That’s a bit surprising for someone who underwent wrist surgery that prematurely ended his 2015 season and kept him on the shelf for 3-4 months. Yet, Del Zotto looked as good as ever in his second preseason game.
The defenseman picked up an assist on the Flyers’ second goal while playing over 20 minutes of ice time. He also picked up a team-high six blocked shots while adding two hits. He led all Flyers with over 22 minutes of ice time.
His partner, Philippe Myers, looked just as good. Prior to the game, head coach Dave Hakstol said that Myers wasn’t “penciled” into the lineup but his performance on Monday earned him the open spot. He didn’t disappoint his coach, either, as he tossed his body around a few times, closed out incoming rushers and made smart passes, including one to Travis Sanheim that eventually led to the team’s third goal. Like Del Zotto, Myers finished as a plus-two.
“Well playing with the NHL defensemen here, you see how they do everything and you try to learn as much as you can,” Myers said after the game. “It’s been unbelievable and I’m really thankful for this opportunity.”
The defensive pairing may have stolen the show on Tuesday, but what about the others? Let’s get into it:
- Ivan Provorov is good… but you already knew this. The defenseman made a handful of strong plays in all three zones, specifically upending an incoming rusher on one series than dishing out a stretch pass to start the rush the other way. It’s plays like these that show just talented he is. He also proved once again to be a very good set-up man on the power play. Through two games, Provorov has logged close to 50 minutes of ice time. It wasn’t all perfect, of course, he failed to clear a puck that led to a rush in the Flyers’ direction; anything else would just be nitpicking.
- The game’s first goal — and the Flyers first score of the season — came off of Dale Weise. That’s a great start to his Philadelphia tenure, granted it was a bit of a fluky bounce but in order to get lucky breaks, you need to get yourself in a position to do so and Weise did just that. He had a few good sequences throughout the game and looks to have early chemistry with Scott Laughton and Nick Cousins. The trio looks locked in as the Flyers third line to start the season. Weise also knows how to win the Philadelphia fan base over, sticking up for Cousins late in the game when Ross Johnston went after the forward along the benches.
- Steve Mason was as dominant as one can be in the preseason. While the Islanders didn’t trot out an NHL-heavy lineup like the Flyers did, Mason made a few spectacular saves, including a sprawling save that deflected off of his glove in the second period. He finished with 23 saves.
- How about Roman Lyubimov? The Russian continues to impress. Before the game, Hakstol said he keeps getting better each day and has a strong knack for winning 50-50 pucks. He did that once again on Tuesday and continued to be a pesky forechecker. The odds of Lyubimov making the opening night lineup continue to increase while Chris VandeVelde looks as though to be the likely odd man out. Lyubimov played about one minute more than VandeVelde, for what it’s worth.
- Travis Sanheim appears to be in a much better spot now than he was last year. Having bulked up quite a bit, he’s much stronger along the boards and looks as smooth as ever in the offensive zone. He was a bit hesitant in Monday’s split-squad game but didn’t hold back on Tuesday. He had a few good looks from the point and wound up picking up an assist on Andy Miele‘s goal and later on Wayne Simmonds‘ second score.
- Speaking of No. 17, it looked like vintage Simmonds in this one with his first goal being a gritty goal and his second one coming off a quick snipe over Christopher Gibson’s right shoulder. After his first preseason game, Simmonds (wearing a visor that we’re not sure how long will last) looks ready for opening night. One side note: he clearly doesn’t like to celebrate preseason goals.
- Before the game, I mentioned that Jordan Weal needs to capitalize on his opportunity. There were definitely some miscues from the forward, but he once again put together a strong effort in his second game. He had his way in the face-off circle, winning over 70% of the draws. He was 6-for-8 after two periods. Weal also recorded an assist.
- Andrew MacDonald put forth a memorable effort on a 5-on-3 late in the third period. he disrupted a few passes, canceled out a potential scoring opportunity and had a clear. It was the best game from start to finish for him, but the veteran was solid in that sequence.
Kyle Phillippi is the Philadelphia Flyers beat writer for Flyzette. He also contributes Flyers content to CSNPhilly.com and Metro Philly. You can follow Kyle on Twitter,@Kyle_Phillippi.
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