Phantoms Are Good, But Have Concerns

Typically, it’s a compliment to say that the American Hockey League (AHL) team mirrors its NHL affiliate and plays the same styles and systems. It’s not for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms right now, as the penalties and the mistakes look a lot like the ones the Philadelphia Flyers are making. Specifically, their Friday night loss to the Bridgeport Islanders saw them make a few errors but enough resulting in a 3-0 loss.

The difference is that the Phantoms aren’t in the middle of a skid and by no means are a struggling team. They are one of the best in their division and, at times, have looked like a top team in the AHL that can win in multiple ways.

The problem is in the big picture. The Phantoms are putting together a great season and are developing the prospects. However, they won’t go on a run in the Calder Cup Playoffs, playing undisciplined hockey, and the prospects won’t be ready for the NHL by playing that way either.

The Penalties Keep Hurting Them

The Phantoms outplayed the Islanders in the first few shifts but “It’s hard when you have seven penalties, I think that just killed momentum,” John Snowden noted after the game. In every game, a team will take penalties that a coach is willing to deal with; it’s the ones that come from mistakes that they won’t. That’s what the Phantoms took in their recent game. “And the penalties were penalties,” Snowden added.

It’s why the Phantoms trailed 2-0 after the first period and were playing catch-up after that. The penalty kill looked great after that but the Phantoms never had momentum and couldn’t build much of it either. It’s the same issue that cost this team last season and cost them multiple times this season, including a 5-1 loss on Dec. 19 to the Islanders earlier in the season.

Last season, they were a team on the rise with a youth movement and a maturing roster that was clicking at the right time. The Phantoms looked poised to pull off the upset against the reigning back-to-back Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears. Then the penalties were their undoing in Game 4 and Game 5 to end the season. Sure, last season was a long time ago, and the roster is different but the same bad habits remain, and it raises big-picture concerns. Good teams don’t take penalties, yet the Phantoms are a good team.

Phantoms Struggling to Win High-Volume Games

The AHL has a handful of high-volume and pressure-driven teams. The Charlotte Checkers are the most prominent with their recent success but the Islanders are another team built to play that way. They’ll make plenty of mistakes, and they’ll force a team into a lot of mistakes. That was the case against the Phantoms, who struggled to play that type of game.

“I don’t think they forced us to make a lot of mistakes, I think we made our own mistakes,” Snowden noted after the game. The Phantoms play best when they set the tone and control the pace. They struggled to play their brand of hockey, which has shifted in recent weeks to a structured and checking-focused one.

The Phantoms aren’t playing well in the high-volume games. They’ve lost back-to-back matchups against an Islanders team that is seventh in the Atlantic Division, and they struggled against the Checkers, a game where they were outplayed but clawed back late to force overtime. The Phantoms must pivot down the stretch to win these games because inevitably, it will decide how far they go this season.

Phantoms Aren’t Getting Enough Offense

Early on in the season, the Phantoms were an offensive-minded team and driven by their skill. They could overwhelm teams with their high-octane offense led by Alex Bump, Denver Barkey, Carl Grundestrom, and the rest of the forward unit. Alas, like many AHL teams, the talent drain got to them.

Barkey, who was their All-Star Selection, was called up to the Flyers. So was Grundstrom, who contributed in all facets of the game to the middle six. Bump has battled injuries and is week-to-week. It’s left the Phantoms without the same skill that overpowered teams early in the season.

The Phantoms only average 2.80 goals per game and have only scored three goals in the last two games. “We have to shoot with a purpose and want to score,” Snowden stated and the Phantoms are getting their looks but not finishing them. In the big picture, this won’t be an issue, especially if Bump is back in the lineup down the stretch. Instead, it’s costing them now, notably against teams they should easily defeat.

Phantoms Can Still Be Great Despite Issues, For Now

The Phantoms are still sitting comfortably in fourth place in the division and in the mix with the best teams. They are a good team and winning games thanks to their defense. Even with the latest performance, the Phantoms have allowed only 11 goals in six games.

“We’ve done a better job of being poised in the D-Zone, and we don’t chase,” Snowden added, and the unit has been a big plus. There have been plenty of moving parts throughout the season but these defensemen are forming chemistry and, more importantly, working around the strengths of their goaltenders.

It leads into their other strength, which has been goaltending. Even with Aleksei Kolosov called up to the Flyers, the Phantoms have a starter they can lean on who has found a rhythm in the AHL. Carson Bjarnason has a .911 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.51 goals-against average (GAA) while allowing only 10 goals in his last five starts. His play has kept the Phantoms in the middle of plenty of close games and in the upper half of a competitive division.

The problem for the Phantoms is that they aren’t a complete team. When their offense was great, the defense was still figuring things out. Now, it’s the other way around, where the defense is winning games while the offense is letting them down. To go on a run, they must be great at both and prove they can win any type of game. That wasn’t the case in the high-volume contest against the Islanders.