Flyers Homestand Ends With Loss To Flames

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The Philadelphia Flyers saw their five game home-stand start promisingly with three straight wins. However, two consecutive losses over the weekend, including their 2-1 loss on Sunday to the Calgary Flames, have put a proverbial pin in that balloon.

Winger Jonathan Huberdeau scored both Flames goals and goaltender Dustin Wolf finished with 17 saves on 18 shots to lift the Flames to their third win of the season at the Flyers’ expense.

In response, Travis Konecny scored his fourth goal of the season in the third period and the Flyers attempted a late comeback, but they were unable to get the tying goal with an extra attacker.

It was a game that saw the Flyers control possession for long stretches, but were maddeningly inefficient at creating any high danger chances. Creating those kind of chances was a point of emphasis from head coach Rick Tocchet, both before and after the game.

Flyers Game Summary

Philadelphia entered the game with some lineup changes. The biggest was the absence of Tyson Foerster. The winger took a Morgan Rielly slap shot to his left ankle in the first period of the Flyers’ 5-2 loss to Toronto on Saturday. Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said he will be re-evaluated in three to four days. In Foerster’s place, winger Owen Tippett would draw in on Noah Cates’ line with Bobby Brink.

Additionally, center Sean Couturier returned to the lineup after a one game absence from an upper body injury (left elbow) he sustained against the Penguins on Tuesday. Trevor Zegras drew onto his line alongside Travis Konecny.

Tocchet furthered shifted around his forward lines. Wingers Rodrigo Abols and Matvei Michkov were centered by Christian Dvorak. Left wing Nikita Grebenkin joined the checking line with Jacob Gaucher and Garnet Hathaway. Additionally the defense pairings remained the same, while goalie Aleksei Kolosov got his first NHL start of the season.

First Period

The first period was fairly uneventful, despite the Flames generating a 10 to 3 shot advantage. In the opening ten minutes, the only moment of note was Sean Couturier taking a Cam York hard point shot above his right knee. The Flyers captain came off the ice wincing from it, but was back on the ice for then next shift.

Consequently, the pace was very slow and featured seven icings with a lot of clogged plays in the neutral zone. While the Flyers were winning the possession battle, they were generating very little offense from it. Conversely, the Flames best chance came on the power-play when MacKenzie Weegar fired a point blank range shot on Kolosov. The Belarussian goaltender was in position to stop it and settle play down.

The period closed with Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson drawing a hooking penalty to give the Flyers a power-play about 20 seconds into the second period. Of note, the Flyers last shot on goal of the period was with 9:48 remaining.

Second Period

The Flames took a 1-0 lead just seconds after the Flyers power-play expired. Winger Jonathan Huberdeau took a pass from Yegor Sharangovich and worked a wrist shot that climbed over Kolosov’s right shoulder.

Philadelphia nearly countered when Travis Konecny broke in on goalie Dustin Wolf, but passed up his shot and fed a pass to a pinching Egor Zamula. It was another example of the Flyers passing up clear shooting opportunities.

After that, the Flyers defensemen started to activate in the offensive zone to generate some pressure. Jamie Drysdale activated on consecutive shifts, while Travis Sanheim took the initiative to take a Zegras pass and get a scoring chance.

Calgary drew a hooking call on Owen Tippett at 13:20. During their power-play, Flames center Nazem Kadri fired a one-timer that hit off the inside of the left post behind Kolosov and the puck somehow stayed out.

Beyond that, it was another low-event period between two teams who’ve played three games in the past four nights.

Third Period

With the Flyers struggling to generate much offense, Tocchet shifted his lines for the third period. His new combinations included:
Zegras-Dvorak-Tippett
Grebenkin-Cates-Konecny
Michkov-Couturier-Brink
Abols-Gaucher-Hathaway

Even with the changes, Philadelphia continued to play disjointed hockey and Calgary would take advantage. The Flames expanded their lead to two goals when Huberdeau deflected home a Weegar point shot through a Morgan Frost screen at 7:06.

Finally, the Flyers were able to break through on the scoreboard at 14:20 when Noah Cates cleanly won an offensive zone face-off. Immediately, Konecny fired the puck the minute he touched the puck through a screen past Wolf.

From that point, Philadelphia pressed for the equalizing goal, but the Flames kept high danger chances at bay for the rest of the game.

3 Takeaways, Powered by Phans of Philly

1. Tocchet’s Displeasure

The head coach’s disappointment was palpable in his post-game press conference. “Our will is being tested right now and we need some guys to step up, leadership,” Tocchet said. “I’m an honest guy, I’m not ripping our players, but we need some guys to get some will. I think we’ve had a couple of guys, the last two or three games, that are accepting, it’s just another hockey game.

The Flyers are simply not mustering enough high danger chances and are near the bottom of the league in shots on goal. While Konecny provided the lone offense in this game, his second period decision to pass up a shot and elect a lower percentage option in passing to Egor Zamula was a prime example.

2. Face-Offs Are A Problem

While the Flyers ended October enjoying six wins in their first ten games, the cracks began to show on Thursday against the Predators despite their 4-1 victory. The Maple Leafs and the Flames laid them bare as well: they are simply not winning enough face-offs.

Nazem Kadri and Michael Backlund won 64 and 59 percent of their draws, respectively. The best Flyers pivots? Sean Couturier and Christian Dvorak at 56%, while Noah Cates lost 14 of 22 draws (36%).

3. Foerster’s Loss Felt

With four goals on the young season, Foerster was off to a good start to the season. One of the reasons was his willingness to go to the dirty areas of the ice to score. Another was how well he, Cates, and Brink work together in staying connected. Now Tocchet is faced with finding the right player to replace him. He tried with Tippett on Sunday, but they struggled and the lines were further broken up by the third period. What might happen come Tuesday in Montreal?