Yeah, so that didn’t end as we hoped.
Depending on which Philly fans’ version of hope you are entertaining, anyway. Some saw the Pens coming in and stomping all over the beloved Orange & Black, mopping the ice with the Flyers to the tune of a 7-2 drudging. Others felt it might be more contested than that, and it was for most of the game, yet the Flyers current issues with being able to bury the puck were still making their presence felt.
The game started off with both clubs trying to find their range, and throughout the first period it was a pretty even pace. The second is where the wheels temporarily came off for Philly, as Pittsburgh applied pressure and scored the first goal. This led to something fans who watch these two teams play are used to, the Pens getting a lead and then the penalty floodgates open against the Flyers. The Penguins made the most of this opportunity to tally another goal and extend the lead to 2-0, with the shots totals incredibly tilted in their favor by a near 6 to 1 margin until a late 2nd period penalty led to a Flyers power play goal by Wayne Simmonds off of a deflected Claude Giroux shot with just 2 seconds left in the period.
Coming out into the 3rd period, the Flyers had seemed to gain the momentum they briefly collected with that PP goal and began to tilt the ice in their favor for most of the period. This all felt like deja vu to me as I watched the team pour on a furious effort to get that game tying goal and yet there was another goaltender turning in some kind of all world performance, this time it was the Flower himself, Marc-Andre Fleury, making one ridiculous stop after another. With a few minutes to play the Penguins finally sealed the win with a sneaky Crosby goal on a late surge by the Pens. Goalie Steve Mason had virtually no chance to stop the shot, and it looked a lot like the one Ryan Kesler put in during the previous Flyers game. The Flyers emptied the net for a last minute rush to try and catch up but Evgeni Malkin padded his stat totals with a goal to increase the score to 4-1 and put the game away for good measure.
There were a few things that bothered me, tidbits and moments from before and during the game that mean a bit more than the recap. There was former Flyer/current Penguin forward Harry Zolnierczyk babbling about “being blessed to be in the black and gold”. This remark left me wondering if he had gone to the Arron Asham school of composure. The Flyers groomed this guy and kept with him despite him getting into trouble with the law for sexually related issues. His only contribution was skating really fast and…pretty much nothing else. His poor shot was on display last night, and Chris Therien even took liberties with jokes during the radio broadcast, claiming at one point Harry couldn’t hit the ocean with a puck. I honestly didn’t see the need for what he said, and makes me feel even better that the team let this one dimensional goof go.
Kimmo Timonen’s injury might seem pretty bad, but I felt like the club sped up some once he left the ice and Streit took over. Timonen just hasn’t looked the same since 2011, I know he has a great hockey mind, but it accounts for zero if the body can’t keep up. Father time has really stuck it to Kimmo, and there are a host of questions as to why he just didn’t retire last year. It creates the possibility of a bad taste in fans mouths because of the illusion that Timonen “cashed in” for one last payday, and this isn’t what the guy deserves. I didn’t want the club to sign him, and definitely not for 6 million, but I felt he should go out as a Flyer. He is a class act and a great ambassador for the sport, here and internationally, and maybe the heat should cut back a little. I’m hoping the injury isn’t too serious, but even when Kimmo returns, his minutes need to diminish, if only for the sake of both parties.
Lastly, the one thing that irked me most: Did Penguins Head Coach Dan Bylsma really have to put all of his stars on ice during an empty net with a two goal lead and less than two to play for defensive purposes? Stay Classy, Pittsburgh.
The Flyers have a week off now, which I’m sure will be spent working on Berube’s system and healing. They face another rival in the New York Rangers next, and it should mark the return of Vincent Lecavalier to the lineup. The club is showing promise, and the goals keep creeping closer to the doorstep, it really is just a matter of time before it all clicks. Keep believing in it.
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