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PHILADELPHIA — On a night like tonight, when the opposing goalie stands on his head, it’s hard to judge exactly how much credit he deserves and how much you have to look at yourself in the mirror. The Flyers put 41 shots on Tim Thomas tonight, and with his unconventional, flop-around-the-crease-and-somehow-keep-the-puck-out style, he stopped all 41 of them.
So how much credit to we give to Thomas, who now has five shutouts in 16 games to go alongside a bevy of other absurd statistics, and how much do we take away from the Flyers, who haven’t looked sharp in a week now?
Outside of the third period against New Jersey on Saturday, the Flyers haven’t looked good in about nine periods. That’s not to say they didn’t have their chances tonight on Thomas, who we can’t take anything away from, but the Flyers just weren’t sharp in any aspect of the game.
Sergei Bobrovsky was fine in net, but from there, the defense was shaky and seemingly couldn’t execute a solid breakout, the neutral zone play was just rough all around, especially when trying to cross the Bruins blue line, and in the offensive zone there just seems to be a complete disconnect. Let’s not talk about the special teams — that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms. (2-for-38 on the PP, but who’s counting?)
Thomas deserves a ton of credit and tonight may not have been the Flyers night regardless of if they were playing well, but the trends that have developed in the last three games are alarming. Danny Briere and Peter Laviolette, among others, downplayed any negative attitudes after the game, but just watching the team on the ice right now, you can tell something isn’t right.
After the jump, post-game video, questions with answers and the comment of the night.
Post-Game Video: Chris Pronger
Post-Game Video: Peter Laviolette
Post-Game Video: Scott Hartnell
Questions with Answers
Can the Flyers beat Tim Thomas, who is really, really good on the road this year? Gonna go with no on that.
Do the Bruins have extra jump off the start, what with their wanting to prove they can beat the Flyers and stuff? The Flyers actually had the jump off the start, but it didn’t result in anything. Nik Zherdev took an early penalty and the B’s capitalized. That was enough for Thomas.
Power play’s been worked on for a few days. Any results? Oh come on now.
Does Claude Giroux get his 100th NHL point tonight? He’s been hanging on that number for a week or two now. No, Giroux has been invisible.
Comment of the Night
Tim Thomas.
>> Ben Feldman, guessing who would score the next goal
