The Philadelphia Flyers held their preseason finale on Oct. 5 against a New York Islanders roster that was not fully loaded, and thus got the win by a score of 5-2. Controlling the pace for essentially the entire game, this was a big win for Philadelphia. Finishing 3-2-1 in the preseason overall, here are some takeaways from the game.
Flyers Dominated Play
From the initial puck drop until the end of the game, the Flyers completely swarmed the Islanders. The Orange and Black had almost all the pressure, they were sustaining it for long periods of time, they were getting good shots on net, and they were more effective than New York was on the power play.
The only two goals for the Islanders came off of pivotal mistakes from the Flyers. One was a misplay from defenseman Travis Sanheim at the point that led to an easy breakaway goal, and the other was a misplay from Carter Hart behind the net.
The Flyers should be expected to control play, but they have won a preseason game previously going against some studs without their top guys in, as well. The team’s effort since their 6-0 loss in their first game in the preseason has been pretty impressive, so there have certainly been a lot of positives to the team’s play as a whole thus far.
Konecny Saved His Best For Last
Before last night, Travis Konecny didn’t really seem to be his true self in preseason. His action was limited so he didn’t have much of a chance to prove himself, but he was still not dominating play like he had done so frequently last season. That changed during this game, where he was one of the most noticeable players for Philadelphia and earned the first star of the game with a goal and a primary assist.
It was good to see Konecny look impressive in this one, as he was easily the Flyers’ best forward last season with 31 goals and 30 assists in 60 games. If he can get back to that type of play, there should be no worries about him. He is capable of being the primary producer on the team, but he needs to prove it with another great season. As of now, it seems like he projects to do just that.
Cates Finally Rewarded
Noah Cates has been consistently great throughout the preseason. He was arguably the team’s best forechecker every single game, and he was finally rewarded with a goal in this contest that set the tone for the rest of the game. If there was a list of players that have truly earned a spot on the team, he would be around the top.
After a tally that tied the game just over a minute before his goal, Cates gave the Flyers the lead in the game and the team never looked back. It didn’t end up being the game-winning score, but it was probably the most important one. For a player that has worked so hard to stick with the Flyers and stand above the rest, he absolutely deserved this goal. Quite frankly, it was only a matter of time.
Andrae Not Supposed to Play, Impresses Anyways
Before puck drop, defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen got banged up and unfortunately missed the game. The issue was precautionary, so the belief is that he will have no issues playing in game one of the regular season.
His replacement, Emil Andrae, is a 21-year-old who was fantastic in his previous preseason match, and was unsurprisingly one of the Flyers’ best players in the game. Typically, the last lineup used for a preseason match indicates what could be used in the regular season. After once again proving that he can be one of the best defensemen on the team, there should be absolutely no reason why he doesn’t appear in the lineup on opening day.
Flyers’ Questionable Lineup Decisions
Flyers’ head coach John Tortorella hung a sign that said “safe is death” during training camp, implying that taking chances is the only way to survive in the league, especially for a team that is rebuilding like the Flyers blatantly are. If they don’t have Andrae in the starting lineup for opening night, they are not really taking a chance on his upside at all. Using the team’s slogan, what they would be doing is opting for death if another player slots in.
Related: 3 Flyers Who Could Make the Opening Day Roster
It should also be noted that Bobby Brink did not play in this game despite arguably being the team’s best player through the whole preseason. If he does not make the roster, it would be a massive disservice to his efforts. Of course, he can always earn a spot later, but his play could have at least cemented him in the bottom-six. It could be argued that he was so impressive that he earned a spot in the top half of the lineup.
The fact that the Flyers did not plan to play either of these two youngsters, nor 23-year-old defender Egor Zamula, shows that there might be some frustrating choices made for the team’s opener. Be prepared for an older roster to start out, as it is starting to seem that way despite numerous young players shining during training camp and in preseason. It might not be the right decision, but it seems like the realistic one as of now. Besides, the team has come to their senses on this issue in the past.
Flyers Had Good Power Play Movement
In this game, and really through most of the preseason, the Flyers had solid movement on the power play. It took them a 5-on-3 opportunity to score on it in this game, but the passing and control that Philadelphia had was very similar to that of when star forwards Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek were in their primes and making beautiful cross-ice passes to one another each and every game.
For a team whose power play has ranked dead last in scoring efficiency in each of the last two seasons, looking formidable on the man advantage was definitely noticeable. Since the power play has looked a lot more fluent throughout the preseason, there should be hope that it is a better unit than in previous years. With the bar being not to finish at the bottom of the league for the third straight season, they should be able to do it.
After nearly six months of absence from regular season hockey, the Flyers will return to the ice on Oct. 12 against the Columbus Blue Jackets to open the season. On the road, they will have a test against an interdivisional foe. The wait is finally over, Flyers hockey is back.