Flyers Fan Reaction (FFR4) Gm 8: ARI 0, PHI 3 – Zonaing Out
Here’s the good news. The Philadelphia Flyers WIN, 3-0, over the Arizona Coyotes. Carter Hart was sensational from start to finish, stopping all 29 shots the Coyotes threw his way. Philadelphia dominated the third period, racking up 65% Corsi and 70% Expected Goals marks in the game’s most important period. The Flyers improve to 3-1-1 at home and 5-2-1 on the year; both solid marks, especially for a team missing their second-line center and half of the top pair.
But with each passing game, even with those abscenes accounted for, the Flyers’ flaws become harder and harder to ignore. The Coyotes entered the Wells Fargo center with slightly better underlying numbers than the Flyers. And they leave it the exact same way. Against Arizona, a team built to lose, Philadelphia wasn’t exactly showcasing the dominance most of their fans expected. It festered in a 1:59:56 goal drought, dating back to the first period of last Thursday’s game in Vancouver.
Yes, a large reason why that drought contained the first 46:54 of Monday’s contest was the heroics of rookie goaltender Karel Vejmelka. Someone who most Flyers fans would’ve confused with a computer generated player from year eight of an EA Sports franchise mode twelve hours ago delivered simply a stellar performance. The Flyers threw just about everything but the kitchen sink at him; deflections galore in front, multiple 2-on-1s, several tic-tac-goal plays that just forgot the goal, numerous netmouth scrambles, and a couple of long range bombs, just to name a few tactics. Yet it took Travis Konecny turnstiling Ilya Lyubushkin to set up a Sean Couturier tap-in, a wide open chance for Scott Laughton just seconds after Vejmelka aborted going to the bench for an extra attacker, and an empty net for the Flyers to light the lamp.
But almost being goalied was far from the Flyers biggest problem. Philadelphia wouldn’t have even been in position to win with a third-period outburst if not for the slightly better play of Vejmelka’s opponent in net, Carter Hart. While the Flyers were bleeding chances and hemmed in on multiple occasions, Hart stood tall in the face of numerous quality chances. Arizona went shot for shot with the Flyers through the first forty minutes. If you’re not familiar with heat maps, allow me to translate. The darker shade of blue means more attempts from that area on the left; the darker shade of red means the same for the right side of the ice. Look at the area in front of the net on the Arizona side; it sticks out like a sore thumb, showing how easily Arizona was able to generate shots from point-blank range.
Back when the Flyers were 4-1-1 after their win over Vancouver last Thursday, there were already some fans growing skeptical of the Flyers 5v5 play. While it wasn’t great, to my eyes at least, it certainly didn’t seem as bad as it was a year ago, when the Flyers somehow started 7-2-1 despite playing what everybody, even the coaches and players, knew wasn’t playoff caliber hockey. That wasn’t the hockey the Flyers played in their first six games. That’s not to stay it was a perfect start to the year. But the team was able to control play for stretches and even periods at a time, not to mention a pretty complete effort in game two, blowing the Kraken out of the water.
The last two games have painted a darker picture. Philadelphia wasn’t as lethargic as they were Saturday night in Calgary, when the Flames utterly dominated them (and also needed a three-goal third period to put the game out of reach). The Flyers certainly weren’t that bad on Monday, but their inability to shut down a Coyotes team with a league-worst 1.18 goals per game, over half a goal less than the next worst team (Dallas), is concerning. Yes, Hart shut them out, but that isn’t the same thing. The Coyotes finished the night with 2.13 expected goals for, 1.83 of which came in the first two periods. For reference, the Flyers had 1.87 xGA at 5-on-5 during the entire game. Anyone who watched any of the first two periods doesn’t need advanced stats to tell you the Flyers were fortunate to keep the Coyotes at bay.
Of course, there is plenty of time for the Flyers to turn things around. And more stock should be put into the first six games of the year, where the Flyers looked solid but not spectacular, than the last two. Still, it’s one thing to look flat against red-hot Calgary at the end of the Western Canada road trip; it’s another to struggle to kick it into high-gear against Arizona at home with two days of rest. This is a game the Flyers probably lose against any other team in hockey. They shouldn’t look to test that theory against Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Two points are still two points. And just like last year, it is important, even for a good team, to learn how to win when they aren’t playing their best. At some point, though, not playing your best just becomes you’re not playing well. If that continues long enough, then it becomes you aren’t a strong team. The Flyers, again, are far, far away from crisis mode. But that doesn’t mean a red flag or two shouldn’t be raised. They can be addressed; just ask the 2019-20 Flyers, who weren’t exactly gangbusters through their first forty-five games before turning into dark horse contenders down the stretch. As of now, they are just a footnote. It’s up the Flyers to make the adjustments to keep them at that.
Lindies
On the “getting goalied by another third stringer” story; it’s worth noting that Vejmelka wasn’t exactly playing like a slouch coming into tonight. Entering tonight, the 25-year old had a .920 save percentage and 0.9 goals saved above expected (per Moneypuck.com) in five contests. Is he the next coming of Patrick Roy, like he looked tonight? Probably not. But it’s not as though the Flyers were turned aside so often, so frustratingly, by a goaltender who everyone else has made look like a sieve thus far in his young career.
You wouldn’t expect a top-ten power-play to make significant changes seemingly out of nowhere. But that’s exactly what Michel Therrien and the Flyers did in practice Monday. Sure enough, these new formations carried into Tuesday’s contest.
Moving Atkinson, who leads the team with six goals, to the top unit makes sense. Ivan Provorov on the point is a bit more questionable. Keith Yandle has looked good moving the puck on PP1 (save for his errant pass that led to the SH game-winner two weeks ago against Florida). Provorov’s man-advantage work, meanwhile, has mostly left a lot to be desired. To his credit, Provorov made a nice keep at the blue-line during his PP time Tuesday, and like at 5-on-5, the Flyers top unit deserved a better fate. They created numerous chances, including a one-timer by Giroux after he rotated back to the left that rang off the cross bar. The second unit didn’t do much with their limited ice-time.
One area where the Flyers took a significant step forward — discipline. Philadelphia entered tonight sixth in the NHL with 6:18 short-handed ice-time per game, but stayed squeaky clean tonight for the first time all season.
Congratulations to Arizona native Sean Couturier on playing his 700th NHL game tonight. Coots is the twelth Flyer to reach such milestone; he’s twenty-five games away from catching Gary Dornhoeffer for eleventh. But wait; there’s more!
POG Standings Update: Coots, Jones, Starter Hart, Honey Badger, Unknown – 1
There were so many chances for the Flyers that didn’t go into tonight, it’s almost hard to decide who was snakebitten the most. I’ll pick two; Oskar Lindblom and Rasmus Ristolainen. The former was robbed on a 2-on-1 in the first period, then tipped a puck just wide of an open net and Laughton backdoor later on. Alain Vigneault made sure to mention him post-game. Ristolainen had a couple of good looks as well, most notably being stymied on a rush chance late in the second but nearly banking in or at least centering his rebound for a tap-in. He also broke up a backdoor feed that could’ve resulted in a familiar face striking first for Arizona.
It wasn’t just Lindblom who stood out, though. The Flyers bottom-six delivered their best game of the season as a whole today; especially the fourth line, which swapped Nicolas Aubé-Kubel for Patrick Brown and looked as dangerous as ever. Aubé-Kubel delivered his best game of the season, playing with pace and nearly finishing on a couple of nice chances, including a 2-on-1. The fourth line actually led the Flyers with a 67% expected goals share. And the third line wasn’t far behind at 53%. Philadelphia’s top two lines? Both outchanced at 5-on-5. Even with some injuries up front, the Flyers bottom-six reminded everybody they’re capable of making a positive impact when firing at all cylinders.
Who is that familiar face? Well, after nine years in the Flyers organization (6 NHL seasons), Shayne Gostisbehere played against Philadelphia for the first time in his NHL career tonight. His tenure in Philly wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, of course, especially during the last three years. But Gostisbehere was a beacon of light during the mediocrity of the mid-to-late 2010s, delivering two of the best seasons by a defenseman in Flyers history, including an epic rookie campaign that pushed the 2015-16 club over the playoff hump. He’s fourth all time in goals and fifth in points by Flyers defensemen. His dynamic skill set and easy to type nickname made him a fan favorite, as the cheers he received pre-game and during a first-period tribute video showed.
3 Stars
3rd: Karel Vejmelka (ARI) – .939 SV% (31 Saves/33 Shots), +1.96 Expected Goals Against
2nd: Carter Hart (PHI) – Shutout (1) on 29 Shots, 2.13 xGSA
1st: Sean Couturier (PHI) – Goal (4), Assist (7), 3 Shots, 66.7% Faceoffs
Next
ARI: 11/5, 10 PM @ ANA (3-4-3, W1)
PHI: 11/4, 7 PM @ PIT (3-3-2, L3)
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Advanced Stats are 5v5 (except xGSA) unless otherwise stated and via Natural Stat Trick
