Flyers' typically strong penalty kill unit struggling

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CHICAGO — They have had a very strong and reliable penalty kill for several years now.

This season, injuries to Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn plus the reshuffling of blue line personnel has given way to some inconsistency among the Flyers' PK units, which have traditionally been ranked top 10.

All it took to plummet from there to 22nd overall this past weekend was two power-play goals allowed to Trevor Daley during the Flyers' 6-5 overtime win in Dallas.

The difference there was the Stars greatly exploited the Flyers' penalty killers on both their goals with lightning quick passes that found lanes so easily, the passes themselves beat goalie Steve Mason before he even had a chance to set up.

That's something the Flyers need to correct against Chicago on Tuesday night.

Forget about the fact that the Blackhawks' power play is a rather poor 19th (14.3 percent). They have world-class talent, and as Jakub Voracek said on Monday, it’s a matter of time before they explode on somebody.

Flyers coach Craig Berube hopes they don't explode on his club.

“They've got talented people, and we have to stay out of the penalty box,” Berube said.

The emphasis on watching video, players said, was getting sticks in lanes and setting up better in front of the net.

“Our defense on one side got a little too high and didn't protect the goal line on two goals,” Berube said. “If you get too high, you can't recover to the goal line quick enough and get your stick in there. And it makes it too easy of a pass. It makes it tough on [the goalie].”

Flyer defenseman Nicklas Grossmann, who logs a lot of shorthanded minutes and racks up a lot of blocked shots, was on the ice for both Dallas power-play goals.

Thus far, Grossmann has 8:51 of shorthanded time on ice, second only to Andrew MacDonald (9:31) on the defense.

“That last game wasn’t where we want it to be,” Grossmann said of Dallas. “They have a skilled group up front with a lot of talented players.

“It’s something we have to clean up. It’s all about details. Do your job out there. Small things like getting in lanes, getting good sticks on the ice, blocking shots.”

Dallas found holes with passes so crisp, they were continually one movement ahead of the Flyers even on the one power play the Stars didn’t score on.

“You need good sticks and be aware of guys on the ice — communicate out there,” Grossmann said. “You work as a group of four and help out.”

Mark Streit said the Stars' first power-play goal saw a shot go through the Flyers' box, miss everyone, and Daley ended up with an empty-net goal.

“We have the capability to be better,” Streit said. “It’s important to our game. You don't want to allow seam passes. It's having good sticks, work hard, skate and get stops.

“If you are out there for 30-40 seconds, it’s a tough job to do. … We've talked about it as a whole group and I am pretty positive we will be better at it in the future.”

Ex-Flyer Patrick Sharp has two of Chicago's three power-play goals this season.

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