Call it a halfway victory of sorts, for the Flyers needed so desperately to land a win, and yet last night’s affair wasn’t exactly a sound effort, this against a New York Rangers squad that lacked it’s all universe goaltender and high scoring winger.
Having yet to score three goals in a game this season, the Flyers have turned to some kind of attrition game, where it’s who scores lowest loses, and goals come at a premium for both teams playing. The proof in the pudding resides in goalie Steve Mason’s achievement in allowing two goals or fewer in every contest he has backstoppped for Philly, and even though the score may read 3-1 or 3-2 r 2-1, normally that third goal has been an empty netter, a product of the Flyers apparent frustration at being unable to score in bunches.
A couple of big bright spots shown through, mostly involving winger Matt Read. His breakaway short handed goal was reminiscent of the dangerous PK skills the Flyers possessed a mere three seasons ago, reflections of former Captain and current L.A. King, Mike Richards. Read played hot all evening long and contributed in every aspect of the game, equaling his offensive output with a defensive tenacity that frankly the Flyers need more of. Defenseman Braydon Coburn was another highlight against the Rangers, displaying shades of the quality blueline partner Kimmo Timonen once had. He was chippy, showed a lot of life on the ice, and even scored on a solid seeing eye shot from the point to seal the deal for Philly. The Rangers almost tied it, but an apparent kicking motion nullified the goal.
The scariest moment of the game came when Benoit Pouliot bumped into Max Talbot near the benches, sending Talbot in an awkward motion that led to his falling and colliding face first against the boards right in front of bench. He appeared dazed and seriously out of it as trainers led him into the clubhouse, and the image of his nose slashed wide open was pretty gruesome upon first glance. He pulled it together as any fan of hockey knew that he would, and emerged back on the ice a small while later much to the relief of the home crowd.
There was no shortage of aggression and Rangers winger Derek Dorsett was on full display, attempting to scrap multiple times with numerous Flyers. He did get his wish with resident banger Zac Rinaldo, and went after Wayne Simmonds, Sean Couturier and even Matt Read, all of which rewarded him with a game misconduct for his efforts. The Rangers knew they were outmanned, and with rookie Cam Talbot in goal, had to ruffle feathers to keep a measure a balance in the game. It worked to a degree, drawing Wayne Simmonds away from being potent in front of the net to push and shove matches instead for most of the night. Simmonds got his fisticuff wish as well, brawling with Brandon Mashinter who at first had the upper hand with Simmonds’ jersey pulled over his head, but when Wayne’s helmet came off, the hard rights followed.
I guess the hardest part of watching this game was seeing an absolutely futile power play unit, and this after a week off and ample time to practice on it. They looked lost at times, and the Rangers looked like they were on the power play instead. It’s just crazy to try and wrap my head around how the power play can be so bad after this layoff, but it could be worse. They did ring more than a couple of pucks off the posts, and seemed very close to piling on points. Another issue was the 60 minute mentality just not being there once again. During the second period, the Rangers took over repeatedly and overpowered the Flyers for long stretches. That’s still bad news, considering the Rangers have talent, but should have been easy pickings.
Which brings us to the next obstacle: Toothless John Tavares and his wiley Isles. This club made the playoffs last year and if they had only gotten better goaltending, might have upset the heavily favored Penguins. They retained most of their core minus new Flyer Mark Streit of course, but they learned how to play without him when he missed the entire season two years ago, so it’s not as big a deal as it seems. The Isles are playing .500 hockey, and are on par with the Flyers as far as talent goes, with a slight edge given to Mason over NY’s goalie, Evgeni Nabakov. If the Flyers are to win this, they’ll have to do something alien to them: pounce on Nabakov early, perhaps often. He has a habit of fading under pressure, and doing this would give the Flyers the opportunity they need to build on their previous win. If they stall, and this game goes to the 2nd period, where Philly has had issues, well….let’s just say Toothless Tavares will have plenty to smile about.
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