Anthony Mingioni’s Flyers blogs are powered by Summit Public Adjusters. Have you experienced damage to your property? Don’t panic! You’re in good hands. Summit works for YOU, and not the insurance companies. Call Brendan Gillespie at 215-919-1434.
On Saturday, the Philadelphia Flyers hosted the Boston Bruins in their preseason home opener. Entering the game, the Flyers had a 1-2 record with a rough pair of road losses during the week. After a shootout win over the Islanders to open the campaign, they lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2 at Bell Centre.
Two nights later in Hershey, they were thoroughly outplayed by the Washington Capitals, 5-1. Following the game, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet acknowledge his team was seemingly running on fumes.
For Tuesday’s game, the team had morning practice, then flew to Montreal for a 7pm game. A three hour bus ride preceded the Capitals game, following another morning practice.
“I thought the overall team looked tired tonight,” Tocchet said to reporters. “It seemed like even a six foot pass was tough for us. We need to refresh it a little bit and probably give these guys a day off (ice).”
After a day of (off-ice ) rest, the Flyers iced a lineup that was closer to the NHL roster for Saturday. The forward groups included seven guaranteed opening night players out the 12 in the lineup. Their defense was also two-thirds NHLers (Cam York, Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler and Jamie Drysdale).
Additionally, goalie Sam Ersson played his first full preseason game. Expect he and Dan Vladar will alternate the remaining preseason games per Tocchet’s stated plan.
Game Summary
With a Bruins roster that was populated with more AHL types, it was expected that Philadelphia would get out to a good start. And defenseman Travis Sanheim did open the scoring on the Flyers first powerplay, finishing off a quick passing sequence started by Christian Dvorak and Sean Couturier.
However, as the first period closed out, Alex Bump lost the puck carelessly behind the net and winger Johnny Beecher tucked it past Ersson who didn’t seal the left post.
The second period was a bit of a roller coaster. The Bruins took a 2-1 lead on a bang-bang sequence. Winger Dalton Bancroft was one on one with Seeler. His initial shot bounced off the Flyers defenseman and went back to him. He fired again, this time beating Ersson.
Philadelphia responded after Sanheim stopped a Bruins clearing attempt and kept the puck alive in the zone. Trevor Zegras would get the puck in the high slot and fired a fluttering backhander. York found it at the right post then flipped the puck across the crease and Nikita Grebenkin was able to bat it home past Dipietro.
Fittingly, the Flyers took a 3-2 lead with some Matvei Michkov power-play magic. As the Russian winger picked up two Bruins defensemen towards the slot, he found Zegras closing at the left post. A perfect pass and finish.
However, the pendulum swung back the Bruins way. Boston tied the game at 3-3 after Michkov attempted a headman pass to Adam Ginning. A two on zero ensued that saw Bancroft score his second of the game.
Both teams traded chances in the third period, but a Helge Grans turnover to former Flyer Patrick Brown led to a Jeffrey Viel walk-in game winning goal.
So with that, here’s my takeaways from Saturday’s game.
Stock Up: Nikita Grebenkin
Grebenkin used this game as a strong statement to claim a roster spot to start the season. He started the Bruins game on the third line and, after some second period line juggling by Tocchet, found himself on the top line with Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny. His versatility and willingness to play behind and in front of the net is a vital component of what his coach is looking for.
“He’s a sticky guy, he comes up with loose pucks, that’s what we need,” Tocchet said. “He finds the pressure and he goes to it, he’s not shy. There are really good parts of his game. We’ve got to clean up some stuff, a lot of turnovers at the center ice he has got to clean up. Other than that, though, I thought he had a good game for us.”
He’s shown a knack for being in the right place and right time on the Flyers tying goal. Once he was moved on the top line, he worked well with Couturier, triggering strong passing sequences that led to scoring chances. While his game still has some immaturity to it, his pros currently outweigh his cons.
Stock Down: Alex Bump & Jett Luchanko
Conversely, Bump entered camp with a possible inside track to make the Flyers roster, but he had an up and down game that once again ended without a point. In one first period shift alone, he committed a turnover that led to a Bruins two on one chance, then made generated a scoring chance up ice.
His late first period break in concentration allowed the Bruins to have a reprieve, but to his credit, Bump owned his mistake.
“I tried to settle the puck down,” Bump said. “It took a funny bounce, a funny roll. Unfortunate yeah, but whatever it’s over now.”
As the second period continued, the Western Michigan alum found himself on the fourth line with Jacob Gaucher and Rodrigo Abols. His play seemed to become a bit more desperate, trying to make something happen. Perhaps sensing his grip on that inside track is slipping.
At the same time, Luchanko gained a second opportunity to show his offensive toolkit with Tippett and Grebenkin after a quiet game in Hershey.
Once again, while he made good defensive decisions, he really didn’t display much risk taking. It’s impossible to know for sure if Luchanko is in danger of being sent to junior at the moment. But if he’s going to make the Flyers roster this season, more scoring upside has to be shown over the next few games.
The Power-Play’s Incremental Improvement
The Flyers’ power-play finished with two goals on seven chances. The positives: their passing and stick-play showed speed and decisiveness in executing Tocchet’s concepts. Sanheim’s opening goal with Dvorak and Couturier was a great example. However, the group’s overall movement was stagnant at times with players not moving their skates enough.
The second unit of Michkov, Zegras, Tippett, Konecny and Drysdale seemed to put more of the latter together on the second power play goal as seen below. Zegras finished the game with a goal and assist. He and Michkov are high hockey-IQ players that could trigger a man-advantage renaissance for the Flyers once they and their partners figure things out.
Abols Continues To Get A Close Look
For all of the discussion about young forwards like Bump, Grebenkin, and Luchanko, Abols played in his fourth consecutive preseason game.
To be sure, Abols has had a solid preseason through the first four games with a goal and an assist. Consequently, he seems to playing the game at a quicker pace than last season.
“Last year was a good learning lesson based on what I was missing to be a quality player in this league,” Abols told reporters on Thursday. “So that’s something that I worked on this summer. First half of the summer, I fixed my body for less aches and pains. The second half was focused on speed, power, and bursts. Going for lower weights but with faster power and energy.”
“That was something I changed because years before, it was always “strength, strength, strength,” and endurance. Because I was playing in Sweden with the bigger ice there. But here, I felt like I was missing half a step and I can use my size. I feel like I’m putting myself in position to get drastically faster. If I can get that half step, I can put myself in better positions.”
Noteably, Tocchet played Abols on the left wing in the first two games, moved him back to his natural center spot on Thursday. Saturday’s game saw him back on left wing. So it would appear the Flyers want to see if Abols can be a multi-positional fit, not unlike Scott Laughton was. In that respect, it probably gives him a leg up on the 14th forward role.
Roster Down To 40
The Flyers announced that center Jack Nesbitt and defenseman Spencer Gill were returned to their respective junior teams.
Nesbitt impressed throughout his time with the Flyers, both in Rookie- and Training Camp. The rangy Gill continued to show his growth, as well. Both were able to firmly put themselves in good stead as key pieces in Philadelphia’s rebuild.
