November 16, 2016
Steve Mason had just played what Dave Hakstol described as his “best 65 minutes of the year,” and upon further observation, the judgment didn’t seem too far off-base. The problem was, as has been the case so far this season with Flyers goaltending, that even on a night when Mason played relatively well, there was one major hiccup.
This time around, Mason was in poor position on (and outside of) the left post and he got absolutely roasted by Kyle Turris’ wraparound with 1:59 left. This knotted the game at two and allowed the Ottawa Senators to steal two points in Philly:
But after the game, the players and head coach weren’t blaming their netminder for the 3-2 shootout loss to the Sens. Even if the Flyers knew deep down that Mason can’t get scored on in that manner, they’re also aware that the game should’ve been more than a one-goal game late.
“We played a pretty good hockey game, but whether it’s extending the five on five or on the power play opportunities, we have to do a better job and have to work to extend that lead,” Hakstol said.
After Michael Raffl made the score 2-1 with a rebound goal right in front of Craig Anderson’s crease midway through the second period, the Flyers had three chances to extend the lead on power-play. The league’s second-best unit with the man advantage couldn’t get another one past Anderson, and that came back to bite them.
Some players, like Nick Cousins, felt that the Flyers’ mentality changed in the third period.
“Yeah, I think in the third we sat back a little bit,” Cousins said after scoring the Flyers’ first goal on a first-period breakaway. “I think when we do that teams are going to come at us and take it to us. It is a learning experience for us. We have to be better in the third. We have to push back rather than sit back, instead of being afraid to make a mistake.”
Well, Mason made that mistake. And even when he recovered to make a big save against a Turris-Erik Karlsson 2-on-0 breakaway in overtime and then turned away the first four Senators in the shootout, the Flyers couldn’t capitalize. Karlsson, the fifth shooter, finally ended it.
Multiple Flyers maintained that the team had played a solid hockey game, but the disappointment on their faces was telling. At some point, you have to start getting some results.
“I think we’ve got to learn from that, got to look at it again and again and figure a way to put those games away,” Raffl said. “I think we were in control most of this hockey game.”
In a year when the Flyers haven’t been in control of games all that much, this one hurt. Still only 17 games into the season, they’re choosing to stay positive.
“We have been playing good hockey lately,” Claude Giroux said. “Didn’t find a way to win, but we have to look at the positives here. It is a long season. We have a lot of hockey left to play here. I think the guys are pretty excited in this room.”
Sitting three points out of a playoff spot, there still is a lot of points available. Still, just like Tuesday’s game, it’s hard to argue that the beginning of the season has been a missed opportunity for the Orange and Black.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
