In one of the wackiest games of the entire NHL season so far, the Philadelphia Flyers fell 7-6 to the Detroit Red Wings in a shootout despite trailing 5-1 after just one period of play. Coming back to even take the lead at one point, they just couldn’t close this one out. What were some takeaways from the Flyers’ most thrilling game of the season?
Flyers’ First-Period Woes Magically Vanished
The Flyers had their worst period of the entire season in the first, and they haven’t had one that even competes with their lowlights in this game. Outscored 5-1, they were pretty lucky to be down by just that. Their defense was nowhere near where it should be, Carter Hart struggled, and the offense didn’t do much of anything to help out. After the first intermission, everything changed.
The start the Flyers had wasn’t just out of nowhere. They’ve been struggling a bit over their last few games, clawing their way to some wins that they didn’t particularly deserve. All of the problems they had been dodging attacked them in one single period. Somehow, they flipped the script immediately and took charge. The big takeaway is that the Flyers looked like they belonged in both the second and third periods.
Instead of the Flyers getting hounded in their zone and letting Hart down, they created some offense of their own in the second. The Red Wings beat Philadelphia with both speed and tempo early on, showing their superiority and putting up for debate how good the Flyers truly are. The Orange and Black took some insult to that, being the better team for the rest of the game.
It can’t be stressed enough that the Flyers have been off their game, including since their 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals on Dec. 14. Even though they won that contest, they weren’t the better team. That continued over their next few games and into this one, but it all came to a screeching halt. The Flyers could have gone into their holiday breakdown in the dumps, but they did not. They were an entirely different team in the last 45 minutes of this matchup.
Flyers Still Showing Heart
A big theme in the Flyers this season has been their heart and perseverance through their troubles — going down 5-1 on the road is certainly that. They scored two goals in the third period to cut their deficit to just two, then scored three straight goals in the third to give themselves a 6-5 lead. While they ultimately coughed that up, a comeback like that is incredibly rare.
The Flyers could have easily sulked in their defeat and played uninspiring hockey through the remaining 40 minutes of the game. Instead, a Nick Seeler fight — and subsequent ejection — seemingly got the Flyers fired up. Detroit had them dead to rights, and the Flyers have not handled comebacks well at all this season. When the Flyers give up the first goal of a game, they have won just three times. Despite not being all that great in comeback scenarios, they found a way.
Going back a few seasons to 2020-21, the Flyers lost 9-0 to the New York Rangers in one of their most miserable games in recent memory. This game had a very similar feel early on, but they held in to not just make a game out of it but also give themselves a lead. It is very clear that this rendition of the Flyers is very different from those seen previously.
Laughton Had a Bounce-Back Game
Getting to some positive player performances, Scott Laughton finally had a game worth remembering. This season has been subpar for him, not seeing a consistent line on the ice and being unable to get much steam offensively or defensively. Just a few nights ago, he had a poor performance that was a summary of his entire season. In a matter of two games, he’s back where he needs to be.
Laughton got a chance to do some damage in this contest, getting some playing time outside of his recent fourth-line minutes. Sitting on just two goals all season and a six-game streak without a point, he had arguably his best game of the season with a goal and an assist. Tying the game at five, he hasn’t had a game where he was more noticeable than this one all season.
Laughton desperately needed a game like this. The talent is more than there for him to be a great player. He is thought of as a solid two-way player around the league, but he has some skill in his bag. His problem has been unlocking that, and he was a complete non-factor prior to this game. Finally, he had himself a big performance. If he builds off of it, his start to this season should be irrelevant by the time his 2023-24 campaign ends. He was arguably the Flyers’ best player in this one.
Deflections Can Be a Philadelphia Strength
The Flyers haven’t been a deflection-heavy team this season, but they worked tremendously in this game. They had a couple of goals where a shot from the point changed its direction, beating Detroit netminder James Reimer. If that’s how they need to score goals from now on, they showed that they’re capable of doing so.
Related: Flyers’ 2023-24 Success Sustainable But Shouldn’t Change Rebuild
At their core, the Flyers are an elite team on the rush. Their biggest goals have come from their play in transition, setting them up for chances where elite shooting talent is less of a factor than in a situation where they are set up in the offensive zone. They weren’t particularly great on the rush in this game, and that’s also been one of their downsides over their last few games. Very few of their goals have come from odd-man rushes, so they had to get creative in this one.
Ideally, the Flyers go back to their dominant rushing ability sooner rather than later. However, their six goals in this one suggest otherwise. As long as they can find other ways to put the puck in the net, they should be fine.
Coming off this fascinating shootout loss, the Flyers are sitting at a respectable 18-11-4 record this season, putting them on pace for 99 points over a full 82-game schedule and a likely playoff berth. There is still a lot of hockey to be played, and they can’t take their foot off the gas quite yet. Next up, they will have to visit the soaring 22-9-3 Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 28, a team that the Flyers beat earlier this season. Not only did they win that contest, but it remains the only game where Vancouver could not score a single goal in 2023-24. With them holding the best record in hockey as of the Flyers’ loss to Detroit, they’ll have to be careful.