Team Toyota Flyers Spotlight: Play Drivers Needed

For the duration of the Philadelphia Flyers playoff run, Hockey Hot Stove will highlight the chemistry of the Flyers players that drive the team to success. The feature is powered by our new playoff sponsor, Team Toyota.

Owen Tippett was conspicuous by his absence in Game One of the Eastern Conference series between the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes. Even at far less than 100 percent health, Tippett is the Flyers’ most dangerous forward on entries. His combination of pure speed and size backs off opposing defenders.

That element was sorely lacking on Saturday night. Apart from one or two quick ups to start transition plays, the Flyers had a miserable time trying to entry into the attack zone. This improved slightly in the second period and significantly in the third period — the Hurricanes idled their engines and Philly had several unsuccessful chances to climb back into the game.

Overall, however, exits and entries were a major trouble spot in Game One. If a team can’t enter with controlled possession, it at least needs to win retrieval battles on chip-ins. Time after time, the Canes were first on pucks and play swung back the other way.

Too much perimeter play

Whether at 5-on-5 or the power play, most of the Flyers’ shot attempts came from areas where Carolina faced little danger. The Flyers either got blocked (17 times) or missed the net (12) on 29 of their 48 shot attempts. Moreover, even on transition opportunities, the Flyers either got caught up to by backcheckers or settled for shots from further than they wanted shoot.

Frederik Andersen (19-save shutout) saw most of the pucks cleanly. Second-chance opportuniies were sparse.

Travis Konency, Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak, Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone, Tyson Foerster and others were unable to find — or create — space. In fact, Philly’s most effective forward was the far-from-fleet Sean Couturier, who made some space from turning defense into offense and using sheer determination and hockey sense.

Key Adjustments for Game 2

In terms of process — faster decision-making, winning more puck battles, curbing turnovers in dangerous areas — the Flyers know what they need to do to obtain a split in Raleigh. That’s easier said than done, however. The Flyers need to make a dent in fixing several recurring problems that have plagued them through seven playoff games. Actually, in some cases, the issues have been there all season (or longer).

• Slow starts. The Flyers still have not scored a single first period goal in the playoffs. The closest they’ve come: a correctly disallowed Dvorak goal in Game One. On Saturday in Raleigh, the Flyers trailed 2-0 before they even knew what hit them. Containing the scorching hot Logan Stankoven — as well as Jackson Blake and Sebastian Aho — are vital moving forward.
• Power play woes. The Flyers are 2-for-21 on the power play in the playoffs. Both goals came in Game Three of the Pittsburgh series. In Game One against Carolina (0-for-4), the Flyers generated nary a shot on goal in any of their first three power plays. The score was 2-0 at that point. Something was needed to climb back in the hunt. The Flyers ranked last in the NHL on the power play during the regular season. Fortunately, Philly was the better 5-on-5 team than Pittsburgh in four of the six games in the first round. Carolina is a better 5-on-5 team than the Flyers. Therefore, power play contributions are a must.
• Transition chances/ odd-man rushes. During the Pittsburgh series — at least in five of the six games — the Flyers did not lack for scoring chances in transition (including shorthanded opportunities). Unfortunately, finishing these chances proved elusive. The same thing happened in Game One against Carolina, with fewer chances available.