The Devils squandered several opportunities including a five on three near the end of the second period with Carter Hart robbing Taylor Hall during that stretch with the play of the night.
New Jersey only trailed 1-0 at the end of the second period, but two Flyer goals in the first minute of the third would essentially end the contest right there.
The Devils are still looking for their first victory of the season and will return home to the Prudential Center to host the Edmonton Oilers, who have won all three of their games this season.
Hell Raisers
1) I know that Cory Schneider gave up four goals, but other than the power-play goal by Kevin Hayes, which wasn't that bad, none of the other goals could be remotely considered his fault.
Kyle Palmieri losing an edge to hand Travis Konecny a point-blank dunk of a shot can't be on him and the other two goals (which I'll discuss below) were a product of the defense far more than Schneider,
2) And that defense, which allowed the Flyers to park in front of the net all game and consistently win puck battles.
Look at the first goal by Ivan Provorov, tell me how Schneider sees the puck with Oskar Lindblom's rear in his face?!
The defensemen aren't clearing opponents out of the area and that comes down to aggressiveness from the players.
3) I know it's only three games, but what alarms me most is the lack of intensity.
Intensity can affect play in many different manners, but this team has played very softly since the start of the third period against Winnipeg.
I didn't watch the loss in Buffalo closely (I scanned it the next morning), but what I saw there carried over to Philadelphia- they aren't lacking physicality, they are lacking mental toughness as well.
Now that can be overcome with time and confidence, but for now, it's not there.
4) Here's an example, In the second period, Jack Hughes is sent flying.
Now, the hit wasn't illegal or even vicious (no penalty called), but this is where you would think that this is an example of the Devils beginning to show that they aren't going to allow their future franchise player to be roughed up.
I'm not saying that they have to drop the gloves, but still, some pushing and shoving to at least make the opponents think that they can't take liberties with Hughes (or Nikita Gusev) and bang them around.
Wayne Simmonds was always willing to do such work as a Flyer, but tonight other than Miles Wood in the first period (Wood took a dumb penalty, but he was taking up for a teammate, so despite the mistake, his heart was in the right place) I saw nothing resembling any kind of fight at all.
5) Speaking of Simmonds, I despise the Flyers, I know they are the secondary rival to most Devils fans, but to me, they are clearly number one but give their organization and fans a hand for honoring Simmonds before the game.
Very classy move to honor a player that played his guts out for that town and franchise.
6) The play that deflated the Devils came on that five on three when Taylor Hall fired a one-timer that seemed to be a certain goal that would have tied the game, but an amazing save by Carter Hart (who notched his first NHL shutout in the win) foiled the Devils and you could feel the emotions dip for the rest of the game.
These things will come with young teams, but some of the older players need to show some leadership and not allow one play to decide a game with over a period left to play in a one-goal game.
7) John Hynes didn't have his team ready to play and I'm puzzled by why Jesper Boqvist and Pavel Zacha are scratched in favor of John Hayden and Kevin Rooney?
That makes zero sense to me, one of those decisions I could question, but both are just ridiculous decisions and makes me wonder if Hynes is beginning to feel the pressure about his job status?
Playing low ceiling veterans over more talented, but less experienced younger players is often a hint that a coach is feeling some pressure.
I wonder just how long of a leash John Hynes may have this season.
No comments:
Post a Comment