The Philadelphia Flyers were badly outplayed in their last game at Xfinity Mobile Arena, but at least their 3-0 loss four days ago was to a quality opponent in the Utah Mammoth. Yet a matchup with the lowly New York Rangers on Monday night went just as poorly – if not worse.
For the second time in as many meetings in Philadelphia this season, the Rangers waltzed in and hung three goals on the Flyers in the first period. It’s been one step forward, (at least) one step back for the Flyers for a long time now, with their latest defeat one of the ugliest ones in a calendar year where they’ve mounted quickly.
Penalty Kill Pendulum Swings The Wrong Way
It was one of the biggest reasons for their January downfall (71.4%). It was one of the biggest reasons for mild optimism following the Olympic break, when they had a run of 18 straight successful attempts. But since that hot streak ended, the Flyers’ penalty kill has been right back in the gutter.
After conceding two power-play goals on Monday, the Flyers have allowed a goal on six of their last 13 penalty kills, dating back to William Nylander’s game-tying goal late in the third period on March 2. Both Rangers goals were particularly demoralizing, too. The Flyers nullified a power play of their own with a penalty, only to watch an unmarked Alexis Lafrèniere wire in a wide-open one-timer from the slot in the last minute of the first period, ballooning the New York lead to 3-0.
Matvei Michkov responded with a power-play goal early in the second period. But just 2:16 later, Travis Konecny took a holding penalty while attempting to backcheck. Gabriel Perreault, who set up Lafrèniere’s goal by outmuscling Jamie Drysdale on the boards, boxed out Travis Sanheim for a rebound goal that killed any momentum building for the home team. Mika Zibanejad’s backdoor slam dunk late in the second period was the icing on this cake of misery and sent fans’ eyes squarely toward the exits less than 40 minutes in.
Vladař Shows Cracks Amid Heavy Workload
There was a good chance Sam Ersson would get the start in this game. After all, Ersson delivered a solid performance against the Rangers in a road win less than two weeks ago, and Dan Vladař was coming off a middling performance against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. But with Vladař having stopped more goals than expected in seven straight starts and the Flyers desperately needing points to feign a playoff push, Rick Tocchet went back to his starter.
The decision couldn’t have played out any worse. While Vladař wasn’t the only or even the main problem for the Flyers, it was clear early in the game that he wasn’t at his sharpest. He couldn’t squeeze the first shot of the game, a point blast by Mathieu Robertson, which resulted in a rebound that Noah Laba punched home. Vladař fought the puck throughout the first period. His six goals against were a season-high (he’d only allowed five twice), with his night ending after 40 minutes of play.
Since returning from injury on Jan. 28 in Columbus, Vladař has started nine and played in 10 of 11 games for the Flyers. Monday marked his fourth start in a row over a span of 10 days. With his career highs in games and starts already well in the rearview mirror, it’s fair to wonder if the workload is getting to the 28-year-old, similar to Ersson’s skid around the same time of the calendar two seasons ago.
Bump Avoids Sophomore (Game) Slump
Even if they had won last night, the Flyers’ playoff odds would still be slim to none. Any intrigue over their final 19 games will have to come from their young players creating hope for the future, with the spotlight currently brightest on Alex Bump after scoring in his NHL debut.
Buried under the heap of despair from the overall game was another solid performance from the 20-year-old. Playing alongside Christian Dvorak and Travis Konecny (who returned from a three-game injury absence, as did Nick Seeler from a two-game absence), Bump nearly fooled Igor Shesterkin with a glove-side wrist shot early in the game. He had a couple of nice chances later, showing a willingness to fight through checking and get to the middle of the ice, two things the Flyers could sure use.
Bump finished the game with four shots on goal and four scoring chances (per Natural Stat Trick), both of which were team highs. His 13:53 of ice time ranked as the sixth-highest usage among forwards, so Tocchet appears to have some early trust in him. Whether Bump can continue those efforts remains to be seen, but his trigger-happy approach is welcome on a Flyers team that entered the night 31st in the NHL in shots per game.
What’s Next?
That’s a brave question to ask after a game like this. And the answer is not a fun one – not one, not two, but three consecutive games starting after 7 p.m. ET. That’s the result of a national broadcast on Wednesday against the Washington Capitals on TNT (7:30), a trip to the Central Time Zone the next day to face the Minnesota Wild and a Saturday home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets that’s at 7:30, maybe due to an afternoon 76ers game or perhaps something more miscellaneous.
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Given the Capitals just scored seven goals, the Wild are a strong contender, and the Blue Jackets are within legitimate striking distance of the playoffs, the Flyers won’t be given a layup to get their game back on track. Last night could (if not should) have been a chance to do just that, but what did unfold couldn’t have been farther off.
