“We really got up for this game,” goaltender Brian Elliott explained after the Flyers 3-0 victory against Pittsburgh Tuesday night.
“Got up” was a drastic understatement by Elliott, who recorded his first shutout of the season.
Last night, Philadelphia fans witnessed one of the most complete performances by the Flyers this season. With and without the puck, the orange and black were playing as a team, moving to space, and staying patient. The Flyers were simply the better team overall, but what stood out was their defensive play.
Time and Space
We’ll start this off by utilizing the eye test. Just by watching the game, it seemed as if the Penguins could not get anything going. Starting in their own zone, Pittsburgh was playing slow. The Flyers created seven turnovers, with four coming in the neutral zone, and one in the Penguins’ zone. Their backchecking forced the Pens to panic with their passing, and make the wrong decision.
This is especially evident in JVR’s goal, where his backchecking forced a turnover. Thus, Giroux picked up the loose puck, found JVR, who gave it to TK, who then found JVR on a cross-crease sauce.
To tag along with the time and space memo, the Flyers did not give the Penguins an easy time entering their zone. All six d-men were pressing the blue line, forcing the Penguins into turnovers or to “dump and chase.” Because Pittsburgh was unable to pass their way into the zone easily, it limited their chances of screened shots from afar leading to tap in rebounds.
It’s something you learn when you’re a peewee ice hockey player. Taking away an opponent’s time and space will win you games, which is exactly what the Flyers did last night.
Now, the Numbers
The eye test results above generated into the (advanced) stat sheet as well. The Penguins were held to a mere 16 shots while 5 on 5, and only had three shots on the powerplay. Along with this, the Penguins only had six “high-danger” scoring chances at even strength as well. The Flyers 56.4 CF% in all situations outdueled the Penguins’ 43.6 CF%, showing their pure control from start to finish.
The d-men were not the only ones contributing on the defensive end, though. The forwards were backchecking, and sticking with their defensive assignments tight. In specific, Crosby and Malkin, two notorious Flyers’ killers, were kept in check:
To tag along with this, the Flyers manning up in their own zone kept the Penguins out of the slot. Avoiding these high danger areas allowed Elliott to stand firm in his crease and control rebounds without panic. By analyzing the Penguins’ shot chart, it’s clear that the Flyers maintained their “home,” and stayed inside their opponent:
It was team defense that made this such a successful game. From the forwards down to Brian Elliott, the Flyers executed their plan perfectly. Philadelphia will need to carry this positive momentum into the break and come back hot against the Penguins again on January 31st.
