GAME SYNOPSIS
In last season's lockout-shortened regular season, 25 percent (12 of 48) of the Flyers games entered the third period tied. The team went 4-8-0 in those games, capturing an anemic eight of a possible 24 points that were within their grasp.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, they got the 2013-14 regular season off on the same note, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs after leading at the first intermission and being tied, 1-1, at the second.
Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier was spectacular in his regular season debut for his new club, turning aside 31 of 32 shots (many of the difficult variety) and keeping his team in the game until they cashed in some opportunistic chances.
The Flyers generally had the better of the play in the opening two periods -- especially the first -- against a Toronto team that played last night. After a rocky opening shift of the game, they played fairly solid team defense. Unfortunately, Philly still had a few breakdowns that ended costing them dearly, as Toronto tied the game with 2:54 remaining in the second period and then took the least at 2:30 of the the third period.
Wayne Simmonds missed a late second period penalty shot that could have put his team back up, 2-1, heading into the final stanza.
The Leafs were the better team in the third period. Once the Flyers fell behind and then got blanked on back-to-back power plays, they sagged and their energy level dropped significantly. Toronto put the clamps down thereafter and added late-game insurance.
The Flyers had seven power plays to just two for Toronto. Each team scored once (the Leafs' power play goal came in the final 23 seconds of regulation). Philly generated good puck movement on their early advantages but had trouble solving Bernier until Brayden Schenn got Philadelphia on the board first with just seven seconds left in the first period.
The Flyers best forward line in this game was the Vincent Lecavalier unit with Matt Read and Simmonds. Claude Giroux's line also had its share of chances, and Scott Hartnell in particular had about four glorious scoring chances between five-on-five and power play but was unable to pot a goal. For the most part, Philly's defense played well. Mason gave the team a chance to win, and was not the reason for the loss.
The three biggest reasons for the outcome:
1) Lack of finishing touch against a rock-solid Bernier, especially on power plays.
2) A 2-0 deficit in even-strength goal output/
3) A couple of team defense miscues that ended up in the net.
STARTING LINEUPS; ACTUAL VS. PROJECTED
The Flyers went with a somewhat different starting forward lineup arrangement than most of the pregame projections (including my own) had. They moved Brayden Schenn up to the top line, slid Read up from Sean Couturier's line to Lecavalier's, and started the game with Jakub Voracek on the Couturier line.
As the game progressed, Schenn and Voracek eventually switched lines and Voracek returned to his accustomed spot with Giroux and Hartnell.
FLYERS
19 Scott Hartnell - 28 Claude Giroux - 10 Brayden Schenn
24 Matt Read- 40 Vincent Lecavalier - 17 Wayne Simmonds
25 Max Talbot - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
37 Jay Rosehill - 18 Adam Hall - 36 Zac Rinaldo
44 Kimmo Timonen - 5 Braydon Coburn
32 Mark Streit - 22 Luke Schenn
8 Nicklas Grossmann - 41 Andrej Meszaros
35 Steve Mason
[29 Ray Emery]
Scratches: Scott Laughton (healthy), Erik Gustafsson (healthy), Hal Gill (healthy).
MAPLE LEAFS
21 James van Riemsdyk - 42 Tyler Bozak - 81 Phil Kessel
19 Joffrey Lupul - 43 Nazem Kadri - 41 Nikolai Kulemin
12 Mason Raymond - 36 Dave Bolland - 40 Troy Bodie
37 Carter Ashton - 11 Jay McClement - 38 Colton Orr
36 Carl Gunnarsson - 3 Dion Phaneuf
51 Jake Gardiner - 4 Cody Franson
2 Mark Fraser - 15 Paul Ranger
45 Jonathan Bernier
[34 James Reimer]
Scratches: Frazer McLaren (finger), David Clarkson (NHL suspension), Morgan Rielly (healthy).
FIRST PERIOD: Key moments
Philadelphia gave up a 2-on-1 rush to Toronto in the opening half-minute of regulation, but Steve Mason (22 saves on 25 shots) thwarted James van Riemsdyk. After playing racehorse hockey at both ends for the first three or four minutes of play, Philly settled in and had the better of play for the majority of the period.
At the 10:12 mark, Brayden Schenn took exception to a hit on Giroux by ex-Flyers forward Joffrey Lupul and moved in immediately to defend the team caption. The fight was brief and unremarkable.
The Flyers had three power plays to none for Toronto in this period. After numerous good chances by both power play units, the second unit (which featured Lecavalier, Brayden Schenn and Matt Read up front and Mark Streit and either Claude Giroux or Andrej Meszaros at the points) capitalized.
Streit fed the puck to Lecavalier, who made a tremendous play behind the net. With all Toronto PK eyes on Lecavalier, Brayden Schenn was left untouched in point blank range in the slot. Lecavalier's feed was on the money, and Schenn made no mistake. Time of the goal was 19:53.
1st period stats
ATTEMPTED SHOTS: Flyers 30 - Toronto 11
SHOTS ON GOAL: Flyers 15 - Toronto 9
BLOCKS: Flyers 0 - Toronto 4 (two for Bozak)
MISSED SHOTS: Flyers 11 - Toronto 2
POWERPLAYS: FLYERS 1-for-3, Toronto 0-for-0
FACEOFFS: Flyers won 14 of 27, 52% (Couturier led Flyers with 3-for-4)
CREDITED HITS: Flyers 7 - Toronto 14 (Rinaldo led Flyers with two)
CHARGED GIVEAWAYS: Flyers 1 (Streit) - Toronto 3
CREDITED TAKEAWAYS: Flyers 1 (Simmonds) - Toronto 0
2nd Period: Key Moments
The Flyers continued to have the better of play for the first 10-13 minutes of the period but Toronto started to generate more pressure as the stanza moved along.
At 4:18, Toronto defenseman Paul Ranger was sent off for two minutes for high sticking Matt Read near the attacking goal line. Philly was unable to score on the power play.
Midway through the period, the Flyers found themselves shorthanded (5-on-4) for the first time this season. Timonen was called for neutral zone interference after a turnover. During the ensuing kill, defenseman Nicklas Grossmann was a shot-blocking machine for the Flyers; at one point blocking three shots in a row in rapid succession. The big Swede also registered a big hit in the corner about 10 seconds before the multiple shot-block sequence but the team was unable to clear the zone.
At the 17:06 mark, Toronto tied the game. Things started out innocently enough, as Philadelphia broke out of the defensive zone until Max Talbot's attempted pass from the side boards over the middle got picked off by Dion Phaneuf a stride in front of the Toronto blueline. Now the Leafs had a counterattacking chance.
Phaneuf skated the puck into the offensive zone and put a low shot on net. Grossmann canceled out his man, Nazem Kadri, directly on Mason's doorstep but Talbot did not recover in time to pick up a wide open Phil Kessel. Toronto's top offensive player, who just signed an eight-year contract extension yesterday, pumped home the rebound to knot the score at 1-1.
In the waning seconds of the period, Simmonds put on a burst of speed up the right wing past defenseman Paul Ranger, who trippped him up as he approached the net. Somewhat questionably, the officials awarded a penalty shot to Simmonds with the clock stopped at 19:56.
Simmonds moved in slowly on Bernier, and then cut to his right, trying to get his former Los Angeles Kings teammate to open the five hole. Bernier stayed square to him, and there was nothing at which to shoot but the goalie's pads.
2nd period stats - Period/40-min total
ATTEMPTED SHOTS: Flyers 24 (54) - Toronto 19 (30)
SHOTS ON GOAL: Flyers 7 (22) - Toronto 9 (18)
BLOCKS: Flyers 4 (4, three by Grossmann) - Toronto 10 (14, three for Bozak & Gunarsson)
MISSED SHOTS: Flyers 7 (18) - Toronto 2 (4)
POWERPLAYS: FLYERS 0-for-1 (1-for-4), Toronto 0-for-1 (0-for-1)
FACEOFFS: Flyers won 8 of 29 (overall 22 for 46, 48 percent)
CREDITED HITS: Flyers 8 (15) - Toronto 11 (25) -- L. Schenn and Rinaldo led Flyers with 3)
CHARGED GIVEAWAYS: Flyers 3 (4) - Toronto 6 (9; Gunnarsson with three)
CREDITED TAKEAWAYS: Flyers 6 (7, Simmonds with 2) - Toronto 3 (3)
3rd PERIOD -- Key Moments
It took Toronto just 2:30 into the third period to grab their first lead of the game. Toronto's Nikolai Kulemin won a battle with Streit behind the net, and the puck was worked to Lupul. Neither Luke Schenn nor any of the forwards on the Lecavalier line were able to pick up an open Dave Bolland in time. Bolland received the puck and beat Mason from in close to give the Leafs a 2-1 lead.
At the 3:35 mark, Matt Fraser went off for a high sticking penalty behind the net. Flyers enforcer Jay Rosehill came barreling in to go at Fraser and was met by a cross-check to the face by an onrushing Colton Orr. Out of the ensuing chaos, Orr and Rosehill got canceling two minute minors and the Flyers got a 5-on-4 power play from the initial penalty.
The Flyers pressed but did not move the puck nearly as well as they did in previous advantages. With two seconds remaining in the Fraser penalty, Kulemin was called for neutral zone interference of Giroux. Philadelphia's second consecutive power play also went nowhere.
With the Leafs having taken the lead and gaining further momentum from the consecutive penalty kills, the Flyers sagged and Toronto put down the defensive clamps. Philadelphia generated few tough chances the remainder of the game and the ones they did -- such as a wicked deflection from the mid-slot by Simmonds -- were gobbled up by Bernier.
The Flyers pulled Mason for an extra attacker with under 90 seconds left. At the 19:02 mark, Timonen was forced to take a hooking penalty to prevent an empty net goal. Mason returned to the net.
With 23 seconds left in regulation and the Flyers thinking offense and offense only down by a goal, Mason was left to fend alone as Toronto put multiple close-range chances on net. There was a 3-on-1 down low by the time Bolland notched his second goal of the period. Lupul and Cody Franson drew the assists on the goal that sealed a 3-1 final score.
3rd PERIOD STATS: Period/ 60-minute totals
ATTEMPTED SHOTS: Flyers 19 (73) - Toronto 12 (42)
SHOTS ON GOAL: Flyers 10 (32) - Toronto 7 (25)
BLOCKS: Flyers 7 (11, four by Grossmann) - Toronto 6 (20, five by Gunarsson)
MISSED SHOTS: Flyers 3 (21) - Toronto 2 (6)
POWERPLAYS: FLYERS 0-for-2 (1-for-6), Toronto 1-for-1 (1-for-2)
FACEOFFS: Flyers won 9 of 23 (overall 33 for 69, 47.8 percent; Couturier led with 8-for-11)
CREDITED HITS: Flyers 7 (22) - Toronto 9 (34) -- four Flyers with 3)
CHARGED GIVEAWAYS: Flyers 3 (7) - Toronto 3 (12; Gunnarsson with three)
CREDITED TAKEAWAYS: Flyers 3 (9, Simmonds and Read with 2) - Toronto 4 (7)
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OFFICIAL THREE STAR SELECTION (Wayne Fish)
1. Troy Bodie - Maple Leafs
2. Brayden Schenn - Flyers
3. Jonathan Bernier - Maple Leafs
My THREE- STAR SELECTION
1. Jonathan Bernier - Maple Leafs
2. Dave Bolland - Maple Leafs
3. Vincent Lecavalier - Flyers
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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Via NHL.com
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POST-GAME QUOTES
FLYERS
Peter Laviolette: "Offensively that’s the best we’ve looked in a while, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to score more than one goal to win a game. We had a lot of chances, but there were plenty of missed shots and shots that they had blocked, it seemed like we had a lot of zone time but you have to give Toronto credit because they made us earn the tough ice and played a solid game defensively."
Steve Mason: "You make the initial save and you do your best to get in position for the next shot and they made some good plays on the rebounds. So I’ve got to give them credit.... [Otherwise] I was feeling really calm, real patient and just in position for the majority of shots there, we did a really good job just making sure the traffic was cleared out of the way and [Grossmann] had some huge blocks there and in the PK in the second period too, so the guys were really working hard.”
Vincent Lecavalier: "After [Toronto went ahead], it wasn’t like the first period; we had trouble getting in there and keeping possession. They also played back a little bit more when they went up 2-1. So, they played a good road game and like I said, when they went up 2-1, they were on their heels a little bit and stayed back."
Claude Giroux: "We have our chances. I think we generate a lot of offense in the first period and then they kept going the whole game. You know, it’s a tough loss in front of our fans but you know what, we did a lot of good things out there. Most of the game we dominated and we were responsible defensively but a couple mistakes cost us."
MAPLE LEAFS
Randy Carlyle: "[Bernier] gave us a chance and that’s all you can ask. Some nights it takes a little bit more. We knew that coming in here off of playing last night in Montreal the emotions of that game and then carrying that level for 60 minutes would be tough specifically in the beginning. We’re opening another building which is pretty ruckus. We needed a goaltender to keep us in the game and he did that and we’re fortunate to have him.”
Joffrey Lupul: "...We did start to elevate our game in the second and just play offense a little more, play in their end, match their physical play a lot. They played quite physical, so it took us a while to maybe get comfortable, or get our legs under us but again Jonathan "Bernie" Bernier did a great job for us."
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FLYERS NEXT GAME: Saturday @ Montreal
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