The Flyers took on the Bruins for the fourth time this season and came away with another loss. That drops them to 0-2-2 for the year against the team from Beantown. The Flyers again lost a third-period lead and in the span of 27 seconds, the Bruins took control. It won’t get easier for the Orange and Black as they travel next to take on the Washington Capitals.
Flyers come out looking to set the tone
The Flyers came out looking to establish their forecheck while the Bruins seemed to have a plan of getting their top line out every time Provorov stepped off the ice. At the end of the first period, the Flyers outshot the Bruins 7-5. This was thanks in part to an almost four-minute power play, during which the Flyers were unable to take advantage of the Bruins being without two of their top defenders in Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo.
The game got a little chippy at times. Nicolas Aube Kubel had the first fight of the season for the Flyers. Later on, Travis Konecny was going off on an interference penalty. TK being an opportunist got Chris Wagner to go with him for roughing, negating a Bruins power play.
Moose slows down the Bruins
In case you were wondering, the Bruins are a good team. They are fast and move the puck well. At the beginning of the second period, I was in awe watching their top line move the puck. They are in sync and always seem to know where the other players are. It is no wonder they score the overwhelming majority of the Bruins goals.
In the first five minutes of the second period, we saw the Bruins really dictate the play. The Bruins jumped out early peppering Elliot with four shots in the first three minutes. A failed dump-in attempt by Claude Giroux, thanks to a broken stick, led to the save of the game. David Pastrnak went in alone and was stopped by Elliot. The rebound went right to Marchand and Elliot again was ready, stopping the shot.
The game seemed to settle for the next five minutes. The Flyers did a better job clearing the zone, however, their passes into the neutral zone were a little off the mark. The Flyers looked to pass more than shoot, which took away scoring chances.
Joel Farabee got in on a breakaway when he was impeded resulting in a penalty shot. Beezer didn’t look comfortable on his approach and the result was a shot that Tuuka Rask batted away. That line then went to work late in the period with their forecheck which resulted in a penalty to Chris Wagner. The Flyers start the third with almost a full two-minute power play.
The Bruins outshot the Flyers 8-4 this period and had a majority of the scoring chances. Giroux looked different tonight, but although he didn’t light the lamp, he was playing with grit and edge. I thought for sure that their line was going to take over this period.
Flyers strike First, Bruins Answer
At the start of the third period, the Flyers were on the power play. Alain Vigneault made an interesting move to start the period with Gustafsson on the first powerplay instead of Provorov and it worked.
A shot from the point was redirected by JVR for the first goal. Giroux got the secondary assist. The Bruins tried to regain the momentum and at one point they pinned the Flyers in their zone. It looked like the clearing issues were about to reemerge, however, Lindblom cleared the puck.
AV’s team shortened the shifts and continued to push into the offensive zone. Laughton and JVR were solid on the forecheck. Then with about eight minutes remaining that tide turned. In a span of 27 seconds, the Bruins took over. Elliot froze the puck after a shot that led to a scramble The defensive zone faceoff between Giroux and Bergeron. Two of the best in the business. Bergeron won the draw and as the Bruins kept the Flyers pinned in, Marchand scores on an ugly rebound. The Bruins would add their second moments later on a Sean Kuraly shot.
The Flyers would put pressure on Rask but they were unable to crack him losing their fourth to the Bruins. The Flyers would outshoot the Bruins 24-23. Oskar Lindblom was hurt late in the third, but AV had no update.
Brian Elliot on the loss:
I thought we played a much better game. Personally, you go from pitching a perfect one to losing in like a span of a minute. It’s frustrating. It’s on me.”
“Everybody was in good spots and helping each other out. Even on our breakouts, it was a lot cleaner and you don’t get jammed up in your own zone, chasing the puck around. I think that’s what leads to minutes where you are eating a lot of hard minutes and getting tired watching the other team kind of play around in the offensive zone. I think we did a better job, just breaking pucks out, being in good spots, and being tough on the lines…. that’s a good sign. Moving forward, I think that’s the type of team we want to be.”
The Flyers will have to put this one behind them quickly and look to get back in the win column Sunday. They travel to Washington to take on the Capitals at noon.
Photo Credit: Alex McIntyre
