With apologies to longtime Inquirer columnist Bill Lyon, who used to sit to my right at Flyers games and write down 10 points on a piece of paper of things he wanted to cover in his column, here are 10 things I think about Monday’s 1-0 shootout loss on the Island:
1. Ray Emery threw a shutout last season in St. Louis and still lost in a shootout. Same thing happened to Steve Mason on Monday, who was nothing short of spectacular with 46 saves. The Flyers gave him zilch in terms of offense. They should have lost 4-0 or worse. Mason earned the point in the standings, not his teammates.
2. The Islanders are scary good. They are far quicker than the Flyers. During one shift in overtime, they had the Flyers running around chasing them for nearly a minute. The Rangers already own the Flyers in the Metro Division. If the Islanders also finish ahead of them, then it will be lights out at Wells Fargo Center come mid-April.
3. After two games in which the Flyers came out skating, their start was terrible against the Islanders having just a single shot through nearly 12 minutes. Unacceptable.
4. While the Flyers penalty kill is still mired in the bottom of the league standings, it is showing signs of life. The aggressive puck pursuit along the boards and solid box in the middle gave the Isles no open lanes or shots. Pressure kept them on the outside. A positive for Ian Laperriere’s beleaguered PK units.
5. While we like the idea of seven defensemen, given how little the Flyers are getting from some of their forwards, it proved a nightmare against a quicker Islander club. They rolled four lines. The Flyers were gassed trying to roll 3½. Seven D is a problem for coach Craig Berube against faster clubs.
6. Breakouts have been hit or miss this season. They were a “miss” against the Isles’ pressure throughout the game. The forwards have to be in motion and defense has to find them with outlet passes along the wall quicker. Again, this is going to be a problem the Flyers will have all season against faster teams.
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7. At the end of the third period, the Flyers had been outshot 43-20. That should really concern them.
8. Historically, the Flyers have never been good in the shootouts. Isles are 5-0 this season and the Flyers are 0-3. If it’s April and there are no playoffs, the Flyers may very well look back on lost points in the shootout as a reason why they didn’t qualify.
9. When the overtime began, the Flyers should have had a great sense of urgency to prevent the game from getting to the shootout, which is what the Islanders wanted. Knowing your opponent has a distinct advantage in one phase of the game should make you all the more determined not to allow it to happen.
10. Did we mention how good Steve Mason was? You can’t fault him for his subtle yet to-the-point criticism of teammates after the game for their lack of offense. He did his part. They didn’t do theirs.