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Flyers Doomed by Immaturity, 'Unusual' Lifeless Start in 4-3 Loss to Blue Jackets
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- Flyers Doomed by Immaturity, 'Unusual' Lifeless Start in 4-3 Loss to Blue Jackets
Although the Philadelphia Flyers seemed as though they might have been turning the corner, winning three straight after starting the season winless through nine games, their last six periods of hockey have told a different story.
After leading 2-0 and 3-2 against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, the Flyers blew the game and lost 5-4 in regulation, then followed that up with an awful first period against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
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Taking full advantage, the Blue Jackets quickly piled on a 3-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes while out-shooting the Flyers 7-2.
In the locker room after the game, the Flyers unanimously agreed that the dismal first period doomed them in what ended up being a 4-3 loss in overtime.
"It just felt like a weird start to the game, energy-wise, and didn't seem like really any guys had jump, which is unusual," Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim said. "Usually, you have a few guys going, and credit to the guys to find our legs and get going after a while, but it's nice to start on time."
The Flyers mounted a furious comeback over the final 40 minutes, out-shooting the Blue Jackets by a whopping 28-6 margin.
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Noah Cates hounded down a leaky rebound in the blue paint behind Blue Jackets goalie Cam Talbot to get the Flyers on the board in the second period, and late in the third period, Trevor Zegras banked a shot off Talbot's midsection to pull the Flyers within one amid their late surge.
Tying the game at 3-3 in dramatic fashion, Jamie Drysdale steered in a Tyson Foerster pass with 11 seconds left on the clock and goalie Dan Vladar pulled for the extra attacker.
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Momentum certainly seemed to have shifted in the Flyers' favor heading into overtime, until overtime actually happened.
The Flyers ceded a 2-on-0 breakaway early in the overtime period, with Matvei Michkov getting stripped behind when attempting to posture for a shot in the offensive zone.
Vladar made a phenomenal pad save to keep the game going for Philadelphia, and Michkov stayed on the ice in an attempt to remedy his error.
However, the late shift ended up punishing Michkov and the Flyers, as defenseman Cam York , in his first game back from injury, attempted to drive to the net for a scoring chance.
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Michkov had been covering up high for York, but decided to crash the net for a rebound.
Unfortunately for him and the Flyers, York's move was stymied and the puck never made it to a dangerous area, instead springing Blue Jackets forwards Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson the other way with nobody back defending.
That time, Vladar wasn't able to play hero, and the Flyers' heroic comeback died where it stood.
A point is a point, but the Flyers lost 4-3, and have lost 11 of their first 14 games this season.
Maturity is still an issue for the Flyers; Michkov didn't need to extend his shift in overtime, and York, who has struggled all year, tried to make a low-percentage play in an overtime period with little margin for error.
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"I can't keep coming here to the mic saying 'learning lesson, learning lesson'. I mean, it's a broken record. I'm just disappointed," Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said after the loss. "The first, and then this overtime. Some the guys, I don't know what they're doing. We had a meeting about it. We sent a video on it. It's all puck possession. It's being smart. We give up two 2-on-0s. That's unacceptable."
You are what your record says you are, and right now, the 3-7-4 Flyers are the fourth-worst team in the NHL, with the third-worst points percentage.
The nine-game hole they started the season in already looked insurmountable, and foolish mistakes prevented a three-game win streak from becoming a five-game win streak. So, instead, they added two more losses to the record, wasting rare decent offensive performances from the collective group.
On Wednesday night, the Flyers will play their second leg of this back-to-back against the Washington Capitals at 7:30 p.m., and the outcome of that game will complete the picture being painted, one way or another.
