Arch Kives
Canes @ Flyers - April 6, 2019
The season ends with a pre-season game.
The end is near and the Flyers roster can feel it. Once the hopes of a playoff spring were out of the question, the team began to falter and regressed back into the bad habits that saw them lose control of their season before it even started.
The issue this year from the very beginning has been the attention to detail on each shift by all players on the team. The Flyers are by no means a bad team, but they aren’t necessarily a good one either. A good team wins the games they need to win, and they do it consistently until the end of the season. While the Flyers have shown very high-high’s, they have not been able to put on a consistent effort.
A lot of that issue lies with their youth, who should not be blamed for the lack of success, but more of a reminder on why veterans play in the lineup over youth. It's the consistency of the effort and preparation that adults learn from repetition. However, the young core of this team had a lot of quick changes forced on them several times throughout the whirlwind of a season and that should not be forgotten.
The Flyers have a lot of work to do in the offseason, but one thing is absolutely clear. They must go get veteran depth to add to the plethora of young talent in the organization. This team has great veterans, but they do not have enough of them. Additional depth would have the trickle-down effect the team needs.
(Full game recap continued on pages below)
FIRST PERIOD
The period started off very flat and for the first 7 minutes, there wasn’t even a whistle. There was not much to play for on this night and the team and crowd carried that feeling. It wasn't until Sam Morin rocked Canes Forward Warren Fogel along the boards getting the crowd to roar like a playoff game hit. Unfortunately, Warren saw redemption minutes later as he scored a goal cutting through the middle. A little justice for a player who usually does the hitting himself. Mark Friedman also got involved physically in his first game and landed a large hit after the Flyers went down 1-0. However, once again the Flyers get beat minutes later by Canes defenseman Justin Faulk. The physical game was not helping the team play with a sense of urgency. A nice goal by Oskar Lindblom helped keep the team in the period, but the 2-1 games short lived. The Flyers shortly after allowed another opportunity in the middle and Cane’s top winger Teuvo Teravainen put his team back up by two goals. A late no look, but beautiful pass by Sean Couturier left Matt Hartman all alone for an opportunity stopped by Curtis McElhinney to keep the game under control. The Flyers went into the 2nd period with a lot of room for improvement.
SECOND PERIOD
The second period was far more favorable for the Flyers. Travis Konecny came out and did to the Canes, what they did to his team. Konecny made a nice cut to the middle in the beginning of the 2nd period to finish a shot over Curtis McElhinney’s shoulder for an early opportunity to cut into the lead. The Flyers were playing with much more jump in the 2nd period and it was obvious there were some choice words said in the locker room in between periods. Five minutes into the period, Dougie Hamilton took a penalty in his own zone to give the Flyers their first powerplay opportunity of the period. The Flyers made no mistake and went to work with some of the best puck possession plays they’ve had all season and after constant pressure, Sean Couturier cut into the lead with a tup off a Jack Voracek shot from the point. Suddenly, the Flyers back in the game with all the momentum. Only moments later, Carter Hart showed why he won't the Toyota Award for most 1st star performances when he stopped a wide open opportunity by a wide open man. This was one of Hart's best saves of the year and an addition for the highlight reel. The excitement was short lived as the Hurricanes scored right off of the following faceoff. The Flyers finished with several opportunities and fight, but they would eventually head into the 3rd period down 4-3 to the canes. The last 3rd period of the season was up next and it would most likely be entertaining.
THIRD PERIOD
The third period started off with a quiet tone to it, but the Flyers were definitely pushing the pace and were consistently on the attack in the early part of the period. They had several chances in tight and from the point, but nothing clear cut and open for an easy goal. The Flyers managed to keep a relentless possession game through the first 10 minutes of the third period and on several occasions looked like the team that they showed a couple months ago. However, even with all of the pressure the Flyers were still one goal behind and only less than half a period from finalizing their season. With two minutes left the Flyers decided to pull the goalie and try for some last minute of the last day heroics. With nothing on the line the Flyers wanted to leave with their heads standing tall. However, with all their better attempts the Flyers fell short to come back. And much like their 2018-2019 season they were able to make the comeback they wish they had.
| PHILADELPHIA FLYERS |
| 28 Claude Giroux -14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny25 James van Riemsdyk - 21 Scott Laughton - 93 Jakub Voracek 23 Oskar Lindblom - 10 Corban Knight - 38 Ryan Hartman 12 Michael Raffl - 44 Phil Varone - xxxx9 Ivan Provorov - 6 Travis Sanheim8 Robert Hägg 3 Radko Gudas 53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 5 Sam Morin59 Mark Friedman79 Carter Hart37 Brian ElliottScratches: 19 Nolan Patrick (upper body), 27 Justin Bailey (healthy), 47 Andrew MacDonald (healthy), 33 Cam Talbot (healthy), 30 Michal Neuvirth (IR, lower body). |
| Carolina Hurricanes |
| 21 Nino Niederreiter - 20 Sebastian Aho - 14 Justin Williams37 Andrei Svechnikov - 11 Jordan Staal - 86 Teuvo Teräväinen79 Micheal Ferland - 71 Lucas Wallmark - 48 Jordan Martinook8 Saku Maenalanen - 42 Greg McKegg - 23 Brock McGinn 74 Jaccob Slavin - 19 Dougie Hamilton22 Brett Pesce - 27 Justin Faulk4 Haydn Fleury - 57 Trevor van Riemsdyk35 Curtis McElhinney34 Petr Mrazek |
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
