Flyers fall 4-2 at home to the Florida Panthers. What stood out to me? STAY OUT OF THE BOX!
I will say the Flyers hung in there and battled against a very strong Florida squad. No reason to hang their head, but definitely areas to clean up
Here’s my thoughts as the game progressed.
First Period – I don’t know how to describe this period so this is my sentence to describe this period
- A couple ugly icings by the Flyers to start, but TK & Couts finish off their long shift with an excellent rush. Bob gets his pad on it
- Claude Giroux wide open on the back side after great offensive zone puck movement. Really enjoyed how quickly the passes were from low to high and back towards the slot to take advantage of space. Panthers pick it off and head in transition the other way before crashing into Carter Hart knocking the net off.
- One of the sloppiest power plays I’ve seen this year. Flyers couldn’t even set up on multiple different occasions and struggled through the neutral zone. Provorov running the top (without Ellis) and Sanhiem slides in who had an awful drop pass at the blue line. Going to need a lot more out of your special teams unit against this team. Credit to Florida though.
- JVR was moving up ice faster than I can remember him flying. Tried to catch Bob off guard with a quick tough angle shot that almost hit far post.
- Giroux left wide open in the slot for the best scoring chance of the night to this point. Couturier drives the net to open up a lane and TK with the nice pass. Bob challenges, pad save. I can count a billion times in my head where Couturier has done important details like that in this short-lived season already. That’s why he got paid the big ticket this offseason!
- Sanhiem blatant interference — the fellas have his back with a good kill
- Seeler blatant inference seconds later…..
- Panthers PP Goal (1-0): Huberdeau rips one from the half wall short side. Carter Hart screened
- Ristolainen was laid out pretty good by Mason Marchment at the end of the period. Marchment is 6’4 & 209 pounds just in case you were wondering.
Second Period – I was excited and then I wasn’t
- Flyers worked in their d zone to start. AV throws out his 4th line the next shift. I questioned it. I’m an idiot. Great cycles. Earned a power play. Good thing I’m not the coach.
- Flyers PP Goal (1-1): WOW Claude Giroux with an absolute missile snipes top left corner!
- Carter Hart stellar glove save on Verhaeghe
- Nate Thompson hooking penalty in the D zone. Has great hair though for what it’s worth.
- Flyers SH Goal (2-1): CAM ATKINSON SHORT HANDED FIVE HOLE BEAUTY!!
- An exciting sequence: Panthers hit the post. Nate Thompson comes out the box joining the rush with numbers. Nick Seeler throws the body on Reinhart. Energy in the building sure is rising!
- Keith Yandle takes a cross checking penalty. Can they stay out of the box?
- Sam Bennett heads to the sin bin. (Love calling it that) .. limited action on Flyers PP, a couple shots got through with traffic in front.
- Panthers Goal (2-2): 3 on 2. Drive wide on Ristolainen and dished back door through both defensemen to Tippett stopping in the blue paint as the puck was redirected off his skate. No kicking motion. 26.6 seconds remaining in the period. Gotta be sharper finishing out a period. Good teams smell blood and pounce. Hopefully just a teaching moment with the season being so young.
- Ivan Provorov with a lazy trip. UNACCEPTABLE! 15.8 seconds left.
Third Period – Lose a period, lose a game.
- NAK breakaway with a half of a step on 2 Panthers defensemen. MacEwen so close on the follow up.
- NAK with a clear and obvious knee to knee trip, but the fans aren’t happy! A classic case of the “ref you suck” when they properly assessed THAT moment. – Great Kill and the Wells Fargo Center is amped.
- Refs miss a trip on the Panthers moments later. Fans are REALLY pissed!
- Put a smile on everyone, Flyers head to the PP with 13:08 to go.
- Panthers SH Goal (3-2): Keith Yandle passes to nobody at the blue line in the o zone. 2 on 1 the other way. Huberdeau breakaway and buries the rebound from a crazy angle bouncing it off Carter Hart’s pad. No sense of urgency to get back? Hart’s initial stop was solid
- Nate Thompson throws 3 punches to the head after the whistle and takes a penalty. Dumb hockey. Don’t give me the nonsense of “HE’S PROTECTING THE GOALIE!” Stop it. They’re down 3-2 and a 4th liner just hurt your team. Can’t happen.
- NAK with a golden opportunity 2 feet from Bob, but can’t complete the mission with under 5 minutes to play.
- G, TK, Couts create pressure. Sanhiem and Risto go D to D a couple times at the blue line and I say to myself…. This concerns the hell out of me. Isn’t that sad? They are a top 4 pairing.
- Farabee and Atkinson with a major push. A weave entering the zone and a back door pass to Atkinson.
- Panthers Empty Net Goal (4-2)