Oct 12, 2024; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov (82) guards his net against Calgary Flames center Nazem Kadri (91) during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
You probably turned off your television once the Flyers fell behind by three goals late in the third period of a 6-3 loss in Calgary on Saturday,
And who could blame you? You had stayed up really late the night before to watch the season opener in Vancouver and pushing it into the wee hours two night in a row is not as easy as it once was.
O.K. maybe that's just me.
In any event, if you did click the remote once it became 5-2 Flames, you missed a milestone. Matvei Michkov earned his first NHL point, assisting on a goal by Travis Koneckny that pulled the Flyers back within two with 2:49 to play in the game.
Congrats to Matvei Michkov on his first NHL point!!! #Flyers pic.twitter.com/dDvTdAcVOb
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) October 13, 2024
It was garbage time, for sure. And it's not going to be one of those moments where you are going to remember where you were. But, for the hardest of the hardcore, it'll hopefully be the first of many points that Michkov excites you with in his NHL career.
The best part about that highlight is Konecny not wanting to celebrate his own goal right away but beelining it to the puck to grab for Michkov so he can have the memento from his first NHL point.
It's the sign of a great teammate and a good leader.
It was one of only a few highlights for a Flyers team that was mostly disjointed in this game.
Oh there were highlights - like the Flyers picking up where they left off in 2023-24 with their "Power Kill" and Travis Konecny scoring while shorthanded.
And there was this pretty pass from Bobby Brink to Joel Farabee for a goal to draw the Flyers within one late in the second period.
BOBBY BRINK FINDS JOEL FARABEE!!! 3-2 now. #Flyers pic.twitter.com/oQSKSg8G2q
But the Flyers seemed to lack some cohesion at times, and the penalty kill, while it did score shorthanded, looked a little out of sorts for the second straight game as well.
There was certainly a lot of special teams play in this one, as the teams combined for nine power play opportunities - and that can sometimes mess with the flow of a game - but the Flyers have struggled to finish when the play is at even strength. They have just one goal in each of their two games so far at even strength. That needs to change.
OK, time for thumbs....
Flyers coach John Tortorella rarely gets credit for how he coaches young players. In fact, he's often mislabeled as a guy who doesn't handle young players well. But the reality is, young players who play for Torts end up being better players for it, even if they had a less-than-stellar relationship with him.
Torts' decision to bench rookie Jett Luchanko in Calgary after his NHL debut in Vancouver is one of those smart, teaching moments. Sure, as a fan you want to see the kid play, we all do. But - if there's something that wasn't good about his game - and he lost coverage on Teddy Bleuger on a Vancouver goal on Friday, then it's not the worst thing in the world to take the player out of the lineup to instill an expectation to not have that kind of play happen again.
Putting him right back into the lineup and yelling at him on the ice doesn't necessarily set the same standard up front. This is a teachable moment for Luchanko, and a good one. He'll get back in there, and he'll be better next time.
Bobby Brink has looked really good offensively through the first two games. He's shown some good vision and has picked up a couple of assists on some beautiful passes (see the video of the Farabee goal above). Flyers captain Sean Couturier told us on Snow the Goalie a couple weeks ago that Brink was the guy who impressed him most during pre-training camp workouts as a player who took the next step. Brink might be on the brink of breaking out as aconsistent offensive contributor for the Flyers.
The Flyers penalty kill was one of the best in the league last season, and despite scoring shorthanded against Calgary, it did let up two more goals on Saturday. Yes, one of them was at 5-on-3, which is certainly much harder to defend, but it's that situation that I want to point out. When you are short two men, your defenseman can't get out of position, even for a split second. And Rasmus Ristolainen skates, ever so briefly, below the goal line while defending not leaving himself the opportunity to get back to cover the front of the goal and the Flames score.
Nazem Kadri scores and makes it 3-1 for Calgary#Flames @wincolumnCGY pic.twitter.com/4iRf6leF4y
It's a small detail, but an important one, because that guy isn't going to score from behind the net, but he's sure as hell going to try to get the puck to a teammate in front of it who could. Ristolainen has to be smarter in that spot.
Let's be honest, the NHL did the Flyers no favors with their schedule to start the season.
The Flyers were one of only five clubs to have their first two games of the season scheduled on consecutive nights. Carolina and Tampa Bay were supposed to play a home-and-home set to start the year, but the second game was postponed due to Hurricane Milton in the Tampa area.
Montreal and Pittsburgh each had back-to-back games, but at least one of them was at home.
The only other team besides the Flyers to play their first two games on the road on back-to-back nights was Toronto, but they played both games in the Eastern time zone with short travel, going from Montreal to New Jersey.
Not the Flyers. Not only did they have to go all the way across the continent for their first two games, but they had to change time zones in between the two, losing an hour.
There's no issue with starting your season on a trip out west, but it's seriously unfair to the players to do what the league did to the Flyers. It's not about the results. It's about thinking about player health. It's just wrong.
Tyson Foerster missed a large chunk of the game coming to the defense of teammate Jaime Drysdale. Drysdale got into a bad position and took a big hit from Calgary's Matin Pospisil at center ice.
Tyson Foerster with his first career fight 👀👊#Flyers pic.twitter.com/eOHKpLGtnu
There's nothing wrong with coming to defense of a teammate. In fact, it's the right thing to do, but Foerster dropped his gloves before even reaching Pospisil. That's practically asking for the two-minute instigator penalty and a subsequent 10-minute misconduct.
Go defend your teammate, but be smarter about it to try to avoid being taken off the ice for 17 minutes. His minor was one of the two that led to Calgary's 5-on-3 goal so...
The shorthanded goal was the 10th by Konecny since the start of the 2022-23 season - most in the NHL. He was assisted by Scott Laughton, who has 16 shorthanded assists in that same time span - which is also best in the NHL. I think it's safe to say they are the most dangerous combination of penalty killers to be on the ice for any team in the sport.
The Flyers continue their swing through the Northwest with a game against the defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers late night on Tuesday. The Oilers have looked awful in their first two games having been outscored 11-2 in losses to Winnipeg and Chicago, both at home. They have aother home game Sunday night against Calgary before wrapping up their four-game, season-opening homestand against the Flyers on Tuesday,
