The Flyers are making a habit of winning sloppy in the closing weeks of the season. For the second game in a row, Steve Mason was forced to cover up for his team’s numerous defensive miscues. It was only a matter of time before an early Philly lead crumbled on its shaky foundations.
All that being said, there were some positive stretches of play. In particular the team came out strong to start both the 1st and 3rd periods, seemingly putting New York on their heels. But the Isles never stayed down on the mat for long.
Not surprisingly, the Flyers lost the even strength battle by a fair margin. A strong power play was able to mute that disadvantage to a degree. [Note: chances with an extra attacker are included in total even-strength counts.]
Home/Away Chance Locations
Lots of chances on either side, but the Flyers have looked particularly vulnerable down low of late. Much like against Pittsburgh, they surrendered a ton of shots just outside the crease.
All of the tell tale signs of pond hockey are here. Copious amounts of chances for? Check. Just as many chances against? Check. There’s nothing inherently wrong with playing a high event style, but the Flyers don’t necessarily have the talent to keep up with a high powered offense like the Islanders.
As you can see, almost every line is on the red side of the ledger. Not one player was able to sustain a positive chance differential.
John Tavares was a machine in this game, figuring into three of the four Islanders goals and eight scoring chances. Sean Couturier’s line bore the brunt of his offensive onslaught. Much like the rest of the team, Couturier’s line showed flashes of dominance but were ultimately outplayed in their own zone.
A mixed showing from the top line against a middle-6 match up. You’d like to see them take more advantage of so much time away from JT.
On the bright side, the Flyers’ fourth line stabilized after an outright terrible game against Pittsburgh. They didn’t generate much offense, but they didn’t give up a deluge of chances either.
Two out of the three defensive pairs were at least able to break even but the Streit/Grossmann pairing was exposed.
- 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.
