PHILADELPHIA — After learning the Flyers were just 1-10-2 in the second half of back-to-back games last season, coach Rick Tocchet vowed improvement this year.
So far, for one game at least, it hasn’t happened.
That was confirmed on Sunday night when the 2-9-2 Calgary Flames rode into town and rode out with a 2-1 win at the Xfinity Mobile Center.
In all, it was a lost weekend for the Flyers, who also dropped a 5-2 decision on home ice to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
The Flyers couldn’t put any of the blame on rookie goaltender Aleksei Kolosov, who made every stop expected of him.
Only a goal by Travis Konecny with 5:40 to play off a Noah Cates faceoff win prevented the Flyers from getting shut out.
Lack of shots has been a problem for most of this year’s games and this was another case of not getting enough pucks on Calgary goaltender Dustin Wolf. They finished the game with only 18 shots, one off their season low.
Noah Cates said the Flyers need to get off to quicker starts, particularly in situations like Sunday night. Keep in mind, Calgary had also played on Saturday night, so the Flames were sort of in the same boat.
“If you play the right way earlier, stick with it,” was Cates’ advice. “Do all those little things and then it works. We weren’t connected. Have a good shift, then another good shift after that. Just put two together and kind of turn the tables your way. Too many one-and-dones tonight and not hard enough on their ‘D’.”
Sean Couturier, back in the lineup after missing one game due to injury, said the Flyers have to get back to basics. With the five-game homestand in the rearview mirror, maybe they can get back to better positioning on the road.
“We have to find a way to get to the inside, to get to the net,” he said. “Everyone’s on the outside trying to make plays. We have to find a way to get second opportunities, third opportunities.
“It seems like we’re one and done. We have a lot of possession time but not enough dirty goals, I guess. We have to simplify it, put pucks to the net, get two or three guys banging, recovering pucks. We’ve got to go back to the basics.”
Tocchet had no problem with that. He stated some of it could be mental.
“I think a little bit of it is will,” he said. “It was an ugly game, I feel bad for the fans but it was a fun game to watch. They (the Flames) weren’t doing much easier. They got their two goals from a screen and a deflection.”
Are the players getting the message that perimeter play just isn’t going to work?
“Well, you just have to keep pounding it,” Tocchet said. “We got to find people who want to continue you to do it. It’s my job to get the guys to do it. We had a good record two games ago (6-3-1) but the will wasn’t there throughout the game. We just have to have the will.”
Both teams had played on Saturday and it showed in a scoreless first period.
The play was uneven at best as the Flyers managed only three shots on Wolf.
Calgary entered the game just 1-6-1 on the road and overall, the Flames’ minus-18 overall goal differential was the worst in the NHL.
“I think we needed to get a few more shots and a little more traffic,” defenseman Nick Seeler said in a first intermission interview. “We did a decent job structurally. Just keep a little more pressure on them.”
>Kolosov sharp
Making his first start in the NHL this season, Kolosov more than held his own in stopping 19 of 21 Calgary shots.
“I felt good, the first period was real good,” Kolosov said through a translator. “I tried to keep my pace and help the team to win.”
While the first goal was a screen situation, Kolosov did not use that as an excuse.
“There was a screen but it did not have anything to do with the goal,” he said. “I had to see the puck and make the save.”
Kolosov said he feels at ease around the Phantoms and Flyers now, more so than he did in his first season last year.
“A lot more comfortable,” he said. “It’s a lot easier because I know where to go, a lot easier with the language.”
>Short shots
After getting Monday off, the Flyers begin a two-game road trip in Montreal on Tuesday. The trip continues with a Thursday game in Nashville.
With Tyson Foerster out of the lineup, the Flyers shuffled their lines. Trevor Zegras moved to left wing and played on a line with Couturier at center and Travis Konecny on right. Owen Tippett replaced Foerster on the Cates-Bobby Brink line and Christian Dvorak played center between Rodrigo Abols and Matvei Michkov.
Be the first to comment