For all the "every game is a must-win" hype that surrounds the 48-game season, the truth of the matter is that a slow start need not be fatal to a team.
For example, in the lockout-shortened 1995 season, the eventual Atlantic Division champion Philadelphia Flyers started out 3-7-1. Within the same division, the playoff-bound Washington Capitals had a 2-8-2 record on Feb. 15, yet they still managed to get into the playoffs with a 22-18-8 mark. The New Jersey Devils started 3-5-2. The New York Rangers were 1-4-0 and, after a later seven-game losing streak, 13-16-3. All of these teams made the playoffs, and New Jersey won the Stanley Cup.
Losing both ends of a pair of opening weekend afternoon games is most certainly disappointing. There are clearly some issues the Flyers need to address quickly. But the two losses in and of themselves are no cause for panic.
The Flyers' special teams cost them at least one point apiece out of the first two games. On Saturday, both ends of special teams failed the team. On Sunday, it was horrid penalty killing and mental mistakes.
Heading into the weekend, I figured the second game in Buffalo was going to be even tougher to win than the opener against the Penguins despite the fact that Pittsburgh is a more feared opponent than the Sabres.
Here's why: Playing the second half of back-to-back games against a fresh opponent is always a tough proposition. Doing so with less than 24 hours between the first and second games is doubly tough. Add the fact that every NHL team was trying to recover its game conditioning after the lockout. Then consider that the game against the Flyers was the Sabres' lone focus the entire week leading up to Sunday, whereas Philly's emotional energy was invested mainly toward playing the Penguins.
Ordinarily, if a team goes to the locker room tied or ahead after the second period, it is in good shape to skate away from the game with at least one point. Yesterday, it was going to take an exceptionally disciplined effort to pull out yesterday's game when it entered the third period tied, 2-2.
Philly basically needed to play it like a playoff overtime period: keep the shifts very short, make sure above all that they didn't get players caught on the wrong side of the puck and stay out of the penalty box. That didn't happen, and the Flyers paid the price several times, ultimately losing the game 5-2.
Before I get to the Flyers' two disallowed goals, both of which were bad calls and the first of which was absolutely part of what affected the outcome, I think it's more important to focus on the areas that are within Philadelphia's control.
During last Friday's media scrum in the SkateZone locker room, I asked Flyers forward Max Talbot the following question: "Max, people talk a lot about power play rhythm but, as you know, penalty killing is also a rhythm. Any concerns about the PK after not having a preseason to work things out?"
Talbot replied, "You look at the group of guys that are going to be asked to be on the ice , it’s mostly the same ones as last year. That’s something you can take and kind of play with that, and hopefully have an edge. It’s not like as if the Flyers haven’t been playing a game and all the other teams have been playing. Every team is in the same boat. So it’s going to be who’s the most ready, who’s more comfortable on the ice. Hopefully it’s going to be us."
When the Flyers worked on special teams all last week, the first power play unit looked ready to hit the ground running. They were two steps ahead of the guys playing the PK roles in the drills. Keep in mind, however, some of the players who typically are out on penalty kills also play on the power play units and there were some fill-in PKers.
For instance, Sean Couturier pretty much exclusively practiced with the second power play unit and did not take many (if any) PK reps during the week. Although he was killing penalties for the Phantoms during the lockout, he really didn't have any time to get in synch again with the other Flyers who kill penalties. That showed up in a big way on some of the PK breakdowns that occurred over the weekend.
The Flyers' PK box has been far too easy to attack through the first two games. The passing lanes aren't being taken away. Players are drifting out of position. On Steve Ott's power play goal yesterday, the Flyers had two defensemen below the goal line, and their two forwards were near the goal line. That left all sorts of space for Ott to get into prime shooting position, receive a pass and blast the puck past Ilya Bryzgalov.
The first Thomas Vanek goal yesterday came about as a result of a hideously botched rush and line change attempt while the Flyers were skating 3-on-5. Vanek ended up breaking in alone on Bryzgalov and showed why he's a two-time 40-goal scorer and four-time 32-plus goal scorer.
Bryzgalov actually played a second very solid game this weekend. He came up with at least three big saves on tough shots -- including a nasty deflection play on a PK and the sequence that led a second later to Buffalo's fourth goal, as the goalie's momentum pulled him away from an unpreventable rebound that a fast-charging Cody Hodgson got to ahead of Bryzgalov and the defense.
Apart from the PK mishaps and too many odd-man rushes allowed, he Flyers hurt themselves yesterday with a variety of other discipline lapses (Scott Hartnell being one of the culprits) and botched communications (a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty and another one they actually got away with seconds before a Buffalo penalty). That's a formula for losing, regardless of what the referees do.
Through the two games thus far, there are a handful of Flyers forwards (Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds in particular, along with Hartnell on Saturday) who have stood out in a positive way. I don't think the Philly blueline corps has been awful so much as that the team in general has been sloppy in its passing and erratic on breakouts. You can tell a lot of these guys weren't playing during the lockout. The goaltending thus far has been good enough to win games. The Flyers have played a pair of good second periods in the two games to date. The rest needs some work.
OK, now for the two blown calls yesterday. Both calls were unquestionably botched. The level of contact between Ruslan Fedotenko and Ryan Miller was so slight -- and with Fedotenko outside the blue paint -- that Pierre McGuire said even the Buffalo bench was surprised the goal was disallowed.
It was the wrong judgment call by the referee, but it happens. I actually had more problem with the officiating on the second disallowed goal, which would have put the Flyers down 4-3 late in regulation.
First of all, it is a moot point to argue whether the puck crossed the goal line ahead of the whistle. It is the referee's INTENT to blow play dead that takes precedent in these situations. As long as Don van Massenhoven decided that he'd lost sight of the puck, it doesn't matter where the puck actually was.
What I take strong issue with is the veteran referee's horrible positioning on the play. He was WAY out of position to get a proper look at the play. Instead of busting it behind the net to get a better look, he took one leisurely stride on the opposite side and casually blew the play dead. It was flat out lack of hustle by a veteran ref, and it's no more acceptable when an official fails to hustle than it is when a player quits skating on a play.
van Massenhoven's lazy actions ended up working against the Flyers in this sequence, but that's not my beef with what happened. It just as easily could have worked against the Sabres if it had happened at the other end of the ice. Even if the latter goal had counted, it was probably too little and too late for Philly.
I understand that refs are human, and that they get fatigued like anyone else. All of the NHL officials, but especially a 52-year-old one such as van Massenhoven needs some games to recover his own skating legs and stamina for three periods. But just as being tired isn't a valid reason for a lack of effort from a player in crunch time, a referee needs to dig a little deeper and keep hustling to give himself the best chance to make correct calls.
At any rate, the officials are beyond the Flyers' control. They need to clean up a few things in their own house. If a goal gets disallowed, well, score another one that no one can dispute. Bad penalty call? Kill the penalty.
Now it's time for the Flyers to turn the page after an off-day today. There are games against the Devils tomorrow and the Rangers (who are also 0-2) on Thursday.
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