With pre-season coming to a close and the regular-season opener only a few days away, the Philadelphia Flyers had an underperforming pre-season and it has many people wondering if this is going to be the same old song and dance. After all the changes that were made on and off the ice, the Flyers were going into this season with lofty expectations.
Injuries to Kevin Hayes and Wade Allison definitely put a wedge into their plans, Morgan Frost not being able to staple himself into the starting lineup didn’t help either, but the depth pieces that Chuck Fletcher signed are looking better and better by the day. Derick Brassard started off as a depth piece, to a possible fourth liner, to a top 9 center, and has now found himself centering the second line. Without Brassard or Nate Thompson, the starting lineup would be looking very inexperienced and potentially worse for wear.
The most pressing issue from their pre-season showing (2-3-1) was the penalty kill. The Flyers penalty kill has been abysmal at best for several years, finishing 29th, 26th, 11th, and 30th, respectively in the last 4 seasons. In the 6 games they played, they allowed 8 power-play goals on 20 opportunities for a whopping 60% success rate. It might only be pre-season and there were different personnel on a game-by-game basis, but the common denominator was Mike Yeo’s scheme.
The lack of aggression from the penalty killers to attack the puck carrier was still very evident. They allow the puck handler to either hold onto the puck for as long as they want to either thread the needle with a cross-ice pass or shoot on the net for a scoring chance.
They should take a page out of their opponents’ book and notice how they kill penalties on Flyers’ power plays. The Flyers’ power-play struggles mightily when the main puck carriers are being pressured into making plays. When Giroux gets hounded by the defender, it sometimes forces him to make ill-advised plays, costing the power play time and momentum.
The Flyers offense also struggled to find the back of the net, scoring only 12 times in 6 games. The offense was going to take a hit without the services of Hayes and Allison but it was still a very frustrating showing. All eyes were on Morgan Frost who was catapulted to the second line and hoping to stake his claim in the lineup. Unfortunately for him, his play wasn’t up to the standards of Alain Vigneault and Chuck Fletcher and he was sent down to the AHL.
Not all faith should be lost on the young pivot, he just hasn’t played enough hockey in a 2-year span. With Covid, stoppages, and injuries piling up, he just isn’t game-ready yet. He should get ample opportunities to fine-tune his game and be NHL ready in short order. His first game with the Phantoms over the weekend was a good sign, scoring 2 goals (game-tying and game-winning) and 1 assist.
As for the positive takeaways, there were a few that stood out. The top line of Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier, and Travis Konecny was definitely up-lifting. They have played together (on and off) for several years and the chemistry is still evident. They were buzzing every game, they created scoring chances, they were controlling the game in the offensive zone, and were getting the puck out of the zone with ease, which has always been a weakness in the Flyers game.
The biggest off-season acquisition was Ryan Ellis and his potential top pairing with Ivan Provorov. We speculated all summer at how things would look, what to expect from the duo, and how, if at all, they would mesh together. The pairing was spectacular and it’s probably the most positive takeaway from the pre-season.
The Flyers finally have a top pairing worthy of shop talk. Ellis is the calm, steady, and collected force on the backend that is going to allow Provorov the freedom to play his aggressive offensive game. For years Provorov was stagnant or being anchored down by not-so-talented partners. He blossomed with Matt Niskanen, so one would assume that he’ll do even better with a more skillful defenseman.
The passing was crisp, the breakouts were sublime, and the point-to-point perimeter play was something to marvel about. It has been a while since the Flyers have had a pairing as skillful and exciting as Ellis and Provorov, and it should be a joy to watch them play 23-25 minutes a night.
The Rasmus Ristolainen trade will divide the fanbase for years, mainly because of the cost of acquisition. His analytical numbers were abysmal and he struggled mightily in Buffalo but who hasn’t? It was a steep price (a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and Robert Hagg) but it’s tough to consolidate actual value in a bidding war for a right-handed defenseman. Fletcher has wanted him for years and he felt the price was right, only time will tell but his pre-season showing was a great takeaway.
His physicality was on full display, his presence was evident, and some players forced a dump-in because they didn’t want to come face to face with a crunching body check. Just like Ellis’ acquisition, the Flyers have found something in Ristolainen that they haven’t in years, probably since Chris Pronger: a dominating physical presence on the backend that is going to be in your face all game long.
The goaltending was a massive question mark heading into training camp, especially considering how bad things got last year. Carter Hart drew the ire of every analyst or fan that was predicting where the Flyers would finish in the standings. He looked phenomenal in his 2 game stint, he looked like his calm, cool, and collected self, and he posted sparkling numbers that should make every Flyers fan giddy with excitement (1.20 G.A.A and a .953 save percentage).
Martin Jones’ numbers weren’t eye-popping but it should be noted that he played in 2 games where the opponent had an NHL-ready roster and the players in front of him were primarily AHL players. He had moments where he looked abysmal (3 goals on 11 shots vs the Boston Bruins) but he also had moments where he settled in nicely after a rocky start. He is a backup goalie for the time being and he shouldn’t be facing top teams moving forward, so expectations for Jones should be tempered just a little bit.
With the regular-season opener only 4 days away, the Flyers still have a few things to figure out, like who takes the final forward spot on the fourth line between Jackson Cates, Garrett Wilson, or newly acquired Patrick Brown. The lineup isn’t what anyone expected but injuries are a part of the game and the Flyers have just enough to depth to keep them afloat until they get healthy.
The defense is much improved and the goaltending should be a lot better than last season. It might not be saying much, considering the fact that they were the worst in the league but Hart looks like he might have regained his 2019-20 form, and that’s all the Flyers really need at this point.
It wasn’t the best showing in the pre-season but not a lot of stock should be taken out of it just yet. The Flyers had a lot of things to figure out with all the roster changes they made and chemistry was of the utmost importance. It took a few games but the lines look set and the Flyers look ready to “bring it back to broad” on October 15th against the Vancouver Canucks.
