This two-game series against Boston has showed me one thing: The Flyers need to figure out the Bruins by the time the playoffs arrive, because right now they have our number.
Philadelphia has now dropped all four contests against the B’s, two of those being blown leads late in the game. Four out of the five losses the Flyers have so far have been at the hands of Boston—frustrating to say the least.
One of the main factors that Philly needs to figure out is Boston goaltender Tuuka Rask, who just loves to stand on his head against us. He posted a .958 save percentage (SV%) in last nights defeat, holding the Flyers to a lone goal from James van Riemsdyk.
JVR’s goal was on the powerplay, but when you see the Flyers only scored one goal against a Bruins team that tallied up 17 penalty minutes, that should be worrying. The orange and black currently have the tenth best powerplay, that’s pretty good, right? But five goals on the PP have been from JVR alone; not so good now, at least in my mind.
The shot totals were not as bad as most of the season in regard to last night, with Boston outshooting Philadelphia by one shot (24-23). Head Coach Alain Vigneault appreciated the effort, but it just didn’t produce the desired result. At the very least it could be something to build upon.
The game that really escaped the Flyers was this past Wednesday, when on national television they gave up a 3-1 lead in the third period and lost in early OT. I would say that loss may be worse than either one of the blowout losses. Scott Laughton took an awful interference penalty right before the end of intermission, giving Boston a powerplay heading into OT—things ended quite quickly after that.
The Flyers deserved that win; they overcame a goal 10 seconds in by Bruins star David Pastrnak and were overplayed most of the game. Yet, they had a 3-1 lead in the third. Just brutal.
Some additional news, Carter Hart left practice early yesterday and missed his scheduled start due to back spasms. According to reports, he should be fine.
The last time the Flyers lost two straight to Boston, they answered with a four-game winning streak. They look to start a new streak tomorrow against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. Washington currently sits one point below us in third place; it’s crazy to think the Flyers are lucky enough to still be in second.
12:00PM tomorrow, some Sunday matinee hockey. Let’s hope the team responds.