WRAPUP: DEVILS 3 - FLYERS 2 (SO)
The Philadelphia Flyers concluded their 2015 preseason schedule on Friday night with a 3-2 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils in an untelevised game at the Prudential Center in Newark. The Flyers ended the preseason with a 3-2-2 mark overall but an 0-1-2 record over the final three games when both Philadelphia and the opposing teams had reasonable facsimiles of their regular NHL lineups on the ice.
The first period saw the Flyers get outshot by a 7-3 margin. Philly took a 1-0 lead to the second intermission on a Ryan White shorthanded goal midway through the period. Shots were 12-11 in the Devils' favor in the middle frame. In the third period, the Devils finally got on the board to tie the match on an early period power play goal by Jiri Tlusty. The Flyers quickly answered back on a power play goal by Jakub Voracek.
Philadelphia, which got outshot 11-7 in the third period, nursed the one-goal lead until there was just 3:31 left in regulation when Jacob Josefson knotted the score at 2-2. The 3-on-3 overtime saw its share of action unlike previous OTs this preseason (but just two shots for the Flyers and one for the Devils). The Flyers had a 4-on-3 power play for the final 59 seconds of the extra frame but could not net a winning goal.
In the shootout, the Flyers went 0-for-3 shooting in the second half of each round. Sam Gagner, Voracek and Claude Giroux (who assisted on both Flyers' goals in regulation) all failed on their attempts. New Jersey went 1-for-3, with middle shooter Josefson tallying what proved to be the winning goal. The Josefson goal was sandwiched between unsuccessful attempts by Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak.
Winning goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 21 of 23 shots in regulation and overtime. He denied Giroux's backhanded try for the game-ending save in the shootout.
For much of the night, Steve Mason was once again the Flyers' best player on the ice. As was so often the case on the road last season, however, he did not end up with a win to show for it. Mason finished with 29 saves on 31 shots in regulation and overtime and was 2-for-3 in the shootout.
The Flyers went 1-for-5 on the power play to finish the preseason at 10-for-30 (33.3 percent). Philly was 4-for-5 on the penalty kill with a shorthanded goal.
Philly changed around several forward lines and two defense pairs in the finale; something that Hakstol hinted on Thursday would happen but gave the caveat that Friday's lineup was not intended as a dry run for opening night; the combos in Tampa Bay on Oct. 8 could very easily be different. How different? That will become clearer in the days leading up opening night.
This was the Flyers' starting lineup in Newark for the preseason finale:
20 R.J. Umberger - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek 10 Brayden Schenn - 89 Sam Gagner - 17 Wayne Simmonds 24 Matt Read - 49 Scott Laughton - 25 Ryan White 76 Chris VandeVelde - 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 40 Vincent Lecavalier
55 Nick Schultz - 32 Mark Streit 15 Michael Del Zotto - 23 Brandon Manning 82 Evgeny Medvedev - 3 Radko Gudas
35 Steve Mason [45 Jason LaBarbera]
FLYERS OUTLOOK: MUCH WORK REMAINS TO BE DONE BY OPENING NIGHT
Individual game outcomes in September and the first couple days of October are irrelevant. It's the preseason, and all wins, losses and personal stats get erased. What matters is the fact that the early on-ice indicators for the 2015-16 Flyers under new coach Dave Hakstol look virtually identical to the characteristics of last season's squad under Craig Berube.
Closing out winnable games, especially on the road, was problematic. The team overrelied on Steve Mason and the power play to save the day. Secondary scoring -- and five-on-five scoring by any line -- became tough to come by as opposing teams started to use their NHL regulars. The team's commitment to two-way play and keeping their feet moving was sporadic. All of these things were familiar themes from last season. There is no reason for panic, but it would be foolish to simply chalk anything and everything up to the vicissitudes of the preseason.
To a large extent, the team's ongoing question marks are to be expected. First and foremost, the personnel on the team really hasn't changed much.
On defense, Evgeny Medvedev has come in to take on some of the responsibilities that fell on Braydon Coburn prior to his being traded to Tampa Bay. Radko Gudas, acquired from Tampa as part of the Coburn deal, has stepped into the Nicklas Grossmann role. Time will tell if these are upgrades.
Medevev was a preseason bright spot in his first North American action. He was far from perfect but his hockey intelligence and skill were quickly obvious. At bare minimum, he looked like someone who could've been playing in the NHL long before age 33. In the bigger picture, the transition to the smaller-rink game and life in North America seem to be going smoothly.
Gudas, who missed the second half of last season with a knee injury, had some rough games in the preseason but at least finished with a generally encouraging performance in the finale: 20:13 of ice time, five credited hits, two credited takeaways, zero charged giveaways, no penalties, an even plus/minus (+1, -1).
Up front, the team's only new addition is Gagner. The forward moved all around the lineup during the preseason, playing all three forward positions and with a variety of linemates. His flashes of playmaking ability in Wednesday' 4-2 loss to New Jersey was a bright spot but Gagner otherwise had a nondescript preseason despite respectable point production (one goal, four points in six games).
In goal, Mason was one of the team's primary bright spots during training camp and his three preseason outings. Mason gave every reason to believe he will pick right up were he left off last season.
New backup goaltender Michal Neuvirth has been dealing with a lower-body injury all week. Jason LaBarbera ended up serving as Mason's backup in the preseason finale. The Flyers and the player himself insist he's OK and the club is only being cautious with him while he deals with some "soreness". In terms of actual game action, Neuvirth was so-so in his three preseason outings. He made some ten-bell saves but also allowed at least one stoppable goal in each start.
Apart from most of the key personnel being the same as last year, it would be unfair to expect Hakstol -- or any new coach -- to fully install a new system, evaluate a variety of players and line combinations and miraculously cure the team's ills that led to the dismissal of his predecessor. Add to the fact that Hakstol himself is not only a rookie NHL head coach but is also new to the ranks of coaching at the professional level. Expecting drastic team-wide progress from last season in the span of three weeks would be unfair to the point of being ridiculous.
Only time -- probably at least two seasons -- will tell about Hakstol's efficacy as an NHL head coach. What is clear so far is that he runs high-tempo practices and wants to forge a team identity as a skating-oriented team that plays a responsible two-way game with both speed and grit. Mind you, that is essentially what Berube was trying to do, too, and had sporadic runs of success but an overall inconsistency.
Hakstol has started to implement some changes to Berube's system. The biggest change is in the neutral zone. Additionally, defensemen are encouraged to add motion in the offensive zone if there is a reasonable opportunity and puck support to do so. With the coach's green light, penalty killing coach Ian Laperriere is also trying to get the team's penalty killing units to challenge more aggressively without being reckless.
The Flyers coach said after Wednesday's game that he thought the team executed well at 5-on-5 over the final 15 minutes of the first period. After Friday's game, he said that the second period was closer to being in line with the way he wants the team to play. However, the coach readily admits that the team has yet to come close to sustaining it for most of a full game.
In the meantime, the Flyers are counting on at least some members of a highly paid group of players coming off down seasons last year under Berube to have bounceback campaigns. When Hextall fired Berube, the GM said the primary reason was that he did not feel the former coach got the most out of his players. One of the reasons Hakstol was hired was his college hockey reputation for holding his players accountable and being successful with some moderately talented squads as well as ones led by star-caliber players atop the lineup.
Hakstol is not a miracle worker. Ultimately, it will be on the players themselves to perform. Likewise, injuries to Sean Couturier and Michael Raffl cost the coach a chance to try to establish some continuity to his forward lineup. That contributed to all the juggling that took place in the latter part of camp.
With all that said, it should be noted that there has been no significant difference with most of the players whom Berube was sacked for not coaxing to loftier results a year ago.
Matt Read had a so-so preseason. He may be dealing with something beyond the self-reported charley horse that caused him to miss time during Monday's Rangers game and to leave Tuesday's practice early. If so, one would hope he learned a lesson from trying to play through a high-ankle sprain for a lengthy stretch of last season and playing ineffectively.
Andrew MacDonald, who sat out each of the final two preseason games, has been mediocre in the preseason. There is no indication that he is injured. He dressed in three preseason games, as did Luke Schenn. The latter's preseason performance was also rather nondescript but was also no worse than Gudas' overall play, either.
Vincent Lecavalier arrived in camp in great shape and has worked very hard, yet looked absolutely no better in game situations than he did a year ago. Lecavalier was even moved back to his preferred center spot and moved up in the lineup and he still struggled to keep up with the play. As with Berube, Hakstol ended up using Lecavalier as a fourth-line winger and played him sparingly in the preseason finale. Lecavalier appears to be in jeopardy of ending up right back on the healthy scratch list and as a fourth-liner when he does play; exactly where he was with the previous coach who got vilified for his handling of the former superstar.
Among the group of players from whom the Flyers need bounceback years, only R.J. Umberger looks significantly better -- in his case, primarily because he is skating much better after hip and abdominal surgeries -- than a year ago. He had a decent preseason in terms of re-establishing some of his forechecking and back-pressure games. Umberger is winning more of the battles he lost a year ago, and that is at least one hopeful sign.
However, one could also argue that the waived (and claimed by Minnesota) Chris Porter played equally or better than the much more expensive Umberger in performing many of the same tasks. Umberger is still getting paid in line with being a five-time 20-goal scorer in the NHL but getting anywhere close to that level of supporting offensive from him remains a rather optimistic objective that also depends on him holding up physically. Let's put it this way: As meaningless as preseason goals and personal stats are, it would still have been a little more encouraging if was Umberger rather the typically low-scoring Porter who netted a couple goals.
Brayden Schenn felt the lash of some preseason tough love from the coach and general manager. He played well overall. However, it should be noted that (despite the admittedly small sample size of games that Hextall frequently references whenever the topic arises), Schenn has looked better on right wing than left wing. The player himself ideally prefers to play center, and the team has greater need on left wing than the right side -- which perhaps lends to why Hextall is quick and vehement to object to suggestions that perhaps Schenn's best fit is as a regular on right wing -- but the difference in his ice vision and scoring chances on his off-wing compared to left side has been noticeable dating back to his late-season run as Couturier's right wing last year.
The Flyers have until Tuesday to make one roster move. The "easiest" move to make would be to have Scott Laughton start the season with the Phantoms, because he is still waiver exempt. However, Laughton has had a strong camp -- particularly in practices, where has often been one of the best players on the ice, while generally playing a responsible game in preseason action. He wasn't perfect, and had a few costly gaffes, but that is part and parcel of what happens with young players.
Ultimately, the Flyers have to decide on whether to carry 14 forwards or eight defensemen. Brandon Manning would require waivers to send to the Phantoms. In the meantime, the team would love to be able to work a trade to divest themselves of at least one higher-salaried veteran. Doing that seems to be easier said than done.
Would Hextall take the bold step of waiving a veteran by Tuesday to clear a roster spot and get up to $950,000 of salary cap relief if the player is not claimed? That is another option, but a rather drastic one.