The Philadelphia Flyers looked lifeless in Tuesday night’s contest, until Trevor Zegras helped will the Flyers back into the fight.
A pivotal moment in the team’s 3-2 loss came late in the second period when Zegras was digging at Seattle Kraken netminder Philipp Grubauer’s pads, trying to loosen the puck and score. The Kraken weren’t too fond of the action, and the Flyers’ forward earned himself a slashing penalty.
Once out of the box, Zegras fired a shot at Grubauer, who made the glove save with some showmanship. He then rolled the puck back to Zegras after the whistle, causing him to skate towards the net and exchange some pleasantries with the Kraken goalie.
Chaos ensued, and the Flyers were agitated. They went into the second intermission with an edge, and came into the third period with some fight. The Flyers clawed their way back into the game and ended up tying it at 2.
Following the score, the Flyers definitely seemed to play it a little safe. They were unable to score a third in the period. Maybe it wasn’t by design, but it also helped keep the Kraken from taking the lead.
In overtime, the Flyers avoided disaster, killing off a penalty during the extra frame and forcing a shootout, where they lost the game.
The Flyers did not get the result they wanted as they remain winless. However, it was definitely something to build on as the Flyers continue their search for their first win.
Read More: Heartbreak: Flyers Comeback vs. Kraken Falls Short in Shootout Loss
Great Individual Efforts Willed Flyers Into the Fight
The Flyers got some of their best individual efforts from a couple of key players on Tuesday.
This was Trevor Zegras’ best game of the young season. He looked like a completely different player compared to his first 7 games of the season. He was moving his feet better than he has all season. Zegras was getting himself into battles. Head coach Rick Tocchet pointed out that Zegras was “taking hits to make a play.” It really was a great game from No. 46. Even before his goal, you could see him playing with that swagger he was playing with last season.
Zegras also made sure to mention Travis Sanheim and his effort on Tuesday. The Flyers’ defenseman was incredible for his team on both ends. Following Zegras’ equalizer, you could see the winger mouth “That was all you” while pointing at Sanheim. He was making excellent plays for his team.
“Sanheim was unbelievable tonight,” Zegras said. “Moving his feet, making plays. So when you get a guy in the back end that plays 30 minutes and skating the whole game, shows all of our defense they can do it.”
Sanheim finished the game with 31:04 of ice time, an assist, 3 shots, and 3 hits.
I also want to point out his D-partner Oliver Bonk, who played a heck of a game on the top pair. He was getting involved offensively, especially with his sick no-look assist on Christian Dvorak’s goal. Bonk looked much more comfortable than he did on Sunday. It was a building block game for him.
Dan Vladar also seemed to return to form. It’s been a shaky start to the year for him, which Tocchet says (and I agree) is not to blame on the goaltenders. But Vladar really seemed to show his playoff form. He was making critical saves and kept his team in the fight throughout the game. Vladar ended the night stopping 29 of 31 shots on goal.
Winning Battles and Showing No Quit
Another positive from the Flyers on Tuesday was their fight. This was the best they have looked as a team along the boards. Philly showed a sort of toughness and fight in board battles that we have not seen from them much this season.
Players were doing what it took to get into battles and either squash plays or extend possessions.
Puck battles have not so secretly been an area of weakness for the Flyers this season. Philly had been getting outworked and out-toughed, especially along the boards this season. That was not the case on Tuesday. The Flyers very much showed that that was not teh case on Tuesday.
To me, the Flyers had the clear advantage in battles on Tuesday, and it was not close.
But that was not the only fight the Flyers showed.
Sometimes, it’s the metaphorical fight, or the lack of quitting, that stands out. Tuesday was not the first time that the Flyers had faced a multi-goal deficit this season. Typically, and as recently as Sunday, this team had shown a tendency to be deflated or dejected after the game seemed out of reach.
At moments on Tuesday, the game did seem out of reach. That did not stop the Flyers from battling it out and tying the game. They showed heart and fight on Tuesday. Even though they were unable to get their first win of the season, there was plenty for the Flyers to build on.
Flyers Still Have Plenty of Cleanup to Do Before They Turn Things Around
Despite all of the good, there is still plenty to work on for the Flyers before this season can be turned around.
The first of which, and probably the most important of them all, is finding a clean 60 minutes. Even with all of the positive takeaways from the game, it still was nowhere near a final product. The Flyers were sloppy.
They were still being dominated in the neutral zone. At times, the Flyers were seriously struggling to get the puck from one blueline to the other. Their passes were off the mark, and the Kraken were able to either break up possessions before they even started, or kill them before the Flyers could even set up.
There was also the consistent struggle of breaking out of teh defensive zone at times, which has been a persistent issue throughout the season. Passes were sloppy, and there were still far too many turnovers. It has to be cleaned up before the Flyers can make any sort of noise.
The word disconnected has been thrown around a lot this season. That is still a relevant word to Tuesday’s matchup. Especially on the power play, it seemed like pucks were going to places with no Flyers around. Whether it was errant passing or passes to places where people should be, but weren’t, it’s obvious that there is still a disconnect.
Tuesday was a step in the right direction for the Flyers. For a team as stuck in the mud as Philly, it can be a moral victory. But moral victories are not enough. They need more, and still have a way to go.
Read More: Block Out the Noise: Flyers Remain Focused While Searching for First Win