QUICK HITS: SEPT. 27, 2017
1) After Tuesday night's game, Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said the team was unlikely to skate today since the club had just played back-to-back games and has another game upcoming tomorrow. The Flyers will host the Boston Bruins at the Wells Fargo Center at 7 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised on CSN Philadelphia.
2) For a five-point recap and analysis of last night's game, see my
Postgame 5 on the Flyers' official website.
3) One of the most encouraging signs with the young players remaining in camp has been their resiliency at bouncing back after a mistake or a so-so game. Since there are sure to be bumps in the road over the course of any season -- true for any player, but especially for prospective rookies and second-year players -- it can be just as telling to see in the preseason how the young players handle situations that don't go their way.
4) Case in point: On the Rangers' first goal last night, Travis Sanheim lost the puck to a forechecker behind the net (not a giveaway statistically, but a turnover nonetheless). Sanheim, however, handled the turnover properly. He pinned his check to the boards until help could arrive. Unfortunately, none did. The Rangers won the battle and ended up with a tap-in goal with both Flyers defensemen behind the net and insufficient coverage in front.
Sanheim did not let the mistake compound itself into subsequent shifts. He settled right back in, played a strong overall game defensively and made a few of his signature offensive zone forays to make good things happen for the Flyers on the attack.
5) If the numbers game wasn't already an issue and if he weren't in his first North American training camp, Mikhail Vorobyev would have a legitimate shot at making the Flyers' roster. He has had an excellent camp on both sides of the puck. Already assigned to the AHL, Vorobyev skated with the Phantoms on Tuesday morning before his recall to the Flyers (apparently planned ahead of time and not due to a player in Flyers camp taking ill or getting injured).
The trio of Vorobyev, Oskar Lindblom and Travis Konecny didn't see the ice much as a five-on-five unit in the first period but they were dominant in the second period. Shift after shift, they dominated puck possession and hemmed the Rangers in their own zone. They got puck and bodies to the net. When they did lose the puck, they usually got it right back.
6) Konecny was tenacious all game, and got under the Rangers' skin. He was ultimately rewarded by following up his own shot with a flat-angle goal for the OT winner.
7) During his SHL career with Brynäs, Lindblom showed a particular knack for scoring deflection goals. His redirect from the high slot of an Andrew MacDonald point shot was not a random fluke. Lindblom's hand-eye coordination on even aerial deflections is something to keep an eye on as his career develops.
8) Jordan Weal has a particular knack for knowing when to hold on to the puck and when to dish off to a teammate, and when to try to beat a defender or pull up and wait for teammates. For a small player, he also shields the puck well. Tuesday night's game showed that he has a bit of chemistry developing with Nolan Patrick.
9) Patrick came close to his first goal of the preseason on chance near the net set up by Weal. He's had two high-skill assists thus far in the preseason, played well without the puck, is heavy on the puck and solid on the walls.
If there is one quibble with his game thus far, it's his feet. He is fine once at top speed but there hasn't been much first-step explosiveness that would get him separation. That is to be expected to some degree, since Patrick had dual sports hernia surgeries (including one on June 13) and it can take quite awhile into the next season before a player's maximum skating abilities return.
As he settles in and gets more games under his belt, it will be interesting to see if Patrick can start to get free from defenders with more frequency. He doesn't have to be a speed demon, but he can be a little quicker off the blocks than he's looked so far.
10) Did anyone really think that, after seven years at center and previously having been a right wing, that Claude Giroux could just snap his fingers and instantly adapt to playing left wing? If the Flyers intend on continuing the experiment as a look they'll occasionally feature during the season, it's going to take time to adjust.
Actually, I thought the trio of Sean Couturier, Giroux and Voracek showed some progress from Monday's game to Tuesday's. Keep in mind that the Rangers featured more of a "B" squad on Tuesday --the performances of the young players on the Flyers' roster likewise need to be taken with a grain of salt -- but the line had a better offensive night.
11) Couturier is far from the fastest-skating Flyer but he's one of the smartest in hockey terms. He was very much in the middle of things when the team generated five-on-five pressure. He also had a shorthanded breakaway. It came at the end of a shift. Couturier slightly bobbled then regained the puck. Ultimately, Rangers goalie Ondrej Pavelec just had to make sure he wasn't crossed up. It ended up being a pretty easy save.
12) Taylor Leier may not have scored a goal last night, but he had another fine night in all three zones. In this camp, he's finally seemed to take the multi-dimensional game he's brought at the AHL level -- a combination of speed, tenacity around the puck, defensive awareness, and flashes of offensive ability -- to NHL games. He's been good on the penalty kill, including last night.
13) Leier credited his familiarity of playing with Scott Laughton regularly with the Phantoms to his comfort level in Tuesday's game. The fourth line of Laughton, Leier and Michael Raffl did exactly what a contemporary line in that role is supposed to do -- skate with a lot of energy, defend well and put the players on the next shift into an advantageous position.
Laughton also got rewarded with a goal, scoring on a 2-on-1 give-and-go with Raffl. That was a nice bonus and much needed at the time as it tied the game at 2-2 early in the second period after the Rangers took the lead.
14) Michal Neuvirth had a good game in goal on Monday in New York. Brian Elliott followed it up with a strong performance -- including two separate 10-bell saves -- last night. Both goalies will get one more start before the end of the preseason.
15) One veteran player who had a rough overall game last night was Shayne Gostisbehere. There were sequences where he made good things happen for the team but got himself on the wrong side of the puck multiple times during the game. He reverted to doing some of the things in his own zone play that contributed to him being scratched a few times last season. It's just one preseason off-night, but Gostisbehere is capable of better than he showed in this game. It happens to everyone. It just can't happen too often.
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FLYERS ALUMNI TEAM CELEBRATE YOUTH HOCKEY WEEKEND
As part of the Flyers Skate Zone's "Youth Hockey Weekend" to kick off the 2017-18 season, the Flyers Alumni Team will play its own first game of its 2017-18 slate with a game on Saturday (Sept. 30) at the Flyers Skate Zone location in Northeast Philadelphia. Game time is 12:20 p.m. EDT and will be followed by a 2:20 p.m. autograph session.
The Flyers Alumni team will play against the Blazers coaches as part of the Blazers' opening weekend at the NE Skate Zone. The Flyers Alumni Team roster includes Danny Briere, Kimmo Timonen, Philly native goaltender Eric Semborski, Flyers Hall of Fame defenseman Joe Watson, Bob "the Hound" Kelly, Brad Marsh, Terry Carkner, Doug Crossman, Riley Cote, Todd "Fridge" Fedoruk, Frank "the Animal" Bialowas, Larry "Izzy" Goodenough , AHL Hall of Fame forward Mitch Lamoureux and forwards Brett and Chase Watson (Jimmy Watson's sons).
Tickets are just $10 for adults and $5 for kids (free for current Blazers players and their siblings). Tickets can be purchased at the door on the day of the event. Below is the full press release on the event:
Flyers Skate Zone is celebrating the beginning of the youth hockey season with a day of festivities at Aria Health Flyers Skate Zone in Northeast Philadelphia on Saturday, September 30.
The day starts with beginner hockey players setting foot on the ice for the first time with the Philadelphia Flyers Rookie Program at 8:40 AM. Former Flyers forward Riley Cote will serve as a guest instructor during the Flyers Rookie Program session.
The Flyers Alumni Team will also be playing an exhibition game at 12:20 PM against the coaches of the Blazers Hockey Club. The Blazers Hockey Club, with Flyers Skate Zone as their home facility, will be celebrating their “Opening Day” with all ten youth teams playing at home all day and into the evening.
Family fun activities will also take place throughout the day, including the Flyers Community Caravan and appearances by the Flyers Ice Girls from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM, along with food trucks, basket raffles, and more.
More information about the day’s fun activities can be found at http://www.nephilly.flyersskatezone.com .
Flyers Skate Zone will also have their first session of lesson programming start on September 30. Classes include Learn to Skate (a six week skating lesson class) and Future Flyers (a six week hockey lesson program).
The Flyers Rookie Program, now in its second year and open to boys and girls ages five to nine, provides each participant with a full set of Flyers-branded hockey equipment including: helmet with cage, shoulder pads, elbow pads, hockey gloves, hockey pants, shin guards, skates, jersey, socks, stick, and equipment bag. Upon completion of the program, participants can keep their equipment. The six-week course also includes age-appropriate instruction by a certified coaching staff, including NHL alumni. Those families interested in registering their child for the program can visit PhiladelphiaFlyers.com/RookieProgram.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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