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Wrap: Flyers Lose Road Finale in OT, 1-0, to Devils

April 4, 2017, 11:13 PM ET [348 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
WRAPUP: FLYERS LOSE ROAD FINALE IN OT, 1-0, TO DEVILS

Reprising an all-too-common theme from the post-Christmas portion of the season, the Philadelphia Flyers came up empty on 35 shots and fell in overtime, 1-0, to the New Jersey Devils in the team's road finale on Tuesday night.

The Flyers finish the season 14-22-5 on the road this season for a very disappointing 33 points. How costly was Philly's road performance? If the Flyers win their remaining two home games, they will become just the third team in NHL history to earn 56 points at home and still miss the playoffs. They would share that dubious distinction with the 2005-06 Vancouver Canucks and 2014-15 Los Angeles Kings.

Defensemen Samuel Morin, the Flyers' first-round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, and highly touted recent college free agent signing Mike Vecchione made their respective NHL debuts in Newark on Tuesday.

Morin's first NHL game wasn't flawless but there was significantly more good than bad in his 24 shifts and 17:47 of total ice time. The 6-foot-7 defenseman was credited with a game-high seven hits, a takeaway and two shots on goal including a good scoring opportunity. In perhaps his most notable sequences, he made three straight good defensive plays near the blueline, accelerated quickly to harass Taylor Hall from behind without taking a penalty on a developing breakaway and, in another sequence, used his long reach to get to a loose puck ahead of two New Jersey players in the vicinity. Overall, he and Shayne Gostisbehere did well as a duo, with Gostisbehere having a particularly strong game.

Morin had a few dicey shifts, but nothing egregious. There was a turnover (not charged as a giveaway) when he tried to go up the wall with the puck in the waning seconds of the first period rather than hanging onto the puck and trying to tie up along the half boards. A couple times, his work-in-progress coverages of forwards attacking with speed to the outside came into play but he recovered.

Vecchione, not unexpectedly especially given his lack of full-fledged practice opportunities, was used pretty sparingly by Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol. The Union College standout, who will be in Chicago on Friday for the Hobey Baker Award dinner (he is a finalist), skated 10 shifts in his 8:15 of ice time. His better shifts came after the first period. Vecchione won five of seven faceoffs in his NHL debut, had two shots on goal, was credited with a pair of hits and blocked a shot. Vecchione centered Chris VandeVelde and Colin McDonald.

Jordan Weal was a late scratch due to illness. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was shifted from center to wing and played mostly in the top six including a significant portion of a 0-0 third period on the top line with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. Travis Konecny, who had a bit of a rough game with a tripping penalty in the opening minute of the game (it should be noted that veteran Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds also took careless penalties) and a dangerous turnover on a low-percentage pass attempt in the third period, skated 10:13 over 12 shifts.

With rookie Anthony Stolarz having played three straight nights (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), the Flyers turned back to veteran Steve Mason in Newark. Mason played an outstanding game in goal to continue a strong -- but ultimately futile -- stretch drive. Mason carried a 26-save shutout into overtime, making a host of outstanding saves along the way.

In overtime, the Flyers yielded back-to-back two-on-one rushes. The first stemmed from Voracek being tripped down low in the offensive zone by Kyle Palmieri and, with Giroux behind the net, breaking out in an oddman rush the other way. The second came about because of Giroux and Voracek attempting a risky line change and the Flyers getting caught.

At the 59-second mark of OT, Hall completed a cross-ice feed to John Moore and Mason had little chance at stopping this one. Palmieri got the secondary assist.

With just two games left on the schedule, Hakstol may opt to split them between Mason and Stolarz. That seems to be the prudent course. It makes sense for Michal Neuvirth to sit out the last two games of season as a precaution after his terrifying collapse in the crease during a stoppage of play in Saturday's game. Over his last 16 games, Mason has posted a 9-5-2 record, 2.15 goals against average, .933 save percentage, with two credited shutouts plus Tuesday's regulation shutout.

Ivan Provorov played 22:08 of mostly stellar hockey for the Flyers on Tuesday. His best work, arguably, came on the penalty kill and he nearly sniped a goal looking upstairs on a shorthanded rush in the third period.

Unfortunately for the Flyers, no one had an answer for Keith Kinkaid. The netminder, who has quietly had a strong season amid a terrible season for the Devils, was very sharp in stopping all 35 shots the Flyers put on his net. His rebound control and positioning were excellent.

Both teams had their chances on special teams. The Flyers first power play unit had about five good looks at the net and/or traffic but Kinkaid tracked everything flawlessly. The second unit got very little going. Philly went 0-for-4 on the power play. Mason was the Flyers' best penalty killer on a couple of their own man disadvantages and teammates stepped up on the other kills as Philly went 5-for-5 on the PK.

The Flyers do not play on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday nights. The season concludes with back-to-back home games on Saturday against the playoff-bound Columbus Blue Jackets and Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
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