played in Kitchener on Friday.

* OHL: The Hamilton Bulldogs put a three games to one stranglehold on their first-round series with the Ottawa 67's and they claimed a 5-2 road victory on Wednesday. Matthew Strome collected a pair of assists. Through four games, the left wing has eight points (one goal, seven assists). Game five is in Hamilton on Friday.

* OHL: Holding a three games to zero lead over the London Knights, the Owen Sound Attack will try to close out the series on the road on Thursday night. Maksim Sushko has one point (the game-winning goal in Game One) in the series. He missed Game Three due to an undisclosed injury.

* OHL: The Sarnia Sting need a road win on Thursday in order to take a three games to one series lead over the Windsor Spitfires. Otherwise, the series will head back to Sarnia on Friday tied at two games apiece with a guaranteed return trip to Windsor on Sunday. Through the first three games of the series, Anthony Salinitri had one point (a Game One goal) in one-plus before suffering an apparent shoulder or collarbone injury in the second game. He missed Game Three. Officially, Salinitri is day-to-day per Sarnia boss Derian Hatcher.

* QMJHL: The Acadie-Bathurst Titan suffered a 6-3 road setback in Game Four on Wednesday as the Chicoutimi Sagueneens knotted their first round series at two games apiece. German Rubtsov was pointless and minus-one in Game Four. He has one assist and eight shots on goal through four games, and is minus-two overall. Game Five is at Centre régional K.C. Irving on Friday with Game Six back in Chicoutimi on Sunday.

* QMJHL: The Quebec Remparts took a two games to one lead in their series with the Charlottetown Islanders with a 4-2 win on Wednesday. Pascal Laberge did not record a point but had three shots on goal. Through three games, he has four points (one goal, three assists) and nine shots on goal. Game four is in Charlottetown on Friday.

* WHL: Holding a two games to one lead in their first round series with the Seattle Thunderbirds, the Everett Silvertips will be back in action on Friday for Game Four in Seattle. Through the first three games, Carter Hart has stopped 86 of 93 shots (.925 save percentage).

* WHL: Trailing their first round series with the Tri-City Americans three games to zero, the Kelowna Rockets need a road win on Thursday to prolong the series and take it back to Kelowna on Saturday. Through three games, Carsen Twarynski has two goals, three points and seven shots on goal while going minus-two. If the Rockets are eliminated in the first round, Twarynski figures to join the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the rest of the season.
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