Menu Close

Flyers hit cold patch, fall 5-2 to the Penguins

Anthony Mazziotti|

The Flyers, who started Wednesday night one point behind the Penguins and two points behind the Capitals, needed a win to keep pace with the top of the Metro. Unfortunately they fell flat and are currently in the midst of a cold stretch.

The Penguins now hold the top spot with 82 points, the Capitals have 81, and the Flyers have 79. They hold a three point lead over the Devils and six points over the Blue Jackets.

The Flyers opened the game very sloppy (with no help from the referees) allowed four power plays to the Penguins. Turns out the fourth time was the charm for Pittsburgh as Phil Kessel beat Petr Mrazek to open the scoring. The first period ended without any other goals.

The Flyers answered and put up a good second period. Jake Voracek got the Flyers first goal, it bounced off Brassard’s stick and past Tristan Jarry.

Almost four minutes later the Flyers took their first lead of the game when Travis Konecny miraculously got the puck past Jarry. There aren’t really words, hell of an effort from TK.

That was it for the Flyers that period. The Penguins went on to score three unanswered goals. Two by Conor Sheary and one by Jamie Oleksiak. Sheary’s second goal came at the end of the period which turned out to be a back breaker.

The third period was quick paced. The Flyers had a power play with about eight minutes left in the third period. In this situation the Flyers needed a goal to swing the momentum but they couldn’t get the job done. With under a minute left Evgeni Malkin potted the empty netter to put the game on ice.

The Flyers looked flat in the third period. They needed to score and just couldn’t really get anything going. Call it bad luck, call it what you will. This is a terrible time for the Flyers to hit a winless streak.

Here are three takeaways from Wednesday night’s game:

1. Goalie Watch 2K18.

After his sixth straight start, I would expect Petr Mrazek to get a night off on Thursday in Boston. He didn’t look good in Sunday’s game, Saturday’s game, or even last Thursday’s game. He looked alright against the Penguins, but this wasn’t really a good performance to build on, ya know?

I know the Bruins are a good team and the Flyers should start their better goalie, but Mrazek needs a break. Who knows, maybe a well-rested Alex Lyon is just what this team needs to get back in the win column.

I maintain that this is Brian Elliott’s job to lose once he returns later this month.

2. Too little, too late?

Brandon Manning tried to start a fight after the final whistle sounded on Wednesday night.

Was this too little, too late for the defenseman? Well in Wednesday night’s game it definitely was, but who knows, maybe this will light a fire under the team going into Boston.

The team’s intensity in Thursday’s game is something to monitor. Here’s hoping the Orange and Black come out swinging both literally and figuratively.

3. Literally the only thing the Flyers can count on.

Oh my goodness the top line is my favorite thing about the Flyers right now.

TK is hot right now, he just put up his 18th goal of the season. Claude Giroux put up his 79th point of the season. The top line is so fun to watch. Their crisp passing is my favorite thing about the line. That and the fact that they are the most well rounded line on the team.

The Flyers travel north to Boston to take on the Bruins on Thursday night.

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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.