Yet another well-played loss plays into a so-so start
PHILADELPHIA » Jake Voracek had just resurrected the Flyers for the second time in the game with his third-period goal, and all thoughts on the Philadelphia side were on the victory that surely would continue to play out.
It took another 64 seconds Saturday night for those thoughts to be knocked askew by reality.
Having just missed three games due to injury, Shayne Gostisbehere was out there on the ice too long. Almost predictably, his extended shift would end in a neutral zone turnover on a terrific play by Colorado’s Matt Duchene, who promptly teed up a tying goal for Nail Yakupov.
That was one turnaround too many for the home team at Wells Fargo Center, as the Avalanche would subsequently strut away with a 5-4 victory, courtesy of a successful Mikko Rantanen shootout strike.
For the Flyers, it was another game in which, to a man, they generally thought they played well enough to win and didn’t. It’s been 15 games, a small sample size to be sure, but if there is already a theme emerging it’s just that ...
Good, enough?
“The locker room’s not happy with the outcome tonight, but we know what we’re building towards,” Travis Konecny said. “We’re not going to hang our heads over this one. It’s a tough one to swallow but we know we’re going to come out stronger. When we lose these games we just keep building, we keep getting better and better.” Oh. Yet he certainly wasn’t alone in that opinion on a night in which the Flyers stayed securely in the middle of their competitive Metropolitan mosh pit, a place they look well suited for despite appearing on occasion to be a very solid, four-line hockey team.
And on other not so much.
“Oh, 100 percent we’re playing better,” Voracek countered. “We’ve had 15 games, I would say 12 of them have been very solid. Tough teams, tough buildings. We’ve played a lot of good games and it’s a lot to build on. But in the end, it’s got to show up on the scoresheet.”
Hence, the problem. With Sean Couturier adopting the posture of a top-line center better than anyone could have imagined, the Flyers were off and flying this season but not good nights, with a top line that could match well with any team’s.
Konecny and Jordan Weal added scoring punch in the middle lines. Rookie Nolan Patrick looked like older than his years. Val Filppula didn’t look too old. But injuries then took down Patrick and exposed a defense already too inexperienced, and thus far the goaltending tandem of Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth has been inconsistent and average at best.
Add it up and you have a 7-6-2 team, its 16 points good enough for middle of the pack status even if they’ve played better than middle of the road hockey.
Of course, it’s a long road to hoe, especially for a club that seems like it’ll be searching for an identity into the holiday season.
“You’re going to have bad games throughout the season,” Konecny said. “But you know, as far as I’m concerned, we’ve never been out of a hockey game. We’ve always put ourselves in a (position) to win. You can look at some games, like Arizona (a 4-3 overtime loss), and you can say that’s a bad game. But were down 3-nothing there and good teams find a way to come back.
“I think we’ve given ourselves a chance every single time we’ve gone on the ice.”
To their credit, the Flyers found a way to come back on this night against the Avalanche. Alas, they made enough mistakes and caught enough bad breaks, with a pair of “own goals” off Ivan Provorov’s stick and Robert Hagg’s skate, for the comeback to fall out from under them.
Then again, becoming better than process.
“I think that’s the difference between this year and past teams,” Gostisbehere said. “We get down a goal, we don’t just pack it in and feel sorry for ourselves. They got a couple of bounces tonight, and we got one too . ... But I think it’s how we’ve been responding. That’s the biggest thing. Our confidence level is through the roof right now, and we’ll just keep going.”
*** Gostisbehere said he “felt good” after missing the game against the Coyotes and two on the road in St. Louis and Chicago. But he also admitted to getting a bit tired on the prolonged shift in which he’d get stripped of the puck by Duchene, leading to the tying goal for Colorado.
“I just average have to is make a a simple play, just get it up the boards,” Gostisbehere said. “I was tired, too. Not the smartest time to bring the puck up. I kind of lost it and got it stuck in my feet. I’ve got to make a strong play there. I put my team in that situation.”
*** NOTES » It was the first shootout for the Flyers this season. Historically bad at it, they turned the tables a bit and went 7-5 on shootouts last season. ... The nightly “Provorov Watch” checked in at 28 minutes even of ice time Saturday night for the blooming defenseman. ... Val Filppula continues having a quietly terrific start, getting his sixth goal of the young season and winning eight of 10 faceoff attempts . ... Flyers next in action Thursday night at home against the Blackhawks.