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Flyers Gameday:10-22-08 vs. Sharks |
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WRAPUP
It's mighty hard to win games when you spend too much of the game in your own end, giving up scoring chances, blowing coverages and getting pedestrian goaltending. The Flyers have given up the most goals in the NHL by merit. San Jose moved the puck very well and deserves credit for making things happen, but the Flyers are making life pretty comfortable for other teams right now.
As for the shootout, well, Martin Biron isn't a very good shootout goaltender, as we've seen over the last couple of years. He let in a pair of bad goals in regulation as well. Antero Niittymaki made one clutch save but was victimized by a lot of rebounds and deflections.
"If you look at where the other teams are scoring their goals, we're making it too easy for them to work the puck around the perimeter and get guys in front," Daniel Briere said.
The Flyers have often looked like the Keystone Kops in their own end of the ice -- players abandoning their position, failing to make second and third efforts for loose pucks, and apparently not communicating very well with one another. There's often a dangerous man in the slot or a pinching defenseman who walks in alone.
Joffrey Lupul said after the game that he lost sight of the puck on the Devin Setoguchi goal where he was a spectator near the net. The Flyers forward thought the puck had gone behind the net and recovered too late.
He also commented on all the penalties the team is taking.
"It's a product of spending too much time in our own end of the ice," he said. "We're behind the play too much, and not winning the battles we need to win. ...We can improve in every area of the game
If there's one positive to take from the season so far, it's the way the team has not given up on games when they trail in games. They're resilient and keep battling. Offensively, they can capitalize on their chances.
"When you're losing in the last minute and you get a point out of it, that's a positive," said Lupul. "But obviously we're not where we need to be right now."
Scott Hartnell turned in yoeman work tonight and was rewarded with a pair of helpers, and Scottie Upshall hustled, tried to play physically and scored a goal. On defense, Andrew Alberts only got one shift after the second period and Lasse Kukkonen (who had a pretty good game) was rewarded by John Stevens with a lot of third period and overtime ice time. Steve Eminger had a strong third period, while Luca Sbisa did not play much down the stretch of the game.
The Flyers go back at it next with a home and home against the Devils. If the Flyers continue to play the way they're playing, they won't beat New Jersey. Simple as that.
"(Team defense) is the part of our game I think we changed the most last year that gave us success," said John Stevens. "We weren't allowing teams to score especially five-on-five. You score six goals (and) that should be enough to win.
"I think our goalies can play better. I think our defense can play better in front of them. And that includes special teams. It's a combination of all our players on the team, and we just have to bear down. It takes a big commitment."
OVERTIME AND SHOOTOUT SYNOPSIS
Lasse Kukkonen with a nice shot block at one end, and a chance the other way for Scott Hartnell at 1:06.
A lost puck at center ice by Braydon Coburn leads to a two-on-one for San Jose, but the chance is stopped.
Scottie Upshall has a long-range shot from the left wing paddled away routinely.
Overtime shots were 2 for the Flyers (29 total), 1 for the Sharks (35 total).
Shootout:
*Mike Richards shoots first. He goes right to left, Nabakov stays with him and Richards can't lift the shot over him.
* Joe Pavelski comes in with speed and beats Biron through the five-hole.
* Daniel Briere moves forehand to backhand and runs out of room in close.
* Jeremy Roenick seals the win with an almost identical goal to Pavelski's.
THIRD PERIOD SYNOPSIS
Andrew Alberts has been benched for awhile now. Lasse Kukkonen has been skating shifts on D after starting the game at forward. Kukkonen is playing with Vaananen, Luca Sbisa is with Steve Eminger. The top pairing remains the same.
Martin Biron gets embarrassed on a wraparound goal that makes it a 6-4 game. Patrick Marleau stickhandles around Ossi Vaananen, Biron gets caught out too far near the right post, and Marleau goes behind the net and stuffs it in for the second of the game.
At 1:04, Mike Richards wins a right-circle draw to Joffrey Lupul, who shoots directly and
scores to cut the deficit to 6-5.
The Sharks start playing much better defense protecting the lead. The Flyers have had few opportunities for the last 7-8 minutes.
On a hard-working play down low, Daniel Briere ties the game at 6-6 on the powerplay and with Biron pulled for an extra attacker at 18:55. Lupul misses the net from the right slot with a chance to win the game in the final seconds.
Shots were 5 for San Jose (34 through regulation), 8 for the Flyers (regulation total of 27).
SECOND PERIOD SYNOPSIS
Martin Biron is in, Antero Niittymaki out to start the period.
At 3:30, the Flyers tie the game, 4-4. Scott Hartnell moves up the left wing, throws on the brakes near the goal line and fires a backhanded cross-ice pass to Joffrey Lupul. With Nabokov down and out, Lupul makes partial amends for his earlier miscue by firing a shot high over the downed goalie.
This game is starting to remind me a wild-and-woolly game between the Flyers and Winnipeg Jets played when Philadelphia was preoccupied with the 1993 World Series. On the night of October 23, 1993, I flipped back and forth between Game 6 of the World Series and the Flyers-Jets game. The Flyers lost a seesaw 9-6 game, and we all know how the World Series game turned out. Here's hoping for a pair of opposite outcomes!
Flyer-killer Dan Boyle makes it 5-4 at 12:22. Biron fumbled the rebound of a routine Marcel Goc shot and, with Biron facing the wrong way, Boyle beats him. Ugly, ugly, ugly.
Shots were 14 for San Jose (29 through two periods) and 9 for the Flyers (19 through two periods).
FIRST PERIOD SYNOPSIS
Simon Gagne is out with the flu. Lasse Kukkonen will play fourth line wing, Andreas Nödl will play first line LW in his NHL debut (quite a way to break in, eh?) and Arron Asham will play on Jeff Carter's line.
With the Flyers shorthanded early Carter gets the Flyers off quickly, stripping Joe Thornton of the puck at the Philadelphia blueline, skating up-ice and putting a rising shot over Nabakov for an uassisted shorthander at 0:51.
At 4:29, Antero Niittymaki makes a dazzling glove save on Devin Setoguchi from point-blank range.
Christian Erhoff ties the game 1-1 on the powerplay at 7:52, putting a shot through a screen. SCORING CHANGE: After the period it's ruled that Joe Pavelski re-directed it in front as he battled for position with Braydon Coburn.
Ryan Clowe makes it 2-1 for San Jose on the powerplay at 8:40, potting a rebound.
Mike Richards ties it 2-2 on the powerplay at 12:04. The sequence starts with Thornton losing the puck to Nodl near the blueline. Play goes the other way, and Richards threads a shot through the traffic that beats Nabokov. The powerplay came about because of a needless roughing penalty Jody Shelley took near the Flyers bench on Lasse Kukkonen as the Finn was going off for a line change.
At 15:45, Patrick Marleau scores an even strength goal. The sequence starts with the Flyers losing a faceoff, Steve Eminger and Andrew Alberts ending up on the same side of the ice and Marleau scoring from the open slot. Mike Knuble was the nearest Flyer.
Scottie Upshall scores his first of the year at 17:54 on a powerplay goal, putting a Luca Sbisa rebound past Nabakov to re-tie the game, 3-3.
At 19:21, a lazy defensive play by Joffrey Lupul directly leads to a goal. Lupul stopped backchecking and watched Devin Setoguchi follow up an initial shot attempt, sweeping the puck past Niitty. The initial shot didn't get to the Flyers' goalie, hitting Alexei Semenov in the back.
Shots were 15-10 for San Jose.
PREVIEW (11:38 AM EDT)
The time for talking about what the winless Flyers (0-3-2) need to do is over. When the club takes on the San Jose Sharks (5-1-0) at the Wachovia Center tonight, we will find out if the team can deliver the type of two-way effort it takes to beat strong opponents.
The Flyers did not lack for effort in Saturday night's 5-4 overtime loss, but they got muscled off pucks and had trouble getting out of their zone as the game progressed. However, they were very opportunistic offensively and finally got a goal from the defense (Braydon Coburn), a first-period tally and a two-goal lead.
Antero Niittymäki was great in goal the other night, and will get the call again tonight. There's also a change in the lineup with the callup of rookie Andreas Nödl and the demotion to the Phantoms of Steve Downie. Jared Ross was also returned to the Phantoms, which means that Glen Metropolit gets back into the lineup tonight.
Nödl is a good skater who has come a long way as a two-way player. He's also been strong in the corners, both during the preseason and with the Phantoms. The Austrian is a good passer and "looks" like a goal scorer, but from what I've seen of him in the Frozen Four tourney and his early pro games, he gets his share of chances but often needs multiple chances to get one goal.
That said, here's a fearless prediction: Nödl will score a goal in his NHL debut tonight.
FLYERS LINES AND SCRATCHES
Gagne - Briere - Knuble
Hartnell - Richards- Lupul
Upshall - Carter - Nödl
Cote - Metropolit - Asham
Coburn - Timonen
Sbisa - Väänänen
Alberts - Eminger
Niittymäki
[Biron]
Scratches:Kukkonen (healthy), Jones (IR, hip), Parent (IR, shoulder), Hatcher (LTIR, knee).
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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