Flyers Fall To Caps, Get Good News On Vladar

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The Philadelphia Flyers fell to the Washington Capitals 5-1 in their preseason finale at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday. The loss capped the Flyers preseason record at 1-3 as they begin preparations for their regular season opener on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The game was supposed to be a dress rehearsal for the Flyers. Head coach Rick Tocchet played an NHL-ready lineup. The main exceptions included forward Garrett Wilson (in for Nikita Grebenkin) and goalie Aleksei Kolosov.

On the other side, Capitals coach Spencer Carbery opted for a more minor-league lineup, including former Flyers goalie Cal Petersen and defenseman Louie Belpedio.

On paper, it should have been a mismatch in the Flyers’ favor. It didn’t go that way, even though they outshot Washington 37-24, including 20-8 in the second period.

“Ugly, that’s the only way to talk about that game,” Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale said. “It was bad, but that’s not how we’re going to play hockey. It’s just not a winning brand, whichever way you chop it up. We’ll be better.”

Flyers Get Lead, Quickly Lose Control

After a scoreless first period, the Flyers got on the board first when Drysdale beat goalie Charlie Lindgren from the slot only 31 seconds into the second period.

However, it would only last for four minutes as the Capitals’ Andrew Cristall scored to tie the game at 1-1. The winger crashed the net and beat Kolosov after what looked like some miscommunication between the goalie and his defense.

It was a particularly rough game for defenseman David Jiricek, who was directly at fault for the next two Capitals’ goals.

On the first, Jiricek got the puck from partner Nick Seeler in the corner, but forechecking pressure made him backhand pass the puck through his legs blindly. Right into the circle where winger Maxim Schafer fired a one-timer past Kolosov.

The second came as a result of a high-sticking call that led to a quick Ethen Frank power-play goal that put the Capitals firmly in the driver’s seat. Jiricek finished the game with a minus three rating with three giveaways.

“He had a tough night,” Tocchet said. “Three or four guys had a tough night. But being a pro, you’ve got to bounce back. We’ll get to him, get some video, make him understand some things. You’re going to have a tough night. You’ve just got to make sure you stay consistent.”

“Sometimes, You’re Not As Good As You Think You Are”

It was also a lackluster game for Kolosov, who finished with 19 saves on 24 shots. If the Flyers were hoping for a game-turning performance from their Belarusian netminder, they didn’t get anything close.

After center Theodur Niederbach scored the Capitals’ fourth goal 1:07 into the third period, the game was completely out of reach for Philadelphia.

“We had a bunch of chances, but we don’t score,” Tocchet said. “Then all of a sudden they get a couple. Every time they shot, they scored and then guys get frustrated.

“I’m actually glad we lost 5-1. It’s a little humbling, which is good for us. Sometimes you’re not as good as you think you are.”

Flyers’ Briere On Vladar, Barkey, & Michkov

Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Briere spoke with the media at the first intermission. He provided updates on goalie Dan Vladar and forward Denver Barkey.

The good news on Vladar is that the Czech goalie is on track to start the regular season opener on Wednesday.

“It looks promising. He should be ready for Game One,” Briere said. “Probably could’ve played (tonight) if this was a regular season game. We wanted to play it safe and let him get as close to 100 percent as possible.”

On the other hand, Barkey will likely need to wait until after the opener before he makes his season debut. But it doesn’t sound like he’s far off.

“He’s going to miss some time, but it shouldn’t be too long. I don’t know if he’s going to be ready for the first game. But if not, it shouldn’t be very long after that.”

In addition, Briere seemed pleased with the progress that Matvei Michkov has made through camp and preseason.

“He looked really good in the first game we played. I thought he was moving well today, especially in the first period. Liked his movement on the power-play.”

“There’s encouraging signs there with Matvei that he can come back to what we expected him to be. We’re very pleased with the work that he put in this summer and the attitude that he showed up with in training camp.”

Briere: Luchanko, Knuble, & Bonk “Not Far Off”

Briere was also happy with the performances of Jett Luchanko, Cole Knuble and Oliver Bonk. Both forwards had strong camps, but will start their seasons with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Bonk had a solid camp, but not even to crack the NHL roster.

“They showed they’re not far off,” Briere said. “The main message is ‘keep doing what you’re doing.’ You’ve done everything you’ve could’ve done in camp. Keep developing your game. Play against the top players in the AHL.”

“It gives them the chance to be more successful when they’re needed at this level.”

However, he was more reserved in his evaluation of Jiricek’s performance so far. Jiricek benefited from his waiver status and Oliver Bonk having an unexceptional camp as his main challenger for a roster spot. But he will be battling with veteran Simon Benoit for ice time alongside Nick Seeler.

Briere acknowledged he had a good first period (before things went badly in the second). But he’s still very much in “proving ground “mode.

“I thought David’s played ok. He didn’t get beat by anyone to lose his job,” Briere said. “So he’s going to be given a chance. He’s going to start on the roster and it’s going to be up to him to show us that he deserves the minutes and stay in the lineup.”