Just when things seemed promising for the Flyers for this long haul across the continent.
After locking down a win in their first road game, the Flyers hit a snag against the Minnesota Wild, a solid team who had been on a slump of sorts, having lost four in a row before last night’s game. Things during the first two periods were sluggish and sloppy, a total defensive affair with both clubs determined to not let the other score first.
Sometimes when you watch a game such as this, when there is little to no scoring, it can be a fun, like witnessing a war of attrition. This one was not, and it gave critics ammunition to use against the Flyers about how the passing issues haven’t been shored up, and how the first two lines, especially Giroux’s, looked lost and fumbling.
Whatever magic Claude Giroux had with Jakub Voracek and Scott Hartnell seems to be gone, more so with the former as Voracek has simply looked out of place on that line for much of the season, astonishing considering his playmaking abilities, but they just aren’t adding to the equation here. The only problem is figuring out who is the better first line replacement, and how much it will harm the chemistry occurring on the other lines. Downie, Read and Couturier look like they have gelled nicely. Lecavalier and Schenn always seem to find each other pretty easily on offense, as their point totals can attest by having one’s name attached to the other’s on the scoresheet.
You could flip flop Jakub for Simmonds, but while that may benefit Lecavalier’s line, it might possibly hamper Giroux’s. Claude is a natural passer, while Hartnell and Simmonds gear their games around rebound shooting, the dirty goals. Claude would essentially have no one to pass to, and would be required to shoot more. We’ve seen how attempting to play this style hasn’t really helped him at all, so I’d be hard pressed to see this line change occur. As long as Voracek scuffles with his game, so will the rest of his line, and they happen to be the Flyers two biggest stars at the present moment.
If it weren’t for the Wild providing some minor excitement early in the third, and briefly at that, this game would have been a total snorefest. No one wants to watch two clubs more afraid of being scored on than scoring themselves, but that’s what we were treated to.
While the .500 hump eludes them, the Flyers will now have to prepare for the solid Red Wings, a current contender now in the East, at the Joe tomorrow night.
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