Old habits die hard in new season
PHILADELPHIA >> One glance at the second period Thursday night told the story of another lost Flyers night, one that just happened to present the first home game of the new season, one that looked a whole lot like so many other early season home games in recent years.
Wayne Simmonds scored a power play goal early in that second period that worked to tie a game with the Anaheim Ducks. But that was amid a seemingly never-ending Ducky parade to the penalty box ... which the frustrated, frustrating Flyers turned into one wrenching momentum shift.
After getting the game even on Simmonds’ power play goal, the Flyers wasted five more consecutive power play chances in the second period. That put the Ducks in a prime position for a Ryan Garbutt goal in the third period to act as a 3-2 game-winner at Wells Fargo Center.
“When they’re getting a couple of penalties, maybe some deserved and maybe some not deserved, and they’re killing them off, (they) get momentum from it,” Simmonds said. “We don’t score and it’s the same thing. They build momentum off it.”
The Flyers, masters of the slow seasonal start since this core group of forward stars came together some five years ago, are well into building their usual October anti-momentum campaign. After a terrific season-opening performance in Los Angeles last Friday, they’ve lost three straight games and are 1-2-1 on the young season.
Not that there’s anything about that.
“It’s two (losses) too many,” Simmonds said. “Now we’re in a little bit of a hole here. But it’s early in the year. There’s no need to panic here.”
It’s not like they aren’t used to the climb. The Flyers had to put together a long-term period of improvement late last winter to earn an early spring promotion to the playoffs, and in so doing, used rookie Shayne Gostisbehere’s talents at the point to bring their power play from a bottom-three spot in the early months to a more-than respectable 11th in success ratio by season’s end. Hey, long way to go. “Those are big opportunities for us and we have to capitalize,” Gostisbehere said of the lost second-period chances. “But it’s not like we didn’t have chances. You have to give credit to their (penalty kill). But we got one and that’s something unusual to build on.”
On this night, however, the play helped Anaheim make it night for the Philly fans.
“I think the power play’s been our strength in the past,” said Mark Streit, who at times struggled with 19-yearold partner Ivan Provorov ... just not as much as they struggled Tuesday in a loss in Chicago. “I think we can be better. We want to be better. We need to be better.”
For Gostisbehere and sometime second power play unit QB Provorov, there’s still a lot of growing to do. And not just on power plays.
“It’s harder for a young defenseman than a (rookie) forward, I think,” Streit said. “You make a mistake in the offensive zone nothing usually happens, but if a D makes a mistake it usually creates a scoring chance for the other team. It is a work in progress, especially when you have offensive minded defensemen. They have to find that right mix between offense and defense.
“It doesn’t matter sometimes if you’re 20 or 38, you have to keep learning.”
Flyers coach Dave Hakstol didn’t seem concerned about a learning curve for his power play, pointing to Gostisbehere hitting a post on the club’s first try, pointing to the Simmonds goal, and chances on the failed power plays afterward. power a long What seemed to steam Hakstol was the goal his club gave up shortly after that fifth straight failed power play in the second period.
The Flyers visibly sagged. Forwards didn’t get back, Provorov was caught in an odd-man rush and was taken out of the play ... and Corey Perry promptly scored a goal that made it 2-2 with 3:18 left in the second.