For fans that measure a team’s success by how many opposing players get their teeth kicked in, this will probably be a good night.
For everyone else, they saw more of the same Flyers team that was ineffective at even strength, and relied almost solely on their powerplay to generate offensive pressure.
The first 30 minutes or so of this hockey game was dominated by Pittsburgh, both at even strength and on special teams. In the first period the Flyers managed just a single scoring chance.
Six powerplay opportunities allowed them to claw back into the game, with over 50% of their offensive chances coming on the man advantage.
Home/Away Chance Locations
Ray Emery played out of his mind, facing a firing squad in the low slot where the Pens were allowed chance after chance.
Most of the Flyers’ top-9 up front struggled to break even in the chance battle. And the 4th line was a glaring defensive liability despite limited minutes at even strength.
Evgeni Malkin was allowed to run wild on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and company. That’s a look the Flyers may want to avoid in the future.
Obviously Craig Berube was limited in his ability to match personnel once he was down to just 11 forwards, but he still managed to attach Sean Couturier to Sidney Crosby’s hip.
Luke Schenn and Michael Del Zotto were the only pair able to sustain a high volume of offense, but it came at a price. Defensively, they were an absolute mess.
- 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
Again there seems to be a trend here of the Flyers most offensively involved players also being the most defensively vulnerable.
Wide open hockey, while obviously entertaining, is a great way to lose hockey games in the long run.
