On Wednesday, a Flyers team with little left to play for showed up the Penguins in their own house. Steve Mason barely had to lift a finger as his team cruised to a 4-1 victory.
Fast forward 4 days later, and we were reminded why the Philadelphia Flyers are destined for a Top-10 draft pick. The team relied almost entirely on a brilliant performance from Steve Mason and special teams to earn a W.
In danger of slipping out of the playoffs, the Penguins showed their desperation early and often. The first period was played almost entirely in the Flyers defensive zone with ridiculously lopsided shot (22-4) and chance counts (11-2).
Though the numbers would improve as the contest wore on, that had more to do with the undisciplined Pens unraveling after the whistles.
Home/Away Chance Locations
There were long stretches of this game where the Penguins seemed to have free reign in the Flyers crease. Initial chances were often followed by a flurry of second and third opportunities.
This was the type of game where we are forced to measure players by varying degrees of awfulness. Not one forward line posted a positive scoring chance differential. Berube was forced to experiment with different combinations in the latter stages of the game. Nothing worked.
To make matters worse, it wasn’t Crosby and Malkin doing the damage but rather Brandon Sutter. In the battle of the fourth lines, Nick Cousins and Zac Rinaldo lost and lost badly. Despite extremely favorable zone starts and a winnable match up, they had one of their most forgettable games of the season at both ends of the ice.
Same story as the forwards. Varying degrees of awfulness punctuated by a stinker of a game from Carlo Colaiacovo and Brandon Manning.
- Set Up – The primary pass on a scoring chance, including rebounds.
- Chance – The primary shot on a scoring chance, including deflections.
- Involved – The sum of both set ups and chances./
