Anthony Mazziotti
The Flyers lost in an overtime heartbreaker on Saturday afternoon. The Orange and Black put up three goals in the first period: Brandon Manning, Sean Couturier, and Ivan Provorov scored in the first twenty minutes while Johnny Gaudreau tallied the lone goal for the Flames. The second period was all Calgary, for the most part, as they netted three goals to the Flyers one. Sean Monahan scored three times, all on the power play, while Nolan Patrick netted his second career goal on a pretty backhanded shot. Regulation ended without another goal and then the Flames iced the game shortly into overtime on a goal by Michael Frolik.
That was the long and short of it. The Flyers took a lot of dumb penalties and couldn’t find an answer to the Calgary power play. For what it’s worth, the officiating in Saturday afternoon’s game was terribly inconsistent. Here, Michael Raffl gets hit high and after the whistle. Shayne Gostisbehere was clearly unhappy with the no-call and got a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.
— Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) November 18, 2017
Ghost had this to say after the game:
Ghost: “I was not a very good team player.” pic.twitter.com/3Y8F43az12
— Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) November 18, 2017
He really owned up to his poor decision-making and he sounded genuinely sorry for his actions. I love Ghost, he’s a fierce competitor and just let his emotions get the best of him tonight. He’ll bounce back from this.
While that was an ugly loss in a very winnable game, there were still some bright spots. For one, the Flyers generated some scoring from outside the first line. As I mentioned earlier, three of the Flyers four goals came from Brandon Manning (assisted by Valterri Filppula with a screen from Michael Raffl), Ivan Provorov (assisted by Jori Lehtera and Scott Laughton), and an awesome backhanded goal from the rookie Nolan Patrick. Patrick’s goal was assisted by Jake Voracek and Claude Giroux, though.
Brandon Manning is playing pretty well in the absence of Andrew MacDonald and Radko Gudas. He is playing a confident and smart game. I was happy to see “ManDog” light the lamp.
However, Patrick’s goal was my favorite of the bunch. Here it is in all it’s glory.
Pretty backhand pic.twitter.com/gYgefzXAo0
— Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) November 18, 2017
This kid is going to be special. He’s fun to watch and is incredibly intelligent with the puck. The only downfall in Patrick’s game is who he is paired with. Tonight he was paired with Dale Weise and Wayne Simmonds. I love Simmonds, don’t get me wrong, but I think keeping Weise on that line is doing a disservice to the rookie. If I were setting the lines I would pair him with Konecny and Simmonds. Simmonds would provide grit and an excellent veteran presence to that line. Patrick and Konecny are two of the most creative offensive players on the roster, they could be fun to see on the same line.
The Flyers definitely still need more scoring from their other forwards. Konecny, Weise, Simmonds, Filppula, Raffl, Leier, Laughton, and Lehtera all combine for 15 goals. That needs to change moving forward.
The other bright spot is the play of Sean Couturier. I feel like it can’t be said enough how awesome this first line is. Giroux, Voracek, and Couturier are all playing very well together and Coots is playing the best hockey of his career. He is proving to be a bona fide first line center and a leader of this team. After the game Coots had this to say about his team’s play:
Sean Couturier: “It’s definitely not yapping at the ref that’s gonna help us.” pic.twitter.com/S3Nu1Pm8zv
— Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) November 18, 2017
Coots is quickly becoming a franchise player before our very eyes. It is amazing to see him pull a 180 from potential trade bait and failing bottom-six center to a true top-line, any situation player.
Saturday’s loss to the Flames is a tough pill to swallow, but at the end of the day the Orange and Black still walked away with a point. They need to bounce back and get a win at home on Tuesday against the Canucks.
You can follow Anthony Mazziotti on Twitter (@AntMazziotti) and e-mail him at [email protected]. Follow Philly Influencer on Twitter (@PHL_Influencer), Facebook and Instagram