Things didn’t go as plan for the Flyers in Pepsi Center. Playing keep-up instead of taking control for most of the game, the Avalanche stormed out to a big 5-2 win as they go 2-0-0. The Flyers are 1-1-0, looking to go back to winning ways as they host the San Jose Sharks in their home opener on Tuesday. As for the loss, there were some positives, but it was a loss the team will look to put behind them. Here are the five things I took from last night’s affair.
1.) Sanheim Operated Better With Gudas
Christian Folin didn’t have the greatest preseason, and his form translated directly into this game. Travis Sanheim was a direct influence on his poor performance. To be fair to the two, starting 8 shifts in the DZ isn’t the easiest task, but having a 1.59% xGF after a bruising first period is very, very bad. Folin’s poor decision-making with the puck resulted in a goal against, faring badly shot-shares wise, and giving up the majority of high-danger scoring chances. When Gudas was paired up with Sanheim, the two of them together led the team in CF at 58.82%, and Sanheim had the highest xGF in the team at 67.87%. It was understood that Hakstol had his mind up prior to the season starting that he wanted to play Folin vs. Colorado, but he should be aware that Gudas has been the better player so far.
2.) Brian Elliott Is Back
There’s been some goalie controversy over the past week or so, but it looks as if Brian Elliott’s play will put an end to that. Elliott has ensured the Flyers a lead against the Golden Knights, and kept the team in the game against Colorado, despite letting in four goals. In the past game, Elliott had to face 34 shots and 11 that were from high-danger scoring chances. To put that in perspective, every third shot Elliott faced was a shot that very well could’ve gone in the back of the net. Only eight were saved, but that’s still very impressive, considering the support he had. As of right now, Elliot has a 94.12% Low-Danger Sv%, a 92.86% Medium-Danger Sv%, a 91.67 High-Danger Sv%, a 2.95% dSv%, meaning he’s saved 2.95% more shots than expected, and a 1.27 Goals Saved Above Average. It’s very safe to say that since he’s fully recovered from his core-muscle injury, we can trust him in the cage.
3.) Mikhail Vorobyev Is A Play-Driver
Mikhail Vorobyev made the team, and he’s showing everyone why. The 21-year-old was one of the best on the Flyers in terms of shot shares, ranking 5th in CF (60.71%), 7th in SF (55.56%), had an individual xG of .12, 0 turnovers, and a bunch of individual plays all in 10:00 of 5v5 TOI. Centering a line with JvR and Simmonds may help, but Vorobyev has come into his own and should be keen on getting more minutes.
4.) The Flyers Struggled To Contain Speed
I was hoping that playing the Vegas Golden Knights was a one-off game, but defending rushes has become an issue for the Flyers. Through the first two periods of this game, the team only had a CF of 43.75%. Colorado was all over them due to great zone entries with momentum and dumping the puck in areas that can isolate a d-man, hurting the opposition’s chance of a successful zone exit. Even in the third period where the Avs let off the gas pedal, they had the majority of the scoring chances. Hakstol’s going to have to prepare for this in advance/make adjustments mid-game, or we can see more games where giving up 4-5 is the norm.
5.) JvR’s Injury Will Affect The Short Term
It only took two games for the Flyers to be affected by injuries. James van Riemsdyk only played 5:13 before leaving the game with a lower-body injury. We don’t know the extent of his injury, but there’s a chance that he won’t be available for the home opener against San Jose. That said, it’ll be likely that Jordan Weal will get slotted in for the 29-year-old. Weal, who surprisingly only made the team as a healthy scratch, will be looking to make his mark.
Stats via Corsica.Hockey, NaturalStatTrick.com, and MoneyPuck.com
Photo via NHL.com
PHINoah 