This is what happens when the other team completely, absolutely outworks you.
Say all you want about the fact that the Flyers were still in the game late in the third period. Say all you want about how bad the Bruins also played. Say all you want about the fact that the Flyers have zero depth whatsoever. None of it matters. All that matters is that the Bruins are moving their feet. The Bruins are controlling the play. The Flyers are standing around.
And guess which team has the 2-0 series lead?
The deck is stacked against the Flyers here, don’t get me wrong. With Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne and Ian Laperriere out of the lineup, they don’t have the luxury of rolling four quality lines. But to give Andreas Nodl, who has played quite well when given a chance, just four minutes of ice time, while Scott Hartnell, who has been absolutely terrible on every side of the puck, gets 20 minutes?
Well, that’s an absolute joke, and you can understand why the entire team looks gassed in the third period. I don’t usually do the bullet point format, but I have thoughts that I can’t work into cohesive paragraphs, so….
- What the hell is up with the play in the defensive end? It’s just a mess all around. I’m not going to go goal by goal, but Hartnell was at fault on at least one of them. Another reason why he needs his ice time cut.
- Dan Carcillo screwed up on a face off in the first period, got Mike Richards kicked out, and Hartnell then lost the draw. It led to Johnny Boychuk’s goal. Richie didn’t answer a question about it after the game, but according to Al Morganti on Post Game Live on CSN, that’s not due to the subject of the question. It’s because it was asked by Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- The Flyers can’t clear the puck out of the defensive end, either. It’s a serious issue. Too much fumbling around with it.
- Boston is really good at capitalizing on mistakes in their own defensive end and turning them into chances the other way.
- Mike Richards and Claude Giroux both had great games tonight. Again.
- The Flyers haven’t led at all in this series. Not one second. That’s an issue. It’s tiring to play from behind all the time. Factor in their record when scoring the first goal and you’ll understand why this is so important.
- Hey, power play. What the hell happened? Both units looked atrocious tonight, and while there were a few differences in personnel, that’s not an excuse. Needs to improve.
- Here’s a tweet from Stanley Cup of Chowder: Hear what [CSN New England reporter Joe Haggerty] just said? Richards allegedly said to Savvy “You were out for 6 months. We’re gonna take you out for another 6 months.”
- A few thoughts on that last one: 1) if true, Richards probably just meant 6 months until next season. 2) and more importantly, this means that Savard took words from the ice and passed them on to the media. That’s just not done, and I imagine he’ll pay for that.
- In related news, he also apparently bit Dan Carcillo.
- Carcillo on Savard: “Last time I was bit was in grade school. Doesn’t feel good. Pretty cowardly. Whatever, he bit me. […] Men don’t bite.”
- Not surprising considering his past.
I’m starting to hate the Boston Bruins. How about you? This is a hole, but the Flyers are coming home and there’s no reason they can’t make the necessary adjustments and win two games on home ice. Dont give up hope just yet, guys and gals. The Flyers are the better team, and if they play that way come Wednesday, Friday and Monday, they’ll win this series.
After the jump, questions with answers and the comment of the night.
Questions with Answers
- Does the switch between Giroux and Briere make a difference? I thought it made a difference. Briere looked much better in the Flyers end and Giroux was typically awesome.
- How does Shawn Thornton impact the game? Uh, he didn’t.
- Can Boucher play as red hot as he did on Sunday? Boosh was great again, as usual.
- Do the officials keep the whistles away, similarly to how they did so in Game 1? Kinda… called more of the ticky tack stuff but it wasn’t as bad as the Devils series.
- How does Leino react in the Gagne role — playing with Richards and Carcillo? Leino was strong as well tonight. Continues to impress.
- Can Scott Hartnell benefit from playing with two noted offensive dynamos, Giroux and Briere? How many languages are there on Earth, and how do you say NO in all of them?
Comment of the Night
For the record, I want to f*ck Kristen Bell.
>> EREX21, responding to dreams of playing the Caps instead
