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Wrapup: Flyers Frustrations Continue in 4-1 Loss to Devils |
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Wrapup: Flyers Frustrations Continue in 4-1 Loss to Devils
Coming back off a five-day "bye week" did not prove to be an elixir for the woes that have befallen the Philadelphia Flyers ever since the final game before the league-wide Christmas break. The team fell to 3-9-3 over its past 15 games as it dropped a 4-1 decision to the New Jersey Devils at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night.
Overall, the Flyers played decent hockey for most of the first 40 minutes but found themselves down by two goals heading into the third period.
“Terrible bounces in a game, and all of a sudden the game could turn around and a couple mistakes on our part. It makes it hard on us to come back. It is hard to look at a game like that and think it is a 4-1 game. Our first period was pretty solid and we gave good efforts throughout the game. We just had penalty trouble," said Flyers winger Travis Konecny.
Philly had a good early push in the third, but once the score got to 4-1, the rest of the game was a formality.
"It’s hard, but if we want to rest on confidence sagging, that’s the wrong answer. Our answer is pull together, dig in and get back to work," said Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol.
The initial turning point: With score tied 1-1 in the latter stages of the second period, a terrible clipping penalty on a clean hip check by Radko Gudas that ended up as a two-minute five on three power play for New Jersey after Wayne Simmonds complained about the call. A leaky unscreened perimeter goal followed.
“I’ll take blame for that. I didn’t agree with the penalty, I got an extra two that’s my fault. They score a goal make it 2-1, that’s a momentum changer, I take all of the blame for that," a frowning Simmonds said after the game.
"What was said both ways? The referee was talking to me; I was talking to him. I am not commenting on calls; it is what it is. It happened, it’s over with now. I am not going to say anything about that.”
The deficit was still manageable until the Flyers got caught in a line change for a breakaway goal in the final minute of the second period. The final nail: a penalty killing breakdown that resulted in a slam-dunk goal that built a three-goal cushion for the Devils.
Agitating Devils forward Miles Wood got under the Flyers' skin all night and had the last laugh with even strength and power play goals. The Devils also got an early even strength goal by Pavel Zacha and a Kyle Palmieri goal on the 5-on-3 power play that put New Jersey ahead to stay. Philly's lone goal was scored by Travis Konecny.
New Jersey backup netminder Keith Kinkaid did not look spectacular in goal but was solid enough to turn back 35 of 36 Flyers shots. Michal Neuvirth took the loss, stopping 22 of 25 shots before being removed for "precautionary reasons" after two periods, according to Flyers general manager Ron Hextall. Steve Mason mopped up in the third period, stopping three of four shots. He was hung out to try on a Devils power play goal.
"We were playing better in the second period. I thought we had a momentum. You know stuff like that 5-on-3 for two minutes; it’s tough to defend. I think it’s taking way too many penalties lately and you got to make sure it doesn’t happen again," Neuvirth said.
"When you lose so many games you lose confidence. For us it was a tough break to come back, devils playing really good hockey, but I think we got to keep believing and keep pushing forward. I still believe in this group.”
Overall on special teams, the Flyers went 0-for-6 on the power play. New Jersey went 2-for-7.
The Flyers made an adjustment to their second power play unit's setup. Sean Couturier moved to a net-front spot with Travis Konecny on the left half boards, and it helped figure in Philadelphia's lone goal although the goal was scored after five-on-five play resumed. Overall, the second unit outplayed the first.
While the Flyers have continued to find ways to lose -- with the team defense, goaltending and scoring all springing leaks -- Voracek said there was nothing to gain from looking for individual scapegoats.
"I think we are on the ice as a six-man unit, so if the forwards make a mistake, the defense makes a mistake or the goalie makes a mistake, it doesn’t matter. If you play good defensively you are not going to get scored on. So we need to tighten it up a little bit and clear it up, and hopefully we will be better tomorrow," Voracek said.
The Flyers dodged an early bullet in the first period. With Mark Streit leading a rush up the ice, the Flyers lost the puck and the Devils countered on a 2-on-1 just past the one-minute mark of the first period. The rush was partially broken up but a chance for Miles Wood followed in tight to Neuvirth, who made the save.
The Flyers got the game's first power play at 2:39. Karl Stollery got the game for a defensive zone hook. Giroux missed the net on an early one-timer set up from Shayne Gostisbehere, and the puck rimmed out of the offensive zone. With the second unit on the ice, Travis Konecny hit the post on a rebound of an Ivan Provorov shot.
Shortly past the five minute mark, Radko Gudas deposited Taylor Hall on the seat of his pants on a New Jersey rush. Shots at this point were 4-3 in the Flyers' favor.
The Devils' fourth shot gave tem a 1-0 lead at 7:11. New Jersey's Zacha was the first to a long rebound of a Kyle Quincey shot. Jacob Josefson got the puck back to Zacha, who weaved into the slot and beat Neuvirth on the backhand.
The Flyers went back to the power play at 8:49. Wood knocked Giroux down in the neutral zone. The Flyers' captain made sure the refs saw it, and an interference penalty was called.
The Flyers knotted the game at 10:49 on their eighth shot of the period. A Provorov point shot went wide of the net and caromed off Cousins to Kinkaid. Konecny jammed at the puck near the right post and it dribbled through for his eighth goal of his rookie season. Nick Cousins got the secondary assist but looked to have the primary helper. No assist went to the net-front Couturier but the body position he established on Steve Santini enabled the entire sequence to unfold as it did.
Cousins got the gate on a goaltending interference call -- Kinkaid sold it heavily -- in a battle around the New Jersey net at 11:42. The Devils went to their first power play. Wayne Simmonds came up with a tough clear 45 seconds into the kill and then Pierre-Edouard Bellemare stole a puck on the Devils' re-entry to kill more time. Late in the kill, Simmonds cleaned up a long rebound by sending the puck the length of the ice.
The Flyers iced the puck with 6:01 left in the first period. Shots were 9-9 at this point.
With 4:53 left in the opening period, Simmonds took exception to a Wood hit on Cousins behind the Flyers' net. Simmond proceeded to thump Wood in the ensuing fight. Simmonds got an extra roughing minor, but not an instigation penalty because the fight started mutually, and the Devils went back to the power play.
Neuvirth fought off two early flurries by the Devils and then Del Zotto came up with a stick block and a clear. At the end of the power play, Jon Merrill attempted to save a puck at the blueline but brought it back in offside.
Gostisbehere and a twice-pinching Del Zotto applied some pressure in the New Jersey zone alone with the Brayden Schenn line. Time ticked down near two minutes left in the period.
First period shots ended up 14-10 in the Devils' favor.
The Devils got an early second period power play as Del Zotto was called for a trip along the defensive boards at 2:53. With 44 seconds left, Neuvirth tracked a puck through traffic and came up with a clean stop for his 15th save of the game. New Jersey went offside right after the penalty expired.
With 12:33 left in the second period, a scrum ensued near the Philadelphia bench as New Jersey took exception to a clean Konecny hit on P.A. Parenteau. Damon Severson's roughing penalty on Konecny was the only penalty. The Flyers went to the power play.
Thirty six seconds into the power play, the Flyers were flurrying in close to Kinkaid when the referee, off in the corner, lost sight of a loose puck around the net. New Jersey won the next faceoff and cleared the zone. Later, Cousins found room to weave into the right slot but Kinkaid came up with a stick-side shoulder save.
Neuvirth knocked down and quickly covered a Taylor Hall shot from the right circle. Another after-the-whistle scrum broke out, this time behind the Flyers' net. No penalties were called.
Chris VandeVelde was joined by Roman Lyubimov on a 2-on-1 rush, with Kinkaid stopping Vandevelde. The Devils had a partial breakaway the other way, with Neuvirth stopping a sharp-angle shot. Shortly thereafter, Del Zotto had a good look at the net from the left circle but could not find the net. Right before a TV timeout at 12:26, Kinkaid snapped up an Andrew MacDonald right point shot. Shots in the period were 12-8 Flyers to this point (22-20 Flyers overall).
An overaggressive Wood took a terrible holding penalty as he grabbed and spun Del Zotto around up high on a forechecking attempt at 12:59. Philly went to its fourth power play.
With 4:26 left, a seemingly clean hip check by Gudas on Wood was called clipping by the trailing referee, Dan O'Halloran. A griping Simmonds was then tagged by O'Halloran with unsportsmanlike conduct, creating a 5-on-3 for New Jersey. The Devils scored fast, with Palmieri (11th goal) finding the net on a perimeter shot that leaked past an unscreened Neuvirth's glove. Parenteau and Mike Cammalleri got the assists at 15:51. Neuvrith scrambled to come up with a tough save on the remaining 5-on-4 kill to keep the deficit at 2-1.
The Devils scored a potential backbreaking goal with 47.1 seconds left as Wood pounced on a puck in center ice with the Flyers caught in a line change, sped off on a breakaway and snapped a wrist shot home for his sixth goal of the season. Cammalleri and Santini got the assists.
Second period shots were 15-11 in the Flyers' favor (25-25 overall through 40 minutes). Steve Mason entered the Flyers' net for the third period.
The Flyers applied heavy offensive zone pressure to start the third period. New Jersey iced the puck to relieve some pressure monetarily at the 2:40 mark.
The Devils went to the power play for the sixth time at 3:31 as Bellemare tripped Vernon Fiddler along the boards in the New Jersey zone. The Devils moved the puck around the offensive zone and Wood ended up with a tap-in near the right post after Hall's pass got past Del Zotto to make it a 4-1 game on his second goal of the game and 7th of the season. Hall and Stollery got the assists.
VandeVelde was called for tripping Cammalleri -- who embellished it -- at center ice at 4:43. The Flyers got through this one. at 8:03, Josefson got his stick accidentally into Streit's skate but it was enough to send Streit to the ice and draw the Flyers' fifth power play. Kinkaid lost his mask on a rising and nasty looking Voracek shot, bringing about a stoppage. A Voracek one-timer was then denied by Kinkaid. The Devils gained a 2-on-1 rush as the Josefson penalty expired, but Mason fought it off.
Philly went back to the power play yet again with 8:49 left as Merill was sent off high-sticking. Once again, the Flyers were unable to do enough with the man advantage. Couturier had a late side-angle chance. Kinkaid lost his mask again with the Flyers still possessing the puck deep in New Jersey territory after the penalty expired.
Simmonds missed the net on with room on the right side on a late chance set up by Streit. Third period shots were 11-4 Flyers (36-29 Flyers overall). The Flyers return to action on Sunday night in Brooklyn, playing the New York Islanders.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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