It’s tough to find solace in the numbers after such a gut wrenching OT loss. But the Flyers are playing better than anyone could have expected in these last few weeks. Once again they turned in an even strength performance that was good enough to win.
The Flyers took on a superior team on paper and played them evenly for large stretches of this game. Boston’s powerplay proved to be the difference maker, with half a dozen scoring chances and both of the Bruin’s regulation goals coming on the man advantage.
Home/Away Chance Locations
Couturier, Read, and Voracek put together another fantastic game at both ends of the ice and were easily the Flyers most effective offensive threat. Inexplicably, Berube felt the need to fiddle with this trio mid-game and move Voracek back to the top line.
If there’s a line that needs to be broken up, it’s the Flyers pseudo third line centered by Brayden Schenn. They were pinned in the d-zone by the Bruins in the d-zone all game long.
Bruin’s head coach Claude Julien wasn’t shy about using last change to advantage. He spread out Bergeron’s minutes against both Giroux and Couturier in attempt to contain the Flyers two-pronged attack. Bergeron managed to stifle Giroux but was less successful against Couturier’s group, which didn’t meet a match up they didn’t like in this game.
Boston’s coaching staff also exploited a mismatch between Ryan Spooner and Brayden Schenn. It’s not surprising when you consider that Spooner was flanked by Milan Lucic and the offensively gifted 18 year old Pastrnak. (Who was often compared to fellow country man Jakub Voracek in his scouting reports). The Flyers simply don’t have the depth on the wings to match that kind of skill.
Carlo Colaiacovo had a stand out game, though he was sheltered some by the coaching staff. The rest of the defense was average at best.
It might be time to consider breaking up Del Zotto and Luke Schenn, as they’ve been consistently awful in their own zone since the trade deadline.
- 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.
Jakub Voracek was the Flyers most noticeable individual difference maker with four scoring chances to his credit, including a tantalizing overtime chance.
