There’s no question or denying that the Philadelphia Flyers came out flat last night. After an embarrassing 7-0 loss to the hated Pittsburgh Penguins, things couldn’t get much worse…or could they?
Brian Elliott came out flat last night, and well didn’t play his best game. After only making 14 saves on 19 shots faced, Elliott was mercifully pulled in the second period. Elliott left with a dismal .737 Save Percentage for the game. Now four out of the five goals scored weren’t on Elliott, as he wasn’t given a fighting chance. I mean Sidney Crosby bats one out of the air, Jake Guentzel scores on the power play down low as he was wide open, Evgeni Malkin had a crazy backhand, and finally Carl Hagelin’s wide open redirection goal. Things couldn’t get much worse though? Then this tweet from Ilya Bryzgalov surfaces last night in the second period….
I’m ready whenever you are @NHLFlyers pic.twitter.com/YsMrslgB3T
— bryzgoalie30 (@bryzgoalie30) April 12, 2018
This is embarrassing as Bryzgalov certainly wasn’t lights out himself while donning a Flyers sweater. For his Flyers career, Bryzgalov finished with a 2.63 GAA, and a .904 Save Percentage. Bryzgalov did manage to win the last playoff series for the Flyers in 2012. However, Bryzgalov also had a pretty solid defensive core with the likes of Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle, and Braydon Coburn. Bryz no offense I wouldn’t say the Flyers are “A,” ok, but no thanks my friend.
This is funny, but if this doesn’t motivate Elliott to perform in game 2, then we have a serious problem. One thing we shouldn’t do is lose faith, it’s just one game. This crushing defeat is the same, and has the same hurt as a 1-0 loss. Throw this away, regroup, and go get them on Friday.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
