Devils 3, Flyers 0: Plenty of pings, no luck as PP struggles reach new low

Share

BOX SCORE

Where has all that offense gone?

Even with the return of winger James van Riemsdyk on Thursday night, the Flyers couldn’t generate a single goal as they were shut out for the third time this season.

Joey Anderson, Kyle Palmieri and Blake Coleman scored in a 3-0 New Jersey victory.

How bad has the power play failed the Flyers and will the team be saddled with another significant goaltending injury? Here are my observations from the Wells Fargo Center:

• Hoping to see van Riemsdyk score a goal, he actually took one away from the Flyers. The referees made the right call in determining JVR’s incidental contact with goaltender Keith Kinkaid’s glove hand prevented the goalie from making a save, even as he was outside the crease. Dave Hakstol threw up a Hail Mary in his decision to challenge the call, but I can’t fault him considering the only sacrifice is a timeout he may or may not use. I think even Hakstol knew it wouldn’t be reversed.

• Brian Elliott has been amazing during this current eight-game stretch and he’s the only reason the Devils didn’t extend their lead to 2-0 in the second period as Elliott made a series of critical saves, including a glove-hand save lying on his side. Once again, the Flyers' penalty-kill units had their usual breakdowns as both Devils power-play units exposed the Flyers' porous PK units. Elliott had to come across his crease on several occasions to make crucial stops.

• Elliott’s early mistake came when he didn’t cover the five-hole on a goal he should have had. The Devils came into this game a little weak down the middle with injuries to Nico Hischier and Brian Boyle, so I thought that was where the Flyers could expose New Jersey’s flaws, and they did but just didn’t take full advantage.

 • A very scary moment on the Devils' second goal as Elliott appeared to suffer another injury in the core muscle area as he was attempting to move left to right to cover the post. Elliott couldn’t fully extend, and while his reaction was not as visually concerning as when he tore the muscle in a shootout against the Coyotes last season, Elliott skated slowly but it doesn’t appear good.

• I liked the effort and tenacity the Flyers displayed in the offensive zone and they had a myriad of chances at even strength — an area they’ve dominated recently. Through two periods, they had an impressive 20 scoring chances to the Devils' 14 (12-4 in high-danger chances) while hitting four posts. Oskar Lindblom hit another post in the third period. Over the previous seven games, the Flyers have outscored opponents, 24-8, at even strength.

• However, New Jersey showed more commitment to puck support and puck pursuit than the Flyers, as the Devils' second man in was quicker to the boards than the Flyers' supporting player. That’s been their mantra over the past two seasons and even in the Flyers' 5-2 win Oct. 20, the Devils had more structure to their game than the Flyers did.

• The Flyers' power play looks so boorishly predictable as it's 3 for 43 dating back to Oct. 13, when it scored twice against the Senators. This was the type of game where the Flyers needed their power play to pull through with a goal. Hakstol has switched up the personnel, but I think the outlying problem is that it’s too stagnant with not enough movement, which allows shots to be blocked on a regular basis.

• Radko Gudas missed Thursday’s game with an undisclosed illness as Andrew MacDonald dressed for the first time since Oct. 25 in Boston, having missed the previous eight games. I think MacDonald played well considering there was a significant amount of rust to work off.

Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.

More on the Flyers

Contact Us