If the first 30 seconds told you anything, it was how the Flyers night would go. Coming off the Christmas break, the Flyers looked like it was their first game in a month.
The Flyers took 2 penalties in the first 1:30 of the game. Now, the second penalty was extremely weak and shouldn’t have been called, but the referees set the tone for this one with the call.
After the Flyers killed off the 5 on 3, you would think they would become the more energized team. No. Instead, Florida kept up the pressure and scored the games first goal.
This has been an issue for the orange and black this season. Slow starts is something no team should be known for. Unfortunately, this Flyers team is starting to be marked as one.
Over the past 10 games, the Flyers have started slow in almost all of them. To make matters worse, they have given up the 1st goal in 7 of the last 10.
If Philadelphia want to make a run at the playoffs, this is something that has to change.
Here are 3 more observations from the Flyers 3-2 loss to the Panthers…
Penalties, Penalties, & More Penalties
The Flyers entered last night averaging 1.9 penalties per game for the month of December. After the first 1:30 of the game, the Flyers were already at their average.
Penalties are something the Flyers have not had a problem with in December. After taking the most penalties in November, the Flyers are one of the least penalized teams in December.
Last night, the Flyers ended up with 4 penalties, double their average. But that was not the reason for the loss against the Panthers. The Flyers were actually a perfect 4 for 4 on the penalty kill.
Power-Play Goes Silent
For the second straight game, the Flyers power-play did not score. The real problem isn’t a goal. No. The problem is they failed to score on 3+ power-play chances for the 10th time this season.
The Flyers have now gone 7 power-plays since their last goal. But you can actually extend that to 12 because the last Flyers power-play goal was 6 on 4 because the Flyers have the goalie pulled to add the extra man.
It gets worse. The Flyers gave up their 5th short-handed goal on the season. The Flyers are now tied for 5th in the league in short-handed goals given up. Something no team wants to be in the top 5 in.
Turnovers
The Flyers entered the game vs the Panthers with 17 giveaways. A stat that is unheard of in a hockey game. Conversely, the Flyers were averaging 9.1 giveaways per game. That was another stat they doubled tonight.
The Panthers scored all 3 goals off of Flyers give-aways. One of the the goals was because the Flyers over rotated and put a Flyer in a bad spot and led to a turnover.
When the turnovers start to add up, it is hard for a struggling team, like the Flyers, to mount a comeback. They came close. But, Flyers give-away by Captain Claude Giroux ended the Flyers hopes late in the 3rd period, it was his 3rd of the game.
Result : Flyers 2 – Panthers 3, LOSS
Record : 15 – 14 – 8
Next Game : 12/29 Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa FL, 7:30pm
Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
