Short blog today, as I am juggling several writing projects. I will try to update with more thoughts later.
Whenever the Flyers lose a game, a significant percentage of fans seem to focus on the officiating. The officials did not cost the Flyers last night. They were simply a team that lacked their extra gear (which is understandable at the end of the three-games-in-four-nights, four-games-in-six-nights stretch) that played a quality opponent that was ready for them. The Flyers gave up a pair of powerplay goals to Montreal last night, and had to chase the game from the first period onward. Carey Price also deserves a ton of credit for making 41 saves, even if the shot totals were padded by a lot of low percentage slop from the perimeters. He also made some huge stops when he needed to.
You can't win every night. There is still a lot of parity in the NHL, and the Habs are a good club. Sergei Bobrovsky played a decent game, and the team as a whole wasn't horrible. Just one of those nights. Now it will be up to the team to get right back on the horse and put forth the kind of performance they turned in against Ottawa on Monday.
Here are some postgame notes and quotes, courtesy of the Flyers:
* The 41 shots on goal were the most by the Flyers in a game in which they were shut out since January 26, 1989, when Clint Malarchuk of the Washington Capitals turned aside 42 Flyers shots in a 1-0 win at the Spectrum.
* The Canadiens were also responsible for Philadelphia’s last shutout loss, a 1-0 blanking in Philadelphia on April 2, 2010 at the hands of Jaroslav Halak. If you'll recall, that game nearly doomed the Flyers' playoff hopes last season. The shutout was the second of Price's career against the Flyers. The other came in a 1-0 win at Bell Centre on Feb. 16, 2008.
* Among the Flyers scoring streaks that ended with the shutout last night:
Andreas Nodl – 5 games (2-3-5) (not including two games scratched and one game injured)
Mike Richards – 3 games (5-1-6, back-to-back two-goal games heading into last night)
Chris Pronger – 3 games (0-3-3)
Claude Giroux – 3 games (3-4-7)
Kimmo Timonen – 4 games (0-5-5)
* The game last night marked the first time this season that Ville Leino has gone back-to-back games without a point.
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Today's
Daily Drop at Versus.com looks at Price.
This week's
Across the Pond at NHL.com looks at three young players who are emerging as stars in Finland's SM-Liiga: Detroit Red Wings prospect Teemu Pulkkinen (Jokerit), Anaheim Ducks hopeful Sami Vatanen (JYP) and undrafted goalie Antti Raanta (Lukko).
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