Today’s Flyers Performance Was Scarier Than Gritty Naked
A rainy Saturday afternoon in South Philadelphia saw varieties of ghostly ghouls enter the Wells Fargo Center. Michal Neuvirth made his season debut in net after battling a groin injury that has sidelined him for the beginning of the season. Head coach Dave Hakstol was quoted after the 3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins in saying the team needs to “Sack up,” it was in question if the trend of slow starts was going to be resolved. The question was answered after Islanders forward Leo Komarov fired one past Neuvirth at the 11-minute mark of the first period.
Not long after Anthony Beauvillier made it 2-0 off a failed clearing attempt from the Nolan Patrick line. The same theme of slow starts continued, much like we’ve seen for the majority of the early season. Ivan Provorov provided some life after a freight train of a hit on Mathew Barzal at the blue line. However, the only legitimate scoring chance came from forward Jake Voracek’s one-timer in the slot that was denied by Robin Lehner.
I'll just leave this here in case you missed Provorov level Barzal. #NYIvsPHIpic.twitter.com/MQd5A4O0Vu
— Sons of Broad Street (@Sonsof_BroadSt) October 27, 2018
The Flyers started to settle in as more quality shifts from their top lines were being generated. The legs seemed there and defensively they were more sound in their own zone. Both teams remained off the board until Brock Nelson got his fourth of the season off an easy odd man rush. Flyers defenseman Christian Folin stepped up in the neutral zone to make a play on Islanders forward Anders Lee that lead to the odd man rush, Neuvirth didn’t stand a chance.
Besides the lone Flyer goal off the stick of Jori Lehtera, it was the Islanders show for the majority of the game. The Flyers simply look lost when it comes to playing simple hockey. Clean breakouts and puck control in their own zone have completely vanished from their game. For their play to improve, the Flyers need to do the simple things well then they need build off that. However, this lackluster start puts Hakstol’s leadership and ability to motivate his team into question.
The Flyers West Coast swing begins on Tuesday, October 30th as they’ll look to face the Anaheim Ducks, who have also been struggling of late after dropping their last four games. Followed by a matchup with the Los Angelas Kings on Thursday and San Jose Sharks on Saturday.