RALEIGH, N.C. – After getting a first-hand look at Carolina’s vaunted forecheck in Game 1, the Flyers were thinking about countermeasures for tonight’s Game 2.
The Hurricanes generate a lot of shots off the rush and that should be cause for some concern although Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said he wasn’t all that worried about shot counts.
“You know it (the forecheck) is coming,” Tocchet said in pregame comments at Levano Center. “I don’t care for the shot clock, people that have played them before, don’t be spooked by outside shots.
“It’s more the start, they just want to forecheck. It can’t just be one player, we need five guys to help out on the break. You can’t just sit there and take it. That’s from experience, that’s from learning.”
In Game 1, the Flyers came up short in one-on-one battles and that’s something Tocchet stressed in pregame meetings.
“When you play Carolina, it’s one-on-one battles,” the coach said. “They won more than we did. We need some players to win one-on-one battles, that’s what it comes down to you.”
More shots on net
The Flyers had only four shots on net midway through Game 1. Things weren’t much better on the power play where the Flyers only managed only one shot in four opportunities with the man advantage.
Not surprisingly, the Flyers wound up on the short end of a 3-0 score.
The idea in much of hockey is to get shots on the net with the hope of a tip-in or a rebound for a scoring chance.
“Yeah, they came out flying in the first and we weren’t ready for it,” Christian Dvorak said. “I think we will be tonight. We definitely need to create more chances than we did in Game 1. We need to do a better job facing the pressure, get more zone time and create more offense tonight.”
Couturier’s take
Sean Couturier said the approach to Game 2 was pretty basic.
“I think just get back to our game,” he said.
The Hurricanes came at the Flyers with a lot of speed in Game 1. It’s something that requires a certain period of adjustment, especially for Philadelphia’s young players.
“It was kind of an eye-opener,” Couturier said. “Just seeing how fast and how hard on pucks they are. It takes a little bit of an adjustment period for guys who haven’t seen it.”
Tippett still out
Tocchet ruled out Owen Tippett for Game 2 but offered the possibility he might be ready for Game 3 on Thursday.
“It will be a game-time decision,” Tocchet said.
Wayne Fish is a freelance writer. www.flyingfishhockey.com