The Flyers were facing a two goal deficit towards the end of the second period. After a Dubinsky shot luckily rocketed off the crossbar to keep the game at 2-0, Wayne Simmonds was able to get the Flyers into the game with a nice wrister. Just twenty seconds later, Sean Couturier perched himself in the blue paint and with good work from Lecavalier and Read, he was able to get a goal for his trouble. Suddenly, the game was tied.
After that second period, the Flyers may have lulled you into a false sense of hope. With Thursday’s victory fresh in your mind and all the momentum in the world on their side, you may have irrationally believed that the Flyers could take the win.
You were wrong. I forgive you for that.
The Blue Jackets exploded out of the gate in the third period, scoring two quick goals that set the Flyers back twenty minutes and proved to seal their fate. There was to be no comeback, no magical savior. An ultimately pointless goal from Wayne Simmonds made the final score 6-3. Incredibly underwhelming.
It was not good, certainly not if you thought another miracle was possible.
- The Flyers power-play had been excelling on the road, ranking 4th in the league when playing away from home. Tonight’s game was an outlier in that sense. They went 0-5. There were a fair amount of chances, but none of them registered. In a game where it could have been the decider, they were bested. Take that for what it is.
- Speaking of special teams, the Flyers took more stupid penalties. No one was surprised. Some were questionable, but the game was being called tight both ways, so it doesn’t really matter in the end. On the same note, the Flyers lead the league in penalties and penalty minutes. Again, no one is surprised. Still annoying, though. Last week, Berube alluded to the discipline problem that the organization has been plagued, but as of now, there’s been no change. I pray that it will come sooner rather than later.
- While I was hesitant to see Lecavalier back so much earlier than was previously anticipated, he looked decent in his return. He was originally listed as right-winger for the third line because he was apparently having trouble taking face-offs. Still, he took a total of eight face-offs, winning 88% of them. A good sign. He had some good scoring chances, including one that really should have been a goal. Cue me shaking my fist at Curtis McElhinney.
- And seriously, who is that guy? He looked great. Frustratingly great. What a jerk.
- In injury news, Erik Gustafsson exited the game in the third. It appeared as though he got kneed in the shin as he was defending against a two-on-one. He collapsed and needed to be helped off the ice. Bad news for the blue line, especially with Nicklas Grossmann out with the flu. Should Grossmann and Gustafsson stay out of the lineup, you can only imagine the pairings that will be skating on Monday night. Shudder to think.
- On the brighter side of things, Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek kept their point streaks alive. That, at least, gives me warm and fuzzy hockey feelings.
- Around the league, everything went almost as terribly as it possibly could have. The Capitals and the Devils went to overtime (because of course they did) and New Jersey eked out a win. The Hurricanes managed to take their game to overtime, so they got a point, too. The Flyers are now tied for fourth place in this mess of a division.
We’ll see the Flyers back in action on Monday for one last home game against the Minnesota Wild before another extended road trip. I hope it will be more fun than tonight’s game. Otherwise, bah humbug.
