Say what you will about the disallowed Scott Hartnell goal that later proved important in tonight's 4-3 loss to the Capitals. The goal, disallowed because Hartnell "pushed the goaltender (Olaf Kolzig) into the net," should have counted. But that's not really why the Flyers lost.
In a game that was 1-1 heading into the third period, the Flyers had inexcusable mental lapses defensively that put them in a 4-1 hole. The Flyers played maybe 15 to 20 total good minutes of hockey tonight against the Capitals 1-3-1 defensive system, and that won't get it done on most nights. Neither will giving up three goals in the third period (an area where the Flyers have usually been very strong this year).
"They did a good job of taking away the boards on us, and also not giving us a lot of room on the rush," Hartnell said after the game. "We're a team that likes to play up-tempo, but we need to recognize the situation and make some adjustments in these types of games."
The Flyers seemed to have little energy to work through the Capitals checking and seemed to hold onto the puck too long on several plays where potential scoring chances went by the wayside. Kolzig is a goaltender who will give up some rebounds and, at least for the first 35 minutes of the game, the Flyers weren't creating enough of those chances.
The club seemed to be energized after Mike Knuble's late second period powerplay goal tied the score. On the play, Daniel Briere made a nice centering feed from behind the net to Knuble, who was parked on Kolzig's doorstep.
Tonight was a brutal game for both Braydon Coburn and Derian Hatcher (easily the Flyers' worst defensive pairing-- deserving of their minus-three and lucky it wasn't minus-four) and another game where Simon Gagne and Daniel Briere didn't look in synch except on the powerplay. If there's a positive, it's that Gagne looked to be skating better tonight than he has in awhile. But he was not very good with the puck on his stick.
The Flyers' best defensemen tonight were Jason Smith (who was a hitting and shot-blocking force) and Randy Jones. Up front, I thought Jeff Carter and Sami Kapanen were the best at keeping their feet moving, while Knuble was strong down low in addition to his goal. The Richards line also created some chances as the game moved along.
As for the disallowed goal, Kolzig's momentum was already taking him backwards on Simon Gagne's initial shot, and Hartnell was poking at the puck as he was checked into the keeper.
"The puck was laying right there and I was banging away at it, just like it was any other play," said Hartnell. "The goalie kept on going back into the net and guys were pushing me from behind. I don't think there was any reason for the no-goal call. If I pushed Kolzig, I should have gotten a goaltender interference penalty."
Martin Biron and John Stevens, however, said they weren't optimistic of the goal being upheld upon review.
"The odds are stacked against you once the referee waves off a goal. When they go upstairs, there has to be overwhelming evidence in your favor," said Stevens.
Added Biron, "I looked at it and hoped it would be a goal. But I wasn't surprised that is wasn't."
At the time the goal was originally disallowed, the explanation after the review that was given via PA announcer Lou Nolan was that the puck was frozen. But that's not reviewable-- it's the referee's call from the ice. So why was a four minute replay delay? And if there was goaltender interference, as Hartnell said, why wasn't there a penalty called?
Notes:
* Scottie Upshall left the game in the second period with a high ankle sprain of his right ankle. The injury was sustained when the winger was checked into the open player bench. He will be re-evaluated tomorrow.
* The Flyers did a pretty solid checking job on Alexander Ovechkin for much of the game. But he finally got loose in the third period on a partial breakaway and followed up his own shot.
* Biron played a reasonably strong game in net. He had no chance on three of the goals (a Brooks Laich backhander upstairs, a deflection goal credited to Matt Bradley and the Ovechkin goal). The Viktor Kozlov goal from the left circle that made it a 3-1 game didn't look like a great goal, but the Flyers goalie said he thought he played the correct angle.
"I played him the way I wanted. I knew he was going to come in and get that shot. I took a stride forward to cover as much net as I could and he puts it off the pipe and in," Biron said.
During the second period, Biron played with a broken stick for what must have been five minutes without a whistle. He had just the paddle and part of a shaft. No harm resulted.
* The Flyers will not have a practice tomorrow morning. They'll be back on Friday to prepare for their Saturday matinee with a Rangers club that took it to them the last time the clubs met.
* The Ron Hextall Hall of Fame ceremonies during the first intermission and video tribute before the game were very nicely done. Fellow inductees Mark Howe and Dave Poulin, as well as Hextall's family were all on hand.
When the honoree spoke, he was gracious, eloquent and humorous (Hexy chided his father, Bryan for not being able to attend the ceremony due to the flu, saying "I played games with the flu, dad, come on!").
In addressing the Flyers fans, Hextall said "we were tailor-made for each other," because "the love of winning is secondary only to the hatred of losing."
After the new Hall of Fame banner was raised, the ceremony concluded with Hextall being handed a goaltender stick. He stood in front of a net stationed on the periphery and clanged the pipes with the stick as he did before every faceoff.
***
Fresh off a 3-2 win in Atlanta, the Flyers (30-17-2-3, 65 points) are back in action tonight, taking on the Washington Capitals. Before the game, Ron Hextall will be inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame.
Assuming Scottie Upshall is OK today (he seemed fine), the Flyers will go with the same lineup and line combinations they used last night, except for Martin Biron getting the start in goal.
The Caps will be without longtime Flyer killer Michael Nylander for the rest of the season, and are also without captain Chris Clark. But they're rarely an easy team to play against for Philly, regardless of the season series balance. Alexander Ovechkin usually does his share of damage against the Flyers.
This is the final game of the season series for 2007-08. Flyers are 2-0-1 this season against Washington. The road team has won each game.
Postgame commentary to follow.
****
As someone who grew up living and breathing Flyers hockey, the pregame ceremony will bring back a lot of special memories of a goaltender who wore his heart on his sleeve every single game.
When you watch tapes of Hexy over the years, one thing that stands out immediately is how much his goaltending style changed over the course of his career. The chronic groin injuries of the late 1980s and early 1990s robbed Hexy of a lot of the flexibility and lightning fast recovery time he had when he first came into the league. He became more of a scrambler.
At the same time, he also calmed down a lot. Although the inner fires still burned brightly and he could be plenty feisty, Hextall stopped letting himself get rattled by a single bad goal or the slightest bump from a forward in the crease.
I've also thought a lot about Pelle Lindbergh today. If Pelle had lived, would Hextall even have gotten his opportunity in 1986-87 to play for the big club? We'll never know.
*****
Few players have come further in a short period of time than the much-hyped, mysterious Fabian Brunnström. Even among most people in Sweden (except for a handful of scouts), he was far from a household name until this season.
As a matter of fact, as recently as three years ago, Brunnström was playing Division II hockey in Sweden, which is so far down the ladder that he could hardly see Elitserien (the Swedish Elite League) on a clear day, much less the NHL. Two years ago and last year, he primarily played Division I hockey.
Division II hockey is the fourth tier of Swedish hockey -- Elitserien is the highest, followed by Allsvenskan, Division I, Division II, Division III. For a player never played on the Swedish national team at any teenage level nor was even chosen among the top young players in his home region of Sweden to now have NHL teams clamoring for his services is one of hockey's ultimate Cinderella stories.
Today on NHL.com, I have taken an
in-depth look at Brunnström's story and gotten input from four NHL scouts on his potential. The article also features similar looks at fellow late-blooming 22-year-olds Linus Videll and Linus Klasen of Södertälje SK.
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