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Meltzer's Musings: 3-25-11 |
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Last night, the Flyers got a good taste of how the Penguins have been able to remain so competitive in the Atlantic Division even without their top two weapons in the lineup for an extended period of time.
Part of it is excellent coaching by Dan Bylsma, who will probably win the Jack Adams this season. He has installed a strong system. Last night, the Penguins stymied the Flyers in the neutral zone and contained Philly along the boards, making it tough to find skating room or open passing lanes. Pittsburgh is also a good shot-blocking club and has the top-ranked penalty kill in the NHL.
The other part of the equation, of course, is execution. Pittsburgh has a hard working team, and they really busted it last night. Even without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins know how to turn up the forechecking pressure, especially once there's a failed clearing attempt by the opposition.
The Flyers had problems coping with the Penguins' game last night. They continually tried to carry the puck in the zone and make east-west plays that weren't there. The Flyers failed to get the puck in deep nearly often enough. When they were able to do so, they had some success.
There is often a tendency to look only at what your own team is doing and not give credit to the opposition. The Penguins played a much, much better game than the Capitals did on Tuesday. Even in building a 3-0 lead, Washington was getting outplayed by the Flyers in every aspect except goaltending. There was skating room and passing lanes, and Michal Neuvirth had to come up big numerous times to keep the Flyers off the board in the first period. Last night, Marc-Andre Fleury had few saves to make, either in quantity or quality.
So give credit where it's due to the Penguins for how well they played. That said, the Flyers are capable of doing a much better job of grinding out a win against a team playing like the Pens did last night. They did not skate nearly well enough and they didn't force many Pittsburgh mistakes in dangerous areas of the ice.
For the most part, though, the Flyers were conscientious defensively. They had 14 credited takeaways to 5 charged giveaways -- an outstanding ratio -- so it wasn't like they panicked with the puck or failed to pursue Pittsburgh puck-carriers. Philly worked hard, but the Penguins worked just a little harder.
I saved the best for last. Sergei Bobrovsky bounced back beautifully from his awful outing against the Capitals to play an outstanding game in goal for the Flyers. Without question, he was the biggest reason why the Flyers got a point out of the game. The defense did a pretty good job at keeping traffic away for screens and rebounds, but Bobrovsky faced numerous tough chances and handled them flawlessly. He was out challenging and tracked the puck about 200 times better than on Tuesday night.
As for the outcomes of the last four games, they have all been non-finishes. Whether you win or lose by shootout, the game hasn't been decided by a team scoring a winning goal. I'm more concerned by the fact that the Flyers have had to play four shootouts in a row than the fact that they only prevailed in one. The fact that Philly is still struggling to win in regulation shows that they still aren't firing on all cylinders as the playoffs approach. Every night, there has been at least one crucial element of their game that costs them.
*****
It's going to be interesting to see how the Flyers handle the game against the Islanders on Saturday. Do they come out with a sense of urgency against a team that they've dominated (at least in terms of their record, as many of the games have been close calls) in recent years? Or do they once again play down to the level of a hard-working but considerably less talented non-playoff opponent?
With another marquee game coming up on Sunday against Boston, followed by a return match against the Pens in Pittsburgh, the Flyers had better not look past the Islanders.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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