The Philadelphia Flyers scored a rather bizarre win in Monday night’s matchup against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Flyers’ win over the Canucks was closer than it looked. The final tally read 3-1, giving Philadelphia a multi-goal win. But Travis Sanheim’s short-handed empty-netter at 19:01 in the third iced the game for Philadelphia.
It was also a third period to remember for the Flyers for all the wrong reasons. Despite heading into the third with a 2-0 lead, Philadelphia allowed a power-play goal at 12:44 when Jonathan Lekkermiaki got one past Flyers goaltender Joseph Woll.
It was part of a third-period onslaught that saw the Canucks outshoot the Flyers 13-2 in the final frame. This came despite the Flyers outshooting Vancouver 15-6 through the game’s first 40 minutes.
Following the game, head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters, “We have been playing pretty good. We just haven’t gotten that 60-minute game. We were closer tonight. You know, obviously the three penalties hurt…”
If there was ever a blueprint of what not to do in the third period, Tocchet has one to work with. Philadelphia’s three penalties all came in the back half of the third period at 10:50, 13:10, and 17:11, which nearly spearheaded a Canucks’ comeback.
Rick Tocchet Praises Flyers’ Defensive Commitment Against Canucks
Despite the near-meltdown in the third period, there was still enough for Tocchet to praise. During that same postgame interview, Tocchet quipped, “We committed to checking. And then we got our breaks.”
That kind of hockey will win games for the Flyers, but as Tocchet noted and the team proved, it wasn’t consistent enough.
When the team is 5-10-5 at the 20-game mark, ranked 29th in the league with 45 goals scored and 28th with 65 goals allowed? That gives Tocchet objective proof that the Flyers are routinely playing below expectations.
Consistency has been and continues to be the problem. Until Philadelphia can play all 60 minutes of a hard, physical game, and then take advantage of opportunities, that inconsistency and underachieving will continue against even the worst teams.
Flyers Still Face Familiar Third-Period Concerns
If the Flyers played even a halfway-decent team on Monday night, they probably weren’t winning that game. Instead, they faced a group that entered Monday night 3-15-1 and is in a clear rebuilding effort.
Allowing 13 shots in a single period while getting just two off isn’t the ideal finish to what was otherwise a two-point effort. For the Flyers to get back on track for good this year, they must figure out how to play the final 20 minutes similarly to how they played in the first 40.
This is especially true when facing a team they are supposed to be better against for three straight periods. In short, it was likely the case of a young team, once again, thinking they had the game won after two periods, only to nearly be shown otherwise in the third.
That has haunted the Flyers earlier in the season, and it continues to be the case. Finishing games and refusing to let opponents back into them will be the big challenge for Philadelphia in the second quarter of the season.
Flyers’ Rick Tocchet Makes Telling Admission Despite Win Over Canucks