Growing season for Ghost, Provorov should prove beneficial
VOORHEES, N.J. » After a transformative year from a talented sophomore player with doubts to confident veteran excited about the future, Shayne Gostisbehere seemed pretty sure of one thing Wednesday...
“I obviously didn’t play too well in the playoffs,” Gostisbehere said on Goodbye Day at the Skate Zone. “I didn’t play against first lines in the playoff series before (against Washington in 2016), and this year I did. Obviously, it’s a tough task going against Sid (Crosby). He’s playing worldclass right now. It’s tough, definitely stinks. You think you’re so well prepared for it and you go out in the first game and you’re minus-4.”
The playoff math didn’t equate for the kid they still call Ghost during the sixgame loss to the Penguins; Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Co. making mincemeat of the Flyers’ defensive corps in a 7-0 Game 1 home win in Pittsburgh, then rebounding from a couple of subsequent losses on home ice to bomb the Flyers in Wells Fargo Center in Games 3, 4 and 6.
In their four losses in the series, the Flyers gave up an almost historically bad average of six goals per game. Along the way, Gostisbehere, who turned 25 Friday, lost his way with top-pair defensive partner Ivan Provorov.
Hopefully it’s only a temporary loss to be learned from.
“I think Provy and I as a pair, in general, we really fed off each other in different ways,” said Gostisbehere, who finished fourth in league defensive scoring with 65 points. “I’m the more offensive guy and he’s 1,000 years better than me defensively. I think we used that to our advantage and I think it really showed as a pair.”
Presuming coach Dave Hakstol is here next season to reunite them, the Flyers will again have one of the most dynamic No. 1 defensive pairs in the league. But when Gostisbehere found himself a touch too much overwhelmed by the Penguins early on in the series, Hakstol broke them up. And when Provorov, now a team leader at all of 21, got injured in Game 5 ... well, that was a big part of the reason the Penguins scored 24 goals in those four wins.
Looking ahead, however, Flyers fans can look forward to a top pair that offers superb shut-down work while always being an offensive threat.
“Provy’s very good defensively, but I think offensively he took another step this year,” Gostisbehere said. “I think he tied for the league in goals by a defenseman (17). That’s huge for a guy who’s not labeled as offensive. I think he’s probably one of the best if not the best two-way defensemen in the NHL. If I get to play with him I’m going to elevate the level of my game.”
Provorov made people sit up and notice with his emotional post-game interview Sunday after the elimination loss, referencing his left shoulder injury.
On Wednesday he revealed he’d played with a Grade 3 sprain of the A/C joint. So his arm wasn’t attached by much.
“Like I said (then), as long as my arm was attached I was playing,” Provorov said. “So it was really frustating playing in the third period where I was starting to lose the feel for my arm and I lost the puck a bunch of times and turned it over. As a competitor it’s so hard to not be out there and not try to do everything to help the team.”
Known as being a bit of a wild man with his offseason conditioning routine, Provorov said he’s facing a six- to eight-week recovery, but one that wouldn’t require surgery. Considering the way he took that last loss to the Penguins, though, it might take him just as long for his psyche to heal.
“It definitely still hurts,” Provorov said. “I hate losing, what can I say? I think we have a lot of competitors in the room and it’s frustrating to be out right now. There’s nothing we can do now, we just have to learn from it.”
It’s unlikely pending unrestricted free agent Brandon Manning will be re-signed. That means more time for young defenders Travis Sanheim and/or Robert Hagg, or an open a spot for another graduating Phantom. Or the Flyers could look to swing a deal for or sign a veteran defender in the offseason. Either way, they should leave well enough alone with their top-shelf dynamic duo who could use their playoff experiences as motivation.
“I was on the ice for some crappy goals and some goals that were my fault,” Gostisbehere said. “But (during the season) I think I took a big step with my defensive side of my game and surprised a lot of people. I could give myself a little pat on the back but I just want to keep getting better and make everyone think that I’m a top pair defenseman.”