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Eklund: My "Ek Factors" for the Bruins vs. Flyers Home and Home Series. |
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Ek's Note:
As you know, we have the great Bill Meltzer covering the Flyers on a day to day basis, there is no one better. I am also in the Flyers Press Box, and I tend to talk about the Flyers in the daily podcast and blog about rumors.. However, from time to time I will be doing a different type of blog that I will call “Ek’s Factors” where I won’t give you the scores of the game, but rather my observations on the games I watch that I find to be interesting,
So here are my “Ek Factor on Last Night’s Bruins @ Flyers.”
* This was a back end of the HUGE home and home. The Flyers were outplayed in Boston, but won in OT, Boston was outplayed in Philly, but won in regulation.
* The Flyers were led by The Travisssses. Konecny and Sanheim were dominant in both games. Konecny hit the post dead-on in the second period which could have won this game for Philly.
*The Bruins are the Bruins because Bergeron and Marchand hold themselves accountable. They each had moments when they made mistakes over the two games, but last night they each picked the perfect time to show why they are stars.
* Jeremy Swayman won his first ever NHL game stopping 40 shots. He plays a calm, but aggressive on his angles and shows huge upside. Crazy strong glove hand.
* Carter Hart picked up where he left off against the Islanders and despite losing both games looked way better than he has for the last two months. Hart’s ability to rebound to form is encouraging…
* The Flyers played like they were afraid to take a penalty. The Bruins power play has owned the Flyers and they know it. This game turned on two short-handed chances. The Flyers, down 1-0, had a shorthanded breakaway in the first period, failed to convert, got two players caught deep, and Boston scored ten seconds later on the resulting 4 on 2.. Then in the third period, tied 2-2 the Flyers had a power play and a pass that was too hot to handle ends up setting up the Bruins on a shorthanded 2 on 1 the other way and the Marchand buries it.
* Like in the Islanders playoff series a year ago, the Flyers were once again out-coached in a huge game. Philly played an incredibly strong second period and headed into the third with all the momentum, tied 2-2...The game was there to be taken...But instead of continuing with what gave them success, they played “not-to-lose” conservatively in the third, while Boston, on the road and perfectly content with getting to overtime, sat back and allowed the Flyers to pass the puck around and not accomplish much.
* A particularly odd moment came when the Flyers call a time-out with just under 2 minutes to go. The team gathered around assistant coach Michel Therrien on the bench to discuss what might be the most important moment of the season...while head coach Alain Vigneault stood silently, several feet away. Therrien’s success in the NHL has come almost entirely from getting teams to play better defensively, yet he runs the Flyers offense.
*Flyers fans may feel this game was the nail in the coffin on this season, but the reality is, I have never felt the Flyers were chasing the Bruins. The final playoff spot will come down to Pittsburgh, Philly and the NY Rangers.
Agree or Disagree with my Ek Factors?
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