Flyers Postgame Blog: It's Time to Hold the Veterans Accountable

To bring up Wednesday night’s story, it’s not so sunny in Philadelphia for the Flyers right now. For the fifth straight game, the team did not earn two points, and for the fourth straight contest, they are pointless.

The Philadelphia Flyers were dominated in the first and third periods of Thursday night’s contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins, one that they lost 6-3.

Now, it’s worth clarifying that it was two late-Flyers’ goals that shrunk the deficit to three before the final horn. Thursday night was the fourth-straight tough watch for the Flyers. In the four-straight regulation games lost, the Flyers have been outscored 23-8 – not good.

There was so much to dislike from Thursday’s game, so let’s start with what was good.

I think a game in the press box did Denver Barkey some good. He looked like the same player who impressed everyone in the NHL back in December. Barkey had a multi-point night, but was one of the first players noticeable in a good way. Barkey had his legs on Thursday.

Matvei Michkov might have taken a little to warm up, but he had a really impressive night as well. I won’t lie, he has not been great. To a degree, he’s been a tough watch. Thursday night was a reminder of why he is such a highly touted player. His creativity was on display, making great passes. It was one of his better skating nights. Plus, for the first time since November 29th, he beat a goalie – it had to feel good.

Let’s not forget, of all the players on the ice, it was Michkov who came to Barkey’s defense and dropped the gloves with Blake Lizotte.

Despite the pair being a -1 (combined -2) on the night, I did not mind the game from Jamie Drysdale and Emil Andrae on Thursday. I thought that the blueliners could have been better defensively, but the way all of the D-men, even Nick Seeler and Noah Juulsen, stepped up offensively was good to see.

It was another rough game for the Flyers, and this time, it’s time to hold the veterans accountable.

Special teams were a letdown, once again

If the Flyers are going to dig themselves out of this skid, they need more consistent play out of their veterans.

Let’s start with the penalty kill. To be blunt, it sucked on Thursday. The Penguins went 3/4 on the man-advantage. But let’s look at who earned the penalties, leading to the four Pittsburgh opportunities.

In the first period, it was Cam York, Travis Sanheim, and Garnet Hathaway. York got nabbed for a hook, which is slightly justified given Rackell was surging on the rush and blew through the defense. Though the penalty was semi-justified, it still did not stop a goal, as Pittsburgh scored on the man-advantage.

Travis Sanheim got called for a high stick in a moment where his stick did not need to be high. That penalty was killed. Garnet Hathaway was called for tripping on Kris Letang, leading to a power-play goal.

In the third period, Sidney Crosby scored on the Matvei Michkov roughing penalty after Blake Lizotte crushed Denver Barkey. That was amazing to see from Michkov. Still, the penalty kill did not have his back, allowing the goal.

The power play did the team no favors either, going 0/4. Philadelphia’s power play has been spiraling for quite some time, and at this point, it feels like they’ve hit rock bottom.

Flyers Veterans need to be better

It was not just special teams. The Flyers’ veterans simply have not been good.

For what feels like the third or fourth straight game now, Sean Couturier was extremely unnoticeable. It’s worth mentioning that his style of hockey is not flashy. But even on Thursday, he wasn’t doing the little things he typically does so well. I usually notice the Flyers’ captain the most in the neutral zone, or extending offensive possessions. I have not seen much of that lately.

Travis Konecny makes mistakes; that’s a part of his game. But he usually makes up for it with strong offensive-zone play or even aggressive defense following a turnover. That was not the case on Thursday. Blake Lizotte’s goal (4-1) came immediately following a lost board battle by Konecny. It was also one of those games where it was hard to notice him, which, honestly, feels like a rarity.

The Flyers’ 4th-liners, with the exception of goal scorer Rodrigo Abols, also felt a bit disappointing. Garnet Hathaway felt unnoticable, with the exception of his bad penalty early in the game. Carl Grundstrom had multiple opportunities, including one set up by a perfect feed from Christian Dvorak, but could not convert.

A lot needs to happen for the Flyers to snap out of this streak, but one thing is for sure: they need more out of their veteran players.

Flyers Postgame Blog: It’s Time to Hold the Veterans Accountable

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