PHILADELPHIA — For the 10th time, the Flyers found themselves facing a two-goal deficit. For the eighth time, they failed to find a way to come back, falling 5-2 to the Calgary Flames on Monday at the Wells Fargo Center.
At the start of the season, the Flyers showed they could keep their heads and battle back. But since their first two comeback wins, the Flyers have not successfully overcome a multigoal deficit.
Both of the Flames’ first two goals were scored on similar plays — a turnover that led to an odd-man rush. On the first, the Flyers’ Tony DeAngelo got pushed over as he made a pass, and on the second, Owen Tippett’s pass got picked off. Travis Sanheim was the only Flyer back to defend on both of them. Jonathan Huberdeau sniped goalie Carter Hart from the right on the first and Dillon Dube beat him from the left on the second.
The Flyers were able to respond quickly with Tanner Laczynski tipping in Kevin Hayes’ shot a minute after Dube’s goal. But an unlucky bounce put the Flyers behind by two goals again in the second with the Flames’ Rasmus Andersson’s shot breaking Joel Farabee’s stick as it deflected into the goal.
Down two heading into the third, Farabee got one back when he scored an unassisted goal to once again bring the Flyers within one. With 2:30 left, the Flyers pulled Hart and almost tied it with multiple scoring chances. But Blake Coleman’s empty-net goal, followed by Trevor Lewis’s goal, snuffed out the Flyers’ comeback hopes.
Laczynski returns
Laczynski wasn’t sticking out to coach John Tortorella earlier in the season, and Tortorella got tired of looking for him. So Laczynski was loaned to the Phantoms.
When Scott Laughton’s injury forced Laczynski to return, Tortorella had the same expectations as before. He wanted to notice him.
With Laczynski’s face plastered across the scoreboard, he was hard to miss. With hard work in front of the net, he tipped in the Flyers’ first goal of the game, which was also the first NHL goal of his career.
Although Laczynski played on the wing, he stepped in on some faceoffs, where he went 4-for-4. He took two shots in the 12:54 minutes he played.
Best versus best of the rest
The statline of the Flyers’ first line by the end of the game was not good.
However, it also wasn’t unexpected. Typically, a first line, comprised of the best players on the team, competes against the other team’s best forwards and best defensemen.
This game, the Flyers’ first line consisted of Farabee, Morgan Frost and Tippett. Two games ago, Tippett was on the second line and Frost and Farabee were on the third line. However, due to numerous injuries to almost all the Flyers veterans, they had to play the best of the remaining players, who are almost all young guys looking to prove themselves. Tortorella moved Hayes, who has been on the first line most of the season, back up part way through the game.
Meanwhile, the Flames on the ice during their three even-strength goals included All-Stars Huberdeau and Noah Hanifan as well as veterans Nazem Kadri (who recently played a significant role on the Stanley Cup championship team) and Andersson.
Not quite there
The team is trying, Tortorella has pointed out over and over. Once again, it wasn’t a lack of effort that made the Flyers lose. They are clearly attempting to be in the right place and make good plays. But they still have a ways to go when it comes to execution.
Several times, young players made what was almost a really good pass up the ice, but they missed by just a bit. One of those turned into an odd-man rush in the other direction, which then led to a goal. Others led to wall battles or neutral-zone battles as the puck moved past the intended recipient.
When the Flyers had possession in their offensive zone, they also looked to the net, trying to create offense or set up their teammates. There were some good opportunities, but they either missed the net or took a second too long, allowing goalie Jacob Markstrom to position himself correctly.
