Three Stars
1. Oskar Lindblom
The Swedish Stank was all over the ice tonight, cycling like a damn mad man with the rest of his line. I almost overlooked his performance because it’s practically routine at this point. He scored the Flyers’ second goal on a sweet redirection down low to beat Frederik Andersen, and was generating high percentage chances all night. Oh, and the best part? It was with the coach who benched him for Jori Lehtera last season sitting front row. Feel bad yet, Dave?
2. Brian Elliott
Some questioned the decision to start Brian Elliott in this game, but Moose was up to the task. He made some huge saves when the Leafs began to push, and kept the Flyers either in the lead or tied. The two goals scored were hardly on him, and he deserved this win.
3. Shayne Gostisbehere
Ghost was looking like his old self tonight, moving the puck effectively and being that explosive skater we’ve seen less of lately. There was a play in particular where he went back to the neutral zone to retrieve a loose puck, turned on a dime to avoid the forechecker, and made a quick pass to create an odd-man rush.
It looked like vintage Gostisbehere, and if the Flyers get that on a consistent basis, this defense looks even better than it has over the past few games. The quick turns, the confident passes, and the good reads on when to and when to not pinch were all positives.
Answering the Bell
1. Will the power play bounce back?
They did! Although they didn’t look great on the man advantage by any means, they did get a goal tonight via Lindblom’s tally. Overall they’d go just 1-3, but after a 0-6 outing vs. Montreal they’ll take the small victories.
2. Can the Flyers keep pace?
Overall, they absolutely did. It was rare when the Leafs’ speed overwhelmed the Flyers, and they were forced to play at the Flyers’ speed. And when the game did open up, and the Flyers were forced to pick up the pace, they were up to the task and wore the Leafs down with their cycle game.
Play of the Night
Screw one play, it’s the two shootout goals because there was no way I was leaving off the Claude Giroux slap shot goal, or the Sean Couturier winner, so here’s both.
Sean Couturier says thanks for coming out, Flyers win 3-2, shootouts still suck pic.twitter.com/YUiPYdh91r
— Brandon Murphy (@2Murphy8) November 10, 2019
Claude Giroux slap shot shootout goal pic.twitter.com/v8GUTodZhg
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) November 10, 2019
