In their Nov. 7 match, the Philadelphia Flyers became the very first team to lose to the now 1-10-1 San Jose Sharks. With a record of 5-7-1 on the season and having just two wins in their last nine games, what were some takeaways from the Flyers’ defeat?
Tortorella’s Gutsy Move Costs the Flyers
With Sean Couturier returning from injury, head coach John Tortorella made the curious decision to bench forward Morgan Frost. Coming off a game where he outplayed most of the Flyers’ roster, it was definitely a bold choice. It didn’t pay off, and it could be argued that it cost the Flyers the game.
Frost’s impact didn’t show on the stat sheet when he was slotted back into the lineup for four games after being benched by Tortorella for his previous six, but he was arguably the team’s best offensive creator in that time, especially on the power play. The coach decided it would be for the best to bench one of his best performers on the man advantage, and his team went 0-for-4 on the power play as a result.
This isn’t a great look, especially considering that the Flyers only lost by a goal. This is especially so, as they went up against one of the worst penalty kills in the league, with the Sharks ranking 30th in terms of penalty-killing efficiency before the game. The Flyers generated almost nothing, but perhaps Frost might have created more chances.
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While Frost is without a point this season, it is clear from watching his play that he has been a tremendous creator offensively. He even had a point taken off the board after a goal was ruled unassisted. In a gloomy 5-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, he was actually one of Philadelphia’s better players.
Using Frost against a Sharks team that had allowed 10 goals in each of their two previous games might have been a good move to get his offense going, but Tortorella decided against it. Their power play continued to struggle, they lacked offensive creativity and did not generate much of anything without him in the lineup. Benching him was a very bold decision, and it was a rather poor one in hindsight.
Flyers’ Gas Comes Much Too Late
The Flyers did not generate much of anything through the first two periods, and went into the third period trailing as a result. The Orange and Black finally began to give the Sharks some issues in the third period, but by that point, it was much too late.
To their credit, the Flyers finally started to create opportunities when it mattered. The third period was filled with chances, but the Flyers simply could not capitalize. For the Sharks, Mackenzie Blackwood had a great night in goal, and was arguably the biggest reason for his team’s victory. With that being said, the Flyers made his job pretty easy for most of the night. They will have to do a better job of creating opportunities consistently in the future.
Ersson Starting to Improve
To try and get to the positive side of the game, goaltender Sam Ersson’s final numbers might not have looked the greatest, with the Sharks only registering 19 shots yet scoring twice, but he was a big reason why the loss was not by even more than what it was. He did his job in net, but the Flyers were still unable to come away with a win.
This season did not start off pretty for Ersson. He allowed 12 goals in his first two starts of his 2023-24 campaign but has since allowed just three goals in his most recent two starts of the season. The defense in front of him hasn’t always been there, but he has certainly improved over his past few games, nonetheless.
Several of the shots against Ersson in this game were of high quality, including a breakaway late in the game. The 24-year-old seems to be more solid in goal, and is finally earning his status as the backup of the team. Carter Hart’s injury allowed him to see a bigger workload, and he has made good use of it, overall.
Farabee Continues to Shine
In what was the lone goal of the Flyers’ loss, Joel Farabee struck to cut the Flyers’ deficit in half late in the second period. With 10 points on the season averaging under 16 minutes of ice time each night, the 23-year-old has been a beacon of hope for Philadelphia.
Farabee has been fantastic for the Flyers this season. In fact, he has a case for being their best player. His impact has benefitted the Flyers both offensively and defensively, and was rewarded from a great effort against the Sharks with his sixth goal of the season. Coming off a down season in 2022-23, he is arguably playing at the highest level of his NHL career at this point in time.
Funny enough, the Flyers were also the first team to lose to the 0-10-1 Arizona Coyotes in their 2017-18 campaign. Even though the Flyers are a completely different team than they were six seasons ago, history still found a way to repeat itself. With this loss now behind them, the Flyers will continue their road trip as they take on the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 10.