Watch PHLY Flyers Postgame

The Philadelphia Flyers have no discipline.

Whether it’s Cam York and Travis Sanheim, Philly’s top two defensemen, each taking minor penalties in the first four minutes of the game, or the absolute panic and loss of structure when on the penalty kill, the Orange & Black have not displayed enough mental toughness during this five-game losing streak.

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Once again, this wasn’t a question of effort, but a lack of attention to detail.

Travis Konecny loses a puck low in the zone to set up a Pens goal when the Flyers had been building considerable momentum. Golden opportunities for Sanheim, Matvei Michkov and Christian Dvorak that never reach the net. They’ve been consistently lowering their margin for error with a lack of focus, discipline, whatever you want to call it, and it has resulted in big losses in what should have been much more competitive games on the scoreboard.

First period

Highlight: I don’t know, that first period was an ass kicking by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers gave up two power play goals and took three penalties, which is exactly what they couldn’t afford to do. Denver Barkey stood out, drawing a penalty himself and creating a few offensive opportunities with his skating and vision. After sitting last night, Barkey is the freshest Flyer, so hopefully that continues. But the penalties and loss of structure are concerning, as is the 2-0 deficit through 20 minutes.

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What I want to see next period: HIT THE NET! The Flyers got a pair of power plays themselves and managed only one shot in the first 3:30 of their four minutes of man advantage time, before Matvei Michkov & Co.’s second unit put a little pressure on in the final 30 seconds of the second penalty and got a pair of pucks on goal. Michkov himself had a golden opportunity on the RW side of the slot on the first power play, and missed wide. Later in the period, Travis Sanheim had a great chance in the high slot and his attempt appeared to go wide of not only the net, but the trapezoid, as well. Only seven of Philly’s 20 shot attempts reached Stuart Skinner, with five misses and eight attempts blocked. HIT THE F’N NET!

Second period

Highlight: Rodrigo Abols redirected a slap-pass in front from Cam York to make the score 3-1 after the Pens took a three-goal lead on an Egor Chinakhov goal just 1:16 into the period. But the highlight(?) was what happened after the Flyers got on the board, with Rick Tocchet electing to pull Sam Ersson for Aleksei Kolosov, instead of after the early Pittsburgh goal. Maybe the coaching staff was checking for offside, as Evgeni Malkin’s entry did appear to be questionable, and didn’t have time to notify Kolosov he was going in, or maybe Tocchet was waiting to see how his team responded prior to rolling the dice on Koly. Either way, it was just kind of odd. Kolosov stopped the first nine shots he faced, including a few impressive saves in high-tension situations, before Noel Acciari put the Penguins up 4-1 when a rebound rode up Kolosov and over his shoulder to restore Pittsburgh’s three-goal lead, setup by a brutal Travis Konecny turnover low in the d-zone.

What I want to see next period: Be physical. You probably can’t win this game, so lay some body. It’s Penguins/Flyers, after all. Beyond that, I want to see Barkey and Michkov continue to show strong chemistry, and maybe even convert one of the chances they’re creating.

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Third period

Highlight: MATVEI MICHKOV GOT IN A FIGHT! Early in the third period, Barkey found himself in a vulnerable position in the neutral zone and got ROCKED by Blake Lizotte, and #39 came to his defense, dropping the gloves and even landing a few punches before getting DDTed by Lizotte. Michkov got the extra minor for instigation, but who cares, it’s 4-1. I love it! Sidney Crosby scored his 60th career regular season goal against the Flyers (16 more than he’s scored against any other team), but again, who cares? In fact, it makes the PK numbers even worse, which is good because I’m going to complain a bunch about the special teams on postgame.

Final note: Michkov & Barkey seem to really have some chemistry. Sure it was garbage time, but Barkey picked up a pair of assists in the third period, the second of which set up Michkov with his first goal against a tended net since November 29th. Maybe, even in an ugly loss, that can be a spark for this struggling offense. Here’s hoping!

Watch PHLY Flyers Postgame