For much of last year, the Flyers’ rookies were a big part of the team’s success.
This year, though, those very same players might be more of a liability. And there's a few reasons for that, according to Kimmo Timonen.
“I’ll tell you this,” Timonen said. “The second year was the toughest year of my NHL life. And we have a lot of second-year players. You’ve got to work even harder to get to the point where you were in your first year.”
In Thursday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the New York Islanders (see story), the Flyers dressed five second-year players: forwards Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier, Matt Read and Zac Rinaldo, and defenseman Erik Gustafsson.
Certainly, those players weren’t the reason the Flyers lost the game, even after leading 2-0 in the first period. But, Timonen said, experienced teams are usually the type that are able to play complete games. Not the type to put in one good period, or a fraction of a good period, and sit back on their heels.
That’s something the Flyers have failed at consistently this year.
"I’ve been on a lot of teams," Timonen said. "And an experienced team plays the same way pretty much the whole 60 minutes. And sometimes I feel like I said earlier a couple weeks ago: We play 30 minutes good and 30 minutes bad, and we lose the game because of that. We’ve got to find a way to play 60 minutes. The teams that are playing 60 minutes usually win the game."
Timonen called it an issue of mental toughness, something that, once again, younger players often struggle with.
“We can’t put the blame on the kids,” Timonen said. “Young guys, they have to learn. Maybe this is the learning period. It’s a tough learning period, but we have to take it. There’s us older guys, we’ve got to be better, we’ve got to be the leaders out there and show these young guys how to play the game. It’s too much to put these young guys on the spot and say they’re the reason we are where we are. That’s not the case.”
As for that proverbial sophomore slump?
“Expectations are higher,” Timonen said. “Obviously, first year, you come in the league and you play well and there’s no pressure. But second year, there’s pressure. That’s something you have to learn to play with. That’s how I felt when I was second year in the league.”
Call me, maybe not
Scott Hartnell fought Islanders winger Colin McDonald in the first period because, in his opinion, McDonald threw an ugly hit on Timonen -- and no call was made by the officials.
Later, in the third period, Claude Giroux appeared to have been boarded violently behind the Islanders’ net. Again, no call.
Hartnell wasn’t happy.
“It’s just weird we never get a call these days,” Hartnell said. “A high hit on an all-star, one of the best defensemen in the league, no call. Giroux, at the end, there’s no more boarding penalty than that I don’t think, and no call as well. Linesman had to make the call on the faceoff there to get the six-on-four attack there at the end. It’s frustrating that we’re not getting any breaks that way, but they’re not going to hand games to us, that’s for sure.”
McGinn scratched, Knuble plays
In an unexpected move, the Flyers elected to scratch Tye McGinn from Thursday's game.
McGinn had been recalled from the Phantoms, played a little more than 20 minutes against the Rangers on the Flyers’ top line, then dropped down to a lesser unit, then was scratched against the Islanders. An odd series of events.
He sat healthy in the press box. That allowed Mike Knuble to finally dress for a game.
Knuble spent eight straight games as a healthy scratch before scoring his third goal of the season late in the opening period against the Islanders.
“I think you want to come in and want to play a good game,” Knuble said. “That's your main priority. You want to play strong defensively and try to string some strong offensive shifts together.
“Obviously, scoring a goal tonight is a bonus. It is good to get back out there. We are all competitive as players. You want to be out there every night and when you're not playing it hurts.”
Loose pucks
Giroux had two assists in the first period. … Danny Briere, who is out indefinitely with a concussion, attended the first two periods only in the press box before leaving. … The Islanders had a goal waved off at the end of the first period because it was scored after the buzzer. … Hartnell had his first two-goal game of the season. … The Flyers blocked 26 shots, their second-highest shot-blocking total of the season.