The Philadelphia Flyers played their best game of the season on Tuesday night. But it wasn’t enough as they lost to the Seattle Kraken 3-2 in a shootout loss. It was their eighth consecutive loss (0-5-3) to start the season, prolonging their team record season-opening skid.
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In the end, early offensive struggles and late third-period tentativeness were the ultimate culprits in keeping the Flyers out of the win column in this one.
Seattle got a pair of goals from winger Bobby McCann, including the shootout winner. Defenseman Ville Ottavainen scored the Kraken’s other goal in the second period.
Philadelphia charged back from a two-goal deficit, thanks to goals from Christian Dvorak and Trevor Zegras. Goalie Dan Vladar was strong in net, despite the loss, finishing with 29 saves.
However, their inability to put together much offensive cohesiveness during the first half of the game put them in a tough spot. They seemed to adjust effectively after that, and it helped them get back into the game.
“I thought the energy was outstanding in those parts of the game,” head coach Rick Tocchet said. “We’ve got to do it 60 (minutes) every game. It’s something to build on.”
But they were unable to get a shot on goal during the final 10:43 of the third period, forcing overtime. During the overtime period, they took a too many men on the ice penalty, which kept them shorthanded until the final seconds.
In the shootout, Seattle got goals from center Matty Beniers and McMann. Philadelphia got one from Matvei Michkov. Zegras, normally a lock to score in the shootout, was denied on his opening attempt.
“It would’ve been nice to gut out a win there,” defenseman Travis Sanheim said of the team’s efforts to come back. “It’s a stepping stone for how we need to play for the rest of the season. Hopefully the guys see it that it works and see how they get rewarded for it. And hopefully, we can build off that.”
Flyers Pregame Adjustments
Off to an historically poor start, Tocchet made adjustments to his lineup entering the game. Winger Carl Grundstrom was loaned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Center Jack Studnicka, with three points in as many games, was recalled to Philadelphia.
With Studnicka’s addition, lines were also shifted with the newcomer tabbed to center the fourth line. Additionally, Oliver Bonk was partnered with Travis Sanheim on the Flyers’ top defense pairing once again.
For more on the game, click here.
The Good
- When you don’t have any wins, it’s tough to point out the good. But the Flyers did a good job in winning board battles with the Kraken, which is what gave them a chance to win the game. Despite taking three penalties, they picked up their physical play (31 total hits), started connecting on passes, and found shooting lanes to put real pressure on Phillip Grubauer. It is something to build on, but it needs to be a consistent thing throughout the game, not just in bursts.
- Dan Vladar was excellent in this game, especially in the third period when Seattle really began to apply pressure on the Flyers following the game-tying goal.
- Despite taking two of the three Flyers penalties in the second period, this was Trevor Zegras’ best game of the season. Playing on the left wing with Sean Couturier and Owen Tippett, he made really good instinctual offensive plays, including his game-tying goal. He was much more engaged and agitated Grubauer. He also made a good, hard defensive stop on Seattle wing Mackie Samoskevich along the boards. It helped relieve pressure on Vladar, who made a series of saves just seconds before.
- The defense activated offensively during the Flyers comeback. Really great plays made by Oliver Bonk on Dvorak’s goal and later Travis Sanheim on Zegras’ game-tying goal. Bonk made a great rush up ice himself, then made a between-the-skates pass from the boards that he gets across to Dvorak for the one-timer. For Sanheim, he led a rush into Seattle’s end, stopped at the left post, then slid the pass to a crashing Zegras.
The Bad
- A big issue for the Flyers was their defensemen struggling to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Sanheim had it happen in the first period a couple of times. Nick Seeler mishandled the puck in the second period. Then on the same power play, Jamie Drysdale failed to seal off the puck twice, sandwiching a David Jiricek fumble.
- The newly assembled fourth line of Jack Studnicka, Noel Acciari, and Michael Bunting played sub-optimally in their own zone. On several shifts in the second period, the Kraken really caused them to crater defensively. Their final ice-time average for Studnicka and Bunting was just over nine minutes (Acciari was over 11 minutes, because of penalty-killing time).
- As much as there’s been online consternation regarding Matvei Michkov’s ice time, it’s justified for last night. Put simply, he should have utilized more in the third period as the Flyers were pushing for the lead. He finished the game with 14:46 of TOI.
The Ugly
- Taking a too-many-men on the ice penalty late in overtime pretty much scuppered any momentum the Flyers might have had. Forward Owen Tippett and defenseman Jamie Drysdale were far too slow in getting off the ice. It’s an unacceptable penalty to take at that point of the game. If they were quicker on the change, the Flyers could’ve had fresh legs on the ice for a late overtime push. Instead, they were forced into holding the Kraken off.
- The Flyers power-play units remain a choppy mess in terms of execution. The aforementioned struggles at the point were a big culprit in blowing up opportunities, as it went 0 for 3 last night.
- One big sign of a team with fragile confidence: the Flyers going without a shot over the final half of the third period. So many of the Flyers adjustments clicked into place during the latter half of the second period and early third period. Letting their foot off the gas at the point of the game killed their momentum and forced them to rely on Vladar to bail them out.
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