PHILADELPHIA – At least one positive thing has come out of the not-too-serious injury to Flyers top goaltender Dan Vladar: Joseph Woll has shown he can be a decent fill-in.
Woll stopped all 28 Boston shots during Thursday night’s 2-0 Flyers’ preseason win over the Bruins at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The Flyers dominated the first period, taking a 1-0 lead and holding a 15-5 edge in shots.
Matvei Michkov started things off, working his way down low and finishing off a play to beat goaltender Michael DePietro at 4:02.
In the third, rookie Cole Knuble poked home a loose puck from a scramble generated by Jett Luchanko in front to increase the margin to 2-0.
Woll was tested a number of times in the second period but stood tall on all of them.
Coach Rick Tocchet indicated he was satisfied with Woll’s performance.
“He looked great in net, he made some really good saves,” Tocchet said. “Especially when they had a couple power plays. They were coming on and he made some really good saves. He’s a solid goalie.”
Woll is taking the preseason in stride. Things will be more intense once the regular season gets underway.
“I felt pretty solid,” he said. “I thought we played a pretty solid game in front of me as well. The defensemen stepped up with five guys (Helge Grans was injured in the second period) and played a big game, too.
“It (playing first home game) was pretty exciting. A cool experience the first time you get it. Completely different playing here than on the road. It’s a great setup at this rink and looking forward to playing a lot here.”
>Knuble, Luchanko getting good looks
Both Knuble and Luchanko played in their third straight preseason games. The coaching staff wants to get a good look at these potential future standouts.
“You can tell they’ve built their game over the summer and last year,” Tocchet said during the morning skate at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J. “I think the last two games they were noticeable.”
After the game, he had good things to say about both.
“Really good, Cole is really playing well,” Tocchet said. “That’s huge for us. We were impressed with Cole a year ago but he’s really developed over this year. You notice him out there.”
Knuble knows there’s a chance he could make the opening night lineup against Pittsburgh.
“Obviously those thoughts creep in to be honest,” he said. “But I just talked to my dad (former Flyer great Mike Knuble) and he said just one day at a time. Never get too high, never get too low. Things can change quickly. One day at a time is what I’m thinking right now.”
>Barkey update
Denver Barkey, who suffered a lower-body injury in Monday night’s game against Washington at Hershey, skated again on Thursday.
Tocchet said he’s a possibility for Saturday’s preseason closer against Washington. If he plays in that game, it’s likely he will be ready for Wednesday’s regular-season opener against Pittsburgh in Philly.
“We’ll see how it goes the next 48 hours, we have tomorrow (Friday) off,” Tocchet said. “Unless something else happens on the ice, you would think he would be ready to go for opening night.”
>Evaluation game
Tocchet said Thursday night’s game was an important one from an evaluation standpoint.
“We’re looking for stuff that we practiced,” the coach said. “Even if there’s mistakes, I want to see so we can evaluate. A couple little tweaks on the power-play breakout, whether it works or not. This is the time to do it.”
>Martone comparison to Kerr
Tocchet spent a number of years playing with former Flyers great Tim Kerr. The coach made a favorable comparison.
“I remember Tim Kerr, people could be all over him,” Tocchet said. “And he could still score. Porter’s got that – he wants the puck even though he’s covered. On the power play, he’s covered and he still manages to get that shot off. A lot of guys don’t have that in their toolbag. That’s something that he can be elite at as his career goes on.”
Martone generated some good plays on the power play Thursday night.
“This was the first time together as a group,” he said after playing with Trevor Zegras and Michkov. “I think we had a couple good entries. We’ve got a lot of skill on that unit. I think together it can work really well.”
>Short shots
The third defense pairing of Simon Benoit and Helge Grans saw plenty of ice time in the early going. Benoit, along with Oliver Bonk and David Jiricek, are considered the favorites for the No. 6 defense spot when the season starts. Grans suffered a lower-body injury in the second period and did not return to action. . .The Flyers improved their preseason record to 1-2 with one game left. . .Benoit won a fight decision over Brian Halonen in the third. Some of the Flyers weren’t happy with the way the Bruins toyed with some of the Flyers’ younger players in Tuesday night’s 5-1 Bruins’ win at Boston.
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