Halfway through Tuesday night’s game, Kevin Hayes slammed his stick in half like an angry baseball player destroying his bat after a blow.
The frustration felt like déjà vu. Hayes broke his stick into pieces Monday. These days, the Flyers are probably going through more sticks than usual.
The frustration – from both the club and its fans – reached a tangible level in the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night as the Flyers’ problematic March reached a new low. The Flyers lost 4-3 to the Devils.
A few goals from Sean Couturier’s third period brought the score closer, but the Flyers did not get the equalizer.
While the buzzer sounded in the second period, the Flyers (15-12-4) heard sharp noises from the 2,882 attendees.
The outspoken dissatisfaction was justified.
“We have a lot of confidence in our group,” said Claude Giroux. “We still think we’re going to win the playoffs. We need to be a little more consistent in our game. It starts with me. You can not play one good game and then one bad game and so on. We have to keep some compile matches here. ‘
The Devils (12-14-4) are 1-2-0 against the Flyers this season.
• With a press conference on Wednesday at 13:00 ET, general manager Chuck Fletcher will give his typical speech by the middle of the season.
It will not be a glowing address.
In very important areas across the board, the Flyers fell back from last season, allowing the team to win its first playoff series since 2012 and was a game away from the Eastern Conference final.
Here’s where the Flyers endured 31 games compared to the first 31 games of last season:
2019-20
- Record: 17-9-5 (39 points)
- Goals per game: 3.03
- Goal kicks per game: 2.68
- Power play: 17.9%
- Criminal death: 85.1%
- Shots per game: 32.5
- Shots allowed per game: 28.8
2020-21
- Record: 15-12-4 (34 points)
- Goals per game: 3.10
- Goals per game allowed: 3.52
- Power play: 19.1%
- Criminal death: 74.5%
- Shots per game: 28.4
- Shots per game allowed: 29.4
Just as worryingly, the Flyers also relegated throughout the course of the season. It would be one thing if they found their identity after a slow start.
That was not the case.
In March, the Flyers held a lead only four times. Thirteen games in their 17th game in March, the Flyers were 4-8-1 and conceded 57 goals (4.38 per game). They allowed 52 goals through their first 18 games in which they passed 11-4-3 ahead of the March slide.
After allowing the Flyers 2.77 goals per game last season, which is the seventh-lowest in the NHL, they are allowing 3.52 goals per game this season. Only the Senators give up more at 3.82.
“We know we have not been good enough yet, we are very aware of that,” Alain Vigneault said before the game. “We know we have to get better. Our goal is to enter the play-offs first, that’s our first goal and we’re working on it. To work on that, we need to take care of things tonight and that’s what we need to do. is to do. ‘
The Flyers did not, and the head coach might have asked his GM for help once the evaluation was raised before the April 12 trade deadline.
One can safely assume that the Flyers will not buy like a Stanley Cup contender. Thirty-one games in the 56-game regular season and the Flyers are still on the outside of the playoff picture in the loaded East Division. Is it currently worth it to risk a solid sacrifice to perhaps reach the post-season?
Fletcher will proactively seek help, but the Flyers must be judicious in what they are willing to give up.
• The Flyers conceded a goal in the last minute of the first and second periods. Travis Zajac scored the second period for New Jersey, which sounded like the boo birds.
“I think in general we are not working as well as a five-man unit as last year,” Ivan Provorov said. “We played much closer, much tighter, we killed plays and we could get the trigger back sooner and spend less time in our zone. Lately we haven’t played the same, so I think that’s why there was a few break points and many more goals. ‘
• Carter Hart caught up with the Devils in his young career, but it does not seem to matter much to the Flyers now.
The 22-year-old struck 28 times on 32 shots. He could be better and the Flyers were porous in front of him. Have you heard this story yet?
Newminder Mackenzie Blackwood faced the Flyers for the first time this season. The 24-year-old entered his career against the Flyers 2-0-1 with a 1.63 goals at average and 0.955.
His impressive game against the Flyers continued when he conceded 30 saves.
• The Flyers fell 2-1 behind in the first break. During March, they were outscored 20-9 in the first period.
Hard to win like that.
Michael McLeod gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead halfway through the frame and Kyle Palmieri regained the lead on a power play with six seconds left in the period. The call to Travis Sanheim was very dubious, but the Devils benefited.
They were also the clear better team to start the game, when the Flyers ad nauseam said they needed to build on a strong performance.
With inconsistent starts, you can see why they allowed three or more goals in all but one game this month.
“It’s my job to work with these players,” Vigneault said. “They’s good players, they care, they want to win. It’s clear we have a problem with consistency at the moment and it’s my job to find the right buttons to push – and that’s what I’m going to do. keep doing it.It’s clear I did not find it yet, but I’m going to keep working.There’s no doubt in my mind that these guys had the best intentions, but at first it seemed like we did not have much in the tank do not have. “
• Joel Farabee scored his 14th goal in 30 games to get the Flyers on the board in the first period. His marker comes on the power measurement, which is 1 for 3.
On the other side of the Flyers units for special teams, the penalty death became 3 for 4. The Flyers committed four penalties before the game was halfway through.
• The Flyers are off practice on Wednesday and host the Rangers on Thursday (19:00 ET / NBCSP).
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