Morning Observations is a feature where we break down the previous night’s game with an analytical eye.
#1: Provorov simply looks ready
The Flyers were never going to make it easy for Ivan Provorov to make the team out of camp this year. The 2015 seventh overall pick faced both a lineup full of NHL defensemen under contract, and a general manager with a reputation for being ultra-conservative when it came to the promotion of prospects. Provorov was going to have to bang the door down if he had intentions of starting the 2016-17 season in Philadelphia.
While that door may not be completely off the hinges, it’s definitely splintering. Provorov delivered yet another impressive performance last night, skating in 25:44 total minutes and consistently playing like one of the best defensemen on the ice. What’s obvious by now is that the biggest strength of Provorov (at least at this stage) is his ability to succeed in all of the little areas, rather than jumping off the television screen on every shift. He’s making smart passes, activating just enough in the offensive zone to keep cycles alive, and forcing opponents to dump the puck in on entries before retrieving those dump-ins himself. These plays won’t get a defenseman on Sportscenter, but they will make him very effective at pushing play in the right direction.
Through four preseason games, the Flyers have 58.88% of the total shot attempts at 5-on-5 with Provorov on the ice. With him on the bench? They’re below the break-even point, at 49.71 percent. That’s a +9.17% Corsi Relative to his teammates, providing even more evidence to support the assertion that Provorov simply makes the Flyers better when he takes his regular shift, even with the caveat that it’s just preseason. There’s still two more games remaining, but I can’t imagine Ron Hextall honestly believing that Provorov is not physically ready for the NHL, and especially that he’s not already better than a number of players on his current defense.
#2: Konecny helps his case
I was unconvinced that Travis Konecny’s performance on Saturday night did a lot to move the needle for him, since the bulk of his impact came on the power play and not at even strength. Last night against the Rangers, however, the 19-year forward’s game was far more well-rounded. Spending the bulk of his 5v5 minutes with Claude Giroux and Brayden Schenn, Konecny was active in all three zones, and did not look overmatched physically like he often did on Saturday.
Hakstol noted after the game that the coaching staff had impressed upon Konecny to clean up his play along the boards, and he did just that, looking sharper on breakouts and on the forecheck. And as for his raw skills, Konecny’s best moment was beating Adam Clendening on an early-third period one-on-one rush, even if he wasn’t able to get much on the ensuing shot. His 68.18% Corsi For percentage at 5v5 last night was well-earned.
And of course, Konecny still looked fantastic on the power play, scoring a goal off a rebound in the second period. I asked Konecny in the locker room if he usually finds himself moving into the low slot during PPs in order to create additional chances, as that was how he scored last night and how he helped to enable Schenn’s goal on Saturday. He agreed that he often likes to crash the net on the man advantage, and at least so far this preseason, his instincts in terms of knowing when to push low have been stellar. It’s that combination of skill, hockey smarts and fearlessness in all situations that is making it very difficult for Hextall to justify sending Konecny back to Sarnia.
#3: Morin shows his upside, then his inexperience
For the first twenty minutes of last night’s game, it wasn’t Ivan Provorov, Shayne Gostisbehere or Michael Del Zotto who was the best Philadelphia defenseman on the ice. Samuel Morin, who most still consider to be the longest of long shots to make the roster, instead towered over the competition. Everything was working for Morin — his passing, his neutral zone defense, and of course, his inherent size and strength advantage. On one especially impressive play, Morin forced a dump-in, chased the puck into the corner, and then watched the Rangers forward in puck pursuit actually give him uncontested access to the puck, thinking better of a possible collision. Morin then moved the puck to a teammate and facilitated a push back up ice.
Unfortunately, Morin’s play did sag as the game progressed. It’s tough to be too angry with the young blueliner for getting burned by Rick Nash on the rush and being forced to take a penalty, but his gap control from the second period on was spotty, which made it easier for Nash to take full advantage. Morin’s biggest mistake came in the final stanza, however, when a failed pass right into the slot resulted in an immediate Brandon Pirri goal.
To Morin’s credit, he quickly shook off the mistake and had a few nice shifts afterwards (Hakstol complimented his resiliency after the game), but the play did hint at some lingering discomfort with the puck and his natural feel for passing lanes. Morin presented himself well in preseason, but I expect he’ll be sent to Lehigh Valley shortly, as there are definitely some elements to his game that could use some work. He didn’t look too far from the NHL over these past two weeks, though.
#4: Lyubimov has been the most impressive of the fourth liners
Roman Lyubimov didn’t have a perfect game. His defensive zone coverage on Ryan Graves’ second period tally wasn’t great, and he lost his fair share of puck battles. But out of all the players battling for a bottom-six spot in the lineup, Lyubimov is the one who makes it most obvious he’s desperate to win a job. Every shift, you can see jump in his step, which shows on the forecheck and in the neutral zone especially. There’s a “this shift might be my last” mentality that Lyubimov has exuded in preseason that much of his competition simply has not shown thus far.
That’s not to say the Russian forward should be guaranteed a spot. I’d prefer Read on the fourth line due to his proven play-driving skills, and if Konecny makes the team, that will only make it tougher for Lyubimov to find a spot. But shifts like the one in the second period that saw him take a pass from Jordan Weal streaking into the offensive zone, draw a penalty, and then later find Weal in the high slot to earn a primary assist leads one to believe that Lyubimov could be a perfectly useful fourth liner immediately.
#5: Laughton – poor start, decent finish
Through the first two periods of last night’s game, Scott Laughton was not doing himself any favors with his on-ice play. Yet again, he was looking passive without the puck, and not particularly fast with it. I’ve theorized that Laughton may no longer be the roster lock that he appeared to be at the start of camp, and another game of looking poor via both the eye-test and the advanced metrics was not helping his case.
In Laughton’s defense, however, he was far more active in the final period. That activity wasn’t always positive, as he took the high-sticking penalty that eventually resulted in the game-tying goal. But in general, an active Scott Laughton is a good Scott Laughton, and that was the case last night. He finally showcased his plus speed on the rush during a few shifts, looking both elusive and hard-nosed. You have to assume the Flyers want Laughton to show them something in order to justify keeping the 2012 first-round pick on the roster, and while last night wasn’t a great game for him, at least he ended it on a decent note.
#6: MacDonald the anti-Provorov in this one
As noted above, Ivan Provorov really stands out through his ability to make lots of seemingly small, smart plays that add up to efficient breakouts, sound neutral zone play and extended offensive zone cycles. When Andrew MacDonald is struggling, he’s the opposite. Passes are just a bit off, neutral zone gaps are loose, and support on the attack is nonexistent. Last night, the bad MacDonald at 5v5 re-emerged.
It’s tough to remember lots of egregious mistakes from the 30-year old last night, though getting outraced to a potential icing by Tanner Glass surely wasn’t one of his proudest moments. Instead, it’s all of those little errors that result in the team spending lots of time in their own zone when MacDonald hits the ice. On a night that saw the Flyers post a 60.26% Corsi For percentage, the veteran defenseman finished at 36.67%, by far a team-worst. In MacDonald’s defense, he was effective on the PK, and prior to last night, was having a solid preseason. But this game brought back memories of what got him sent down in the first place at the end of last year’s camp.
#7: Weal getting better as preseason progresses
On Saturday, Jordan Weal had his best game of the preseason by far, scoring via a stretch pass from Ivan Provorov and providing consistent pressure in the offensive zone. He looked even better last night. Yet again, Weal added a tally, this time on a delayed penalty that wouldn’t have occurred without a beautiful entry pass from Weal to Lyubimov. For the first time, Weal looked like a player with a legitimate case to make the roster.
I asked him after the game if his strange 2015-16 season may have contributed to his slow start to the preseason. Don’t forget that Weal played in just 14 total hockey games last year, stuck in the situation of his teams not willing to dress him on a nightly basis but also afraid to send him to the AHL and potentially lose him on waivers. Weal agreed that it played a role, stating, “Oh 100 percent [yes]. I felt good in the summer in the skates, but you never really know until you’re playing full speed hockey games. It was definitely the first couple that I was trying to get my bearings again and timing and being in the right spots. It’s definitely starting to come, still got better, but I just have to keep working, keep watching film and keep improving.” Hopefully he’ll get at least one more game to show he can keep trending in the right direction.
#8: Gudas’ hit questionable but not a lock for heavy discipline
Radko Gudas is turning into the master of the “not good, but not quite suspension-worthy” hit. Last February, Gudas earned three separate game misconducts for questionable hits, but while none were exactly “clean,” the Department of Player Safety deemed that each did not deserve supplemental discipline. Gudas will again have a hit reviewed by DoPS, this one on Rangers rookie Jimmy Vesey, and the outcome might be similar.
Gudas did have a small window of opportunity to lay off the hit, but instead drilled Vesey face-first into the boards. At the same time, Vesey turned his body to face the boards just as Gudas began to commit to the hit. It’s a tough call. Considering Gudas’ history of reckless hits, it wouldn’t be unjustified to assume that this wasn’t all just caused by bad luck. But with members of the hockey establishment like Nick Kypreos and Kerry Fraser both implying that Gudas wasn’t truly to blame, he may escape a heavy punishment yet again. The Flyers need to especially hope that he avoids punishment, because suspended players still count on the 23-man roster and Brayden Schenn is already inactive for three games.
#9: Voracek has no intention of starting slow
Fans were justifiably frustrated when Jakub Voracek followed up the signing of a massive eight-year extension with a disappointing 2015-16 season. After scoring 81 points the previous year, Voracek managed just 11 goals and 55 total points. There were legitimate excuses for the down year — ridiculously bad PP luck, untimely injuries — but Voracek would be the first to admit that his production and overall play simply has to be better. The Flyers faithful will certainly be satisfied if the Voracek from last night is the one who they see during the upcoming 82-game regular season.
Shaking off his power play demons from last year, Voracek scored with the advantage in the second period. But obviously, it was his goal in overtime that really has fans excited. Less than 30 seconds into the extra period, Voracek circled the offensive zone with All-Star defenseman Ryan McDonagh draped all over him, fighting off the check before fooling Mackenzie Skapski with a power move in front. It looked the same Voracek who did his best Jaromir Jagr impression throughout the majority of 2014-15, and a great sign for the approaching season.
#10: Strong game by Mason almost overshadowed by puck handling mistake
For the majority of last night’s game, Steve Mason looked like the same goalie who seemed in midseason form last week in his shutout of the Islanders. But with Philadelphia nursing a one-goal lead and facing a Rangers power play, Mason attempted to play the puck to a teammate from behind the net and instead turned it over to Derek Stepan, who quickly found Brandon Pirri for the game-tying goal.
It’s preseason, so nothing to worry too much about, but Mason’s puck handling ability did seem diminished last year in comparison to the start of his Flyers’ career. The glass-half-full view is that he’s working out the kinks in preseason. The glass-half-empty side would say that he’s regressing with age in this area. It’s certainly something to keep an eye on at the start of the year.
